Corporate farmers trade massive NSW grain property for NT's cotton dream

SA-based Duxton Farms has leveraged the sale of one of the largest broadacre farm aggregations in southern NSW to shift its focus north.

Just weeks ago, the ASX-listed company finalised the $70m sale of the enormous Timberscombe (8432 hectares, 20,836 acres) at West Wyalong in the Riverina to a Canadian pension fund manager.

Timberscombe has been a part of Duxton Farms since the company listed in 2018.

Investors were told the Timberscombe cash would be used to reduce debt, pay a dividend to shareholders and "allow the company to redeploy capital to focus new growth opportunities in Australian agriculture".

The company said late last week said it was now awaiting approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board for its $10.25 million offer to buy 2386 hectares (5896 acres) of undeveloped cattle country in the Top End.

Duxton Farms said it was "shifting focus" away from broadacre farming in NSW into expansion opportunities in the NT and Victoria, including one of the largest pistachio developments in Australia (Piambie Vic).

It wants to "de-risk its geographic concentration" after its NSW properties were hit by heavy rain and flooding which caused heavy crop losses.

Duxton Farms chairman Ed Peter said the company's NT foray was "one of the most intriguing opportunities available in all of Australian agriculture".

He said wet season rain-fed crops "has the potential to completely change the nature of the NT's agricultural sector".

The NT government has set a target of 100,000 hectares of new broadacre cropping by 2030.

Duxton Farms already leases a cattle station in the Territory and has previously flagged ambitions in expanding into cotton.

Duxton Farms, with its headquarters in the Adelaide Hills, has offered $1738 per acre for Top End country offered by the NT government as part of its expansion plans.

It was part of more than 1000 square kilometres made available to boost agricultural development in the Territory's single biggest-ever release of farmland.

The land was marketed to developers as suitable for broadacre cropping.

The added lure to its latest proposed NT buy was the 8021 megalitre irrigation licence on offer and its interest in joining the Territory's cotton-growing boom.

The Territory's first commercial cotton crops of around 200ha were grown in the 2018-19 season, with 800ha the following year and 4200ha in 2020-21.

The opening of a cotton gin near Katherine in December has also boosted the cotton expansion with 90 growers planting about 10,000ha of cotton last wet season.

The land sought by Duxton Farms is in the government-owned Wildman Agricultural Precinct which had been offered by the NT Land Corporation across 26,000ha, 135km east of Darwin.

Of the four areas of land in the precinct, the holding sought by Duxton Farms was the only freehold offering.

It is part of the former Wildman River Station west of Kakadu National Park

Duxton Farms' proposed deal needs approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board.

It already leases the 141,000ha (348,419 acre) Mountain Valley Station, 200km east of Katherine, in the NT where the company had flagged an interest in joining the cotton-growing boom.

The Adelaide Hills-based investment company says it needed to sell Timberscombe "in order to rebalance the portfolio".

Duxton Farms' core portfolio comprises owned and leased properties across NSW, Victoria and the NT.

The key commodities produced by Duxton Farms includes grain, oilseeds, cotton and livestock.

Duxton Farms bought the 1185ha (2928 acre) Piambie Farms near Swan Hill for $9 million in 2022.

The Piambie deal included 8854 megalitres of irrigation water.

Share prices in Duxton Farms have risen about 10 cents, to $1.55, since the latest NT land buy was announced.