Global Capital Eyes Farmland: Insights from New York

The tone at last week’s Global AgInvesting conference in New York confirmed a clear recalibration of global capital allocation priorities. Institutional investors are actively seeking exposure to real assets with income, security, and sovereign stability, while stepping back from regions with elevated geopolitical or regulatory risk. Australia and New Zealand farmland — and the credit secured against it — stand out as prime beneficiaries of this thematic shift.

Key feedback from the conference matched what we’re seeing on the ground:

• Caution toward China and Canada has materially increased compared to previous years, with investors citing concerns over regulatory unpredictability and geopolitics.
• Australia and New Zealand remain attractive — seen as offering U.S.-style market dynamics from a decade ago, with legal clarity, consolidation upside, and scalable production models.
• Real assets are in favour — particularly those offering stable returns, inflation defensiveness (especially in light of potential Trump-era tariffs), and low correlation to equities.
• Liquidity is king — investors want exposure to assets that generate yield and offer defined exit pathways.
• Returns expectations are realistic — across meetings with key institutional allocators it was clear that 8–10% from a secured credit product is highly attractive.
• While ESG remains important, the focus has shifted towards returns, risk management, and real-world utility like food security.

Why it matters for our portfolios

These trends validate our long-standing strategy: lending at modest LVRs (currently 54% portfolio average) secured by productive, income-generating farmland across Australia and New Zealand. Our ~$700m agriculture credit book is underpinned by borrowers who invest in water infrastructure, productivity upgrades, and long-term land value — translating to cashflows and repayment paths, even amid localised weather or market fluctuations.

Australian farmland has delivered a 3.4x capital uplift since 1994 (refer to the graph below), outperforming equities, gold, and bonds. This long-term growth, combined with attractive income generation and strong structural demand for food security, positions agricultural credit as a compelling opportunity — not just for domestic lenders, but increasingly for global capital seeking yield, stability, and scalability.

Sources: Australian Broadacre Farmland Growth: ABARES Farmland Price Indicator (Broadacre Farmland), Gold Price Growth: ABC Bullion, ASX Growth: S&P Global Market Data, US Treasury Bond Data: U.S. Department of the Treasury.