McKinlay grazier Russell Pearson voiced the opinion of many at the inaugural Barcaldine beef forum last Friday when he said he didn’t mind what nationality his neighbour was, so long as his calves were returned.
The pros and cons of foreign property ownership was one of many issues canvassed by the five-member panel of nationally recognised industry leaders that debated their vision for the 10 years ahead for beef in Australia at the local show-affiliated event.
Along with Mr Pearson, NAB Melbourne senior analyst, Phin Ziebel, Mort & Co feedlotter, Brett Campbell, Oakey Beef livestock manager, Kurt Wockner, and Ruralco national manager, Andrew Adcock, had an audience of 100 for the forum and subsequent dinner.
Mr Pearson said the beef industry over the years had been built on foreign investment, citing AACo, Terra Firma and NAPCo.
Look at Vesteys or King Ranch – none of them took the country back with them.
- Russell Pearson, McKinlay
“Look at Vesteys or King Ranch – none of them took the country back with them.”
Debating the decision by Shenzhen-based Dakang Australia and partner Australian Rural Capital (ARC) to pull out of their $370.7 million bid for the iconic S Kidman & Co cattle enterprise, RuralCo’s Andrew Adcock predicted that Chinese interests would still become the owners, once the federal election was out of the way.
“There’s still a lot more money to come out of China,” he said. “They are tipped to invest more in 2016 than last year.”
NAB’s Phin Ziebel agreed that foreign investment had long been a feature of Australian agriculture, citing the vertical integration of dairying.
The panel speculated on western Queensland’s property market, with Mr Adcock saying people would aggregate land for agistment.
“People love investing in what they know,” he said, saying that families would still invest in property.
Mr Pearson thought there would be opportunities for joint ventures, amalgamation of leases and start-up ventures when the drought finally breaks.
“At the end of this drought, some interesting things will happen,” he said. “There will be some heartache too.”
Speakers agreed that live export would be a continuing good news story, with the proviso that more work be done in brand differentiation in an increasingly competitive market.
Mr Ziebel said Australian beef was a great product and “gave us a seat at the table” but if we didn’t capitalise on it, we would get left behind.
He agreed that a diversity of markets was good for Australia now.
Mr Pearson told the forum that a load of prime steers from Australia to Mexico last year, despite the proximity of Brazil to that country, spoke volumes about the value of Australia’s disease-free status and quality.