PGG to set NZ farmers up in Victoria

PGG Wrightson has established a rural real estate operation in Melbourne to cash in on increased demand from New Zealand farmers for dairy farms in Victoria and other parts of Australia.

PGG Wrightson real estate general manager Stuart Cooper put annual turnover in the Victorian farm sales market at A$1.1 billion, with the bulk of that being dairy farms.

He said the local farm real estate market was worth $3.5 billion a year.

He would not say how much PGG Wrightson hoped to earn from the Australian venture.

But he said commissions in Victoria averaged up to 3 per cent, meaning PGG Wrightson will be competing for a potential income pool worth tens of millions of dollars there.

The company has operated in Australia for decades and Cooper said the company had, on an ad hoc basis, earned some money in the past helping New Zealanders buy land in Australia through others.

New Zealand interest in Australian dairy farms was varied, some younger farmers saw cheaper land there as a start-up opportunity while more established farmers wanted cheaper land and higher milk prices, as well as the ability to free up capital put into Fonterra shares.

The transtasman diversification partly mirrored a trend in 2001 which saw some Waikato farmers buy properties in areas such as Southland.

"Now you're getting people who're diversifying in [Australia] as well."

The new Melbourne operation is going through the final stages of regulatory approval.

A core team of about six has been recruited and more will be sought.

Sales partnerships have been formed with other Victorian agencies to expand access to property listings.

PGG Wrightson chief executive Barry Brook said there were substantial opportunities for developing New Zealand-style dairying in Victoria and other temperate areas of Australia.