NZ Dairy Portfolio

The NZ Dairy Portfolio invests in conventionally managed farms and transforms them into resilient, ecologically robust, certified organic production systems, generating long term investment out-performance. The principle investment focus of the fund is a) Ecological/organic farming activity, with a focus on dairy production; b) The conversion of farming activities from conventional to organic production, where global trends progressively favour the resilience and economics of organic farming (lower costs of production, less exposure to rising input expense, typically a premium price for organic produce); c) New Zealand agriculture, which offers compelling opportunties.

The investment case is based on: a) Incremental return and reduced risk offered by organic agriculture versus conventional production; b) Potential for current income and capital appreciation through 'change of use' via the purchase of land and subsequent change of activity, designed to achieve both higher current returns and land values; c) Experience of the manager with regard to these activities and specifically these activities within New Zealand; and d) A long-term (six year) premium paying fixed price organic milk supply agreement.

By bringing together a small group of extremely knowledgeable and experienced individuals, Agro-Ecological has made farmland available to investors who operate an Impact Investment driven approach . More information at www.agro-ecological.com

Financial description

To generate financial performance through capital appreciation of land and the cash yield of farming operations. The major farming enterprise of focus is pastoral dairy (milk production) supported by beef, sheep, potentially mixed cropping and perennial systems (eg kiwifruit, apples etc.), amongst others. The target IRR range is 9%+ after fees, tax and carry (assuming 0% leverage).