By Gerelyn Terzo, Global AgInvesting Media
Less than a year after taking the helm of Impact Ag, Hugh Killen has architected a key partnership, thrusting Australia’s regenerative agriculture industry into the spotlight. Impact Ag Partners, an Australian-owned firm that specializes in agricultural investment and development, and Macdoch Australia, which invests through a foundation that carries its name, have partnered to accelerate investment into regenerative agriculture and ecosystem services. With the deal, Macdoch Australia builds on its foundational investment in holding company Impact Ag Partners by acquiring a meaningful stake in a new investment vehicle called Impact Ag Australia.
With approximately A$1 billion (US$679.3 million) in AUM, Impact Ag oversees about 620,000 acres under management across Australia and the United States, including mixed farming, livestock, broadacre cropping, permanent tree cropping and natural capital. Through the Impact Ag platform, investors gain exposure to profitable regenerative ag and natural capital development. However, according to Killen, who will serve as CEO of the new company, there is still more work to be done on this front.
Killen points to a funding gap amid the transition from conventional global food systems to regenerative ag that amounts to a minimum of US$250 billion annually over a decade, saying, “And as global nature and climate crises escalate, the need for transition in agricultural land management is only becoming more urgent.”
He further explained how Macdoch’s support for Impact Ag Australia will allow him to focus on accelerating the company’s impact in Australia, including the unlocking of further co-investment opportunities as well as strategic partnerships with investors whose commitments are aligned with transitioning Australian agriculture for nature and profit. As part of the deal, Macdoch Australia’s 8,000-hectare (19,768 acre) beef cattle operation, dubbed the Wilmot Cattle company, will operate under the umbrella of Impact Ag Australia’s Farm Management division.
Impact Ag and Macdoch have collaborated alongside one another for the better part of two decades, including the trading of Australian soil carbon credits in the global markets (involving Wilmot Cattle). However, the bigger commitment enables them to achieve greater scale in regenerative ag practices.
Alasdair MacLeod, executive chairman of Macdoch Australia, was named chair of the new entity. MacLeod stated, “Hugh Killen brings deep expertise in leadership, finance and agricultural production at scale – and under his management, I am very confident that Impact Ag Australia is well positioned to deliver for an investor community that is increasingly looking to incorporate natural capital solutions into their portfolio.”
Impact Ag’s Killen shared on LinkedIn how Impact Ag Australia will “amplify the long relationship between the two organizations, powering growth and investment in regenerative agriculture and natural capital in Australia.” The new company, he continued, has set out to prove how investing in natural capital and integrating regenerative ag practices will bolster farm productivity and profitability while also strengthening the resilience of ag land and decarbonizing ag across the industry, supply chain and investors.
“We will do this by building on our investment management expertise in Australian rural land, managing these assets with our practical regenerative farming experience, and applying our unique IP that generates and monetizes natural capital and ecosystem services, delivering positive financial and environmental returns,” Killen added.
Impact Ag Australia joins the firm’s U.S. counterpart, Impact Ag Partners, which is solely owned by the holding company and led by Bert Glover. “Our US business today manages over 500,000 acres of farm and ranch land under regenerative systems and is quickly scaling its natural capital initiatives (in particular, its carbon projects), while deploying capital into a current US$2 billion pipeline of
opportunities,” Glover said.
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