MyFarm Sheep & Beef is a New Zealand sheep and beef farm investment and management company.
Using MyFarm’s successful 25-year dairy syndication model, we provide syndicate investments in high quality, large scale properties, and we manage these investments and their performance.
MyFarm Sheep & Beef is a joint venture between MyFarm and the Marshall and Duncan families from the Rangitikei district in the North Island. Together we provide the capability, experience, and accountability to successfully manage investment capital in this sector. To date we have invested over $60 million in sheep and beef farms, livestock and farm development, on behalf of local and international investors.
MyFarm sheep and beef is a joint venture between MyFarm and the Marshall and Duncan families from the Rangitikei district in the North Island.
The partnership combines the best of large-scale family farming and corporate farming knowledge with proven experience in syndication, governance, procurement, achieving operational efficiencies, gaining access to favourable contracts and building strong networks within the meat industry.
The principals of MyFarm Sheep & Beef include David Marshall, Douglas Duncan, Cliff King, Andrew Watters and Grant Rowan. All have been directly involved in running their own farming operations.
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Cliff KingDirectorDipAg, DipVal, NZIV, NZIPMOriginally an award-winning sheep and beef farmer, Cliff helped establish the New Zealand Rural Property Trust with particular responsibility for acquiring NZ$65 million of rural property throughout New Zealand in the late 1980's. Cliff was also responsible for purchasing, managing and subsequently selling the Dairy Brands operation in Canterbury and Southland.
Cliff is currently a director of a number of companies in both New Zealand and Australia. Cliff is recently retired as a registered valuer and a Justice of the Peace.
Cliff is active as a director on behalf of a number of investors who have invested in MyFarm properties, brings 'grey-haired' governance skills to the company and is also active in the purchase process for MyFarm's growing sheep and beef property portfolio.
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Douglas DuncanDouglas Duncan is Rangitikei-based farmer and is currently one of Silver Fern Farm’s largest sheep and beef suppliers through his prime stock business and his own family farming operations.
He is also a shareholder and director of agricultural businesses involved in agronomics, finance, merchandise and manufacturing.
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Grant RowanExecutive ChairmanB.AgSci (Hons), MBA (Distinc)Grant’s career is built on extensive farming experience that includes bull farming and dairy farming in Manawatu, and dairy farming in Southland. He currently owns three Southland dairy farms totaling 475ha and milking 1450 cows and was also runner-up in the 1998 Sharemilker of the Year competition.
As leader of the farm procurement team, Grant’s hands on experience enables him to cast a meticulous farmer’s eye over potential investment farms. During the past eight years, he has overseen the purchase of 68 farms for investing shareholder funds of approximately NZ$472 million. He also manages a team of 20 responsible for the supervision of 44 dairy farm businesses running a total of 28,700 cows.
Grant has a Certificate in Company Direction from the NZ Institute of Directors.
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Andrew WattersChief ExecutiveB.Ag, DipBus, DipBusAdminAndrew has extensive experience in practical farming and corporate management. In the mid-1990s, he held roles as Milk Supply Manager and Farm Services Manager with Kiwi Cooperative Dairies (a forerunner to Fonterra) and was instrumental in the development of Fencepost.com, an online dairy business management system.
He is a recipient of the coveted Nuffield Scholarship, awarded each year to future leaders within our primary industries. He and his wife Alison also won the New Zealand Sharemilker of the Year title in 2003, and still own a dairy farm milking 600 cows in the Wairarapa district of the North Island.
At MyFarm, Andrew is responsible for new business development and communication with the investor community on commodity price and farm investment trends. Under his leadership, MyFarm consistently raises NZ$40-$50 million per annum from private and institutional investors for investment in quality Southland and Canterbury dairy farms. He also led the development of Figured, a new online SAAS farm accounting and management package.
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David MarshallSheep/Beef, ProjectsBCOM, CADavid Marshall is a qualified accountant, a director of the sheep breed company Kelso, and has interests in dairy, sheep, beef and cropping farms in New Zealand and Australia.
His family farm, in the Rangitikei region of the North Island includes an expanding 900-cow dairy block, cropping, sheep and beef finishing.
He has also invested in four large-scale farms in Western Victoria during the past ten years. He currently retains a large shareholding in a 700-cow dairy farm he managed through conversion, at Warrnambool. Since joining MyFarm in 2007 David has played a key role in the due diligence, capital raising and business planning for MyFarm syndications.
MyFarm Sheep & Beef is a joint venture company, between MyFarm and two Rangitikei farming families, the Marshalls and Duncans.
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The MarshallsDavid Marshall runs a sheep and beef finishing farm at Marton, a 1400-cow dairy farm, and is a qualified accountant.
He manages the Kelso sheep breed business founded by his father Roger, whose life-long passion for the industry was recently recognized with a ‘Service Award for significant contribution to the New Zealand sheep industry.’
Kelso combines the finest characteristics of sheep found in New Zealand. The current population of 500,000 specially bred ewes produces 750,000 premium quality lambs each year.
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The DuncansOtairi station has been home to six generations of the Duncan family. The current owner Douglas Duncan, along with his sons Tom, Sam and Mark, are all involved in the family businesses which include large scale sheep and beef farming, finance, agronomics and manufacturing.
The Duncan enterprise fattens 60,000 lambs and 9,000 cattle a year on three Rangitikei farms. Douglas’s prime stock business supplies around 200,000 sheep and 25,000 cattle a year for processing, giving him extensive experience in identifying where good stock comes from. His role in MyFarm Sheep & Beef is to find new properties that fit with investor objectives and ensure they are stocked with the best quality sheep and cattle.
MyFarm Sheep & Beef has invested more than $60m in farms, livestock and farm development on behalf of local and international investors. We currently oversee seven farms totalling more than 5,000ha of premium quality breeding/finishing farm land. These farms produce over 45,000 lambs and 270,000kg of beef annually.
We select properties according to strict criteria around location, soil type, rainfall and contour, and our preference is for farms that have the ability to finish all home-bred. Ensuring that farms are the right fit for our business model means we complete due diligence on a large number of properties, but move to actual negotiation on a relative few.
Often these high quality farms have been family owned for generations, so the MyFarm Sheep & Beef model provides the option to release equity or provide a succession solution, as well as introducing new capital to lift the productive potential of the farm.
MyFarm Sheep & Beef brings together the best of large-scale family farming and corporate farming knowledge with proven experience in syndication, governance, procurement and farm policy as well as strong networks within the meat industry.
Our role in establishing the farm business includes producing a business plan and memorandum of information, and then sourcing an investor group with common objectives, complementary skills, and experience. We then manage the partnership formation process, including sourcing debt finance proposals, coordinating initial shareholder meetings, forming a Board of Directors, appointing a farm manager, and sourcing capital stock and plant.
A key part of our business model is working with the Board of Directors for each farm to develop the annual budget and strategic plan, as well as setting clear, achievable and measurable targets.
We report back to shareholders on these financial and production targets on a quarterly basis. These reports have been built around the requirements of our institutional investors and encompass benchmarking between farms and industry figures, local industry data and information, KPI tracking and commentary, as well as profit/loss and balance sheet reporting.
In the case of institutional investors and managed funds, the senior members of the MyFarm Sheep & Beef team fulfil the Directors’ roles of these farming businesses.
MyFarm Sheep & Beef handpicks farms that will benefit from capital investment and have significant growth potential.
We look for the ideal mix of location, soil type, rainfall and contour. The business model focuses primarily on increasing yields and productivity through high protein forage crops, and securing price certainty through forward sale contracts.
Access to equity capital means the businesses are well capitalised and able to focus on the essential development required to increase productivity, such as cropping, fertility and infrastructure. We use proven animal genetics to ensure maximum conversion of pasture to meat production.
Quality farms, combined with MyFarm’s ability to provide clear, deliverable strategies and opportunities to grow equity, are attracting high calibre sheep and beef farm managers.
A combination of proven practical experience, an understanding of the requirements of working within a corporate model, and a progressive approach to implementing new technologies and strategies, are all part of the strict criteria used in the selection of managers for these investments.
Farmers employed to manage these properties will be provided with the tools they need to succeed in the industry. To enquire about equity partnership or management positions please contact us.
Kaiangaroa Station
Paying Dividends: MyFarm’s sheep and beef business model and management structure was put under the microscope by Sandra Taylor with a visit to Kaiangaroa. Published in Country-Wide magazine »
Te Awa Rua Station
MyFarm model impresses farmer: Tony Riley is doing a job he loves in an industry he is passionate about and feels supported and appreciated by his employers – MyFarm Sheep & Beef.
He is manager of Te Awa Rua, a 1040ha (750 effective) sheep and beef farm east of Te Kuiti, syndicated in October 2012 by MyFarm and owned by a German investment company. As the crow flies the property is less than 20 kilometres southwest of MyFarm’s newest Sheep & Beef syndication, Ngaponga Limited Partnership at Ngaroma.
As the previous manager of the property before syndication, Tony was approached by MyFarm to undertake the new management role and says MyFarm’s respect in the agricultural industry played a big part in accepting the position.
“I knew there would be high expectations, but also the support to enable you to perform,” he says.
He is impressed with the models and benchmarking systems introduced by MyFarm that demand proficient data collection and monitoring on his part.
But he also appreciates the robust and challenging discussions around management decisions.
“They are some of the best guys I have worked with in the industry - there are no personal agendas, the focus is completely on what is best for the business,” he says.
Tony has already seen the effect that capital investment has brought to the property – new fencing, a four year forecast of pasture development underway, plans for new yards, and upgrading of the water systems.
He says from a personal point of view, capital investment has brought the farm back up to an operational level where it is possible to deliver on results expected in a five year plan.
Tony says knowing that the long term plan for capital investment must be carried out (as part of the Overseas Investment Office conditions of sale) means the farm is constantly being improved.
“That’s important, because it can take five years to get stock performance completely established and the improvements help you achieve that goal.”
Te Awa Rua winters 5000 ewes, 1500 hoggets, 82 rams and 336 R2 bulls on a mix of easy hill and flat country, with 250ha still undeveloped. The area is generally summer safe and escaped the worst of the recent North Island drought, although was extremely dry.
“We managed our way through the season making decisions together,” says Tony, “you just have to get on with the job.”
There is an awareness of investor expectations that comes with the role, but no more than his personal desire to deliver results anyway.
“You are well supported and well rewarded for a high performance job,” he says.
Sheep and Beef Opportunities
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We are actively seeking quality farms with high productivity potential. Please contact Tom Duncan 027 445 5031.
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MyFarm Sheep & Beef works with private investors who want to own their own Sheep and Beef farm.
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