Growth Farms Australia

The firm generates returns through two primary channels: operational yield from agricultural production (crops, livestock, horticulture) and long-term capital appreciation of the underlying land and water rights. Each sector-specific fund targets its own return profile — cropping funds emphasize yield stability through scale, while horticulture funds weight capital appreciation higher due to development premiums on permanent plantings. Land appreciation has historically contributed 40-60% of total returns across the portfolio.

The firm targets broadacre cropping (wheat, barley, canola), livestock (beef and sheep), dairy, and permanent horticultural plantings (almonds, citrus, macadamias, wine grapes). It explicitly avoids intensive animal production such as poultry and pork, which carry higher operational complexity and regulatory risk. The firm also does not invest in agricultural technology startups or ag-tech venture capital — its focus remains on direct land and operational assets.

Acquisitions are sourced through a network of rural real estate agents, farmer retirements, and off-market negotiations — the firm rarely competes in public auction processes for premium properties. Properties are assessed on a combination of soil quality, water security, climate resilience, and operational scalability. The firm's agronomists and farm managers conduct due diligence alongside the investment team, evaluating each asset's capacity to be aggregated into larger, more efficient operational units.

David Sackett, as Managing Director and founder, chairs the firm's investment committee and maintains final authority on acquisitions and fund strategy. The investment committee includes senior agricultural investment professionals and external advisors with commodity-specific expertise. Operational management of individual properties is delegated to employed farm managers and agronomists, while portfolio allocation decisions remain centralized at the Melbourne headquarters.

Unlike listed farmland REITs, Growth Farms does not mark assets to daily market pricing and is not subject to public-market volatility or redemption pressure. Unlike agricultural private equity funds, its vehicles are not structured with a fixed seven-to-ten-year liquidation horizon — funds are open-ended or long-dated, designed to hold land through multiple commodity cycles without the forced-sale dynamic that compresses returns in PE roll-ups. The firm also directly operates its farms rather than leasing them entirely to third-party operators.