Westpork restarts plans at Dandaragan

 

Westpork restarts plans at Dandaragan / Moora for $28 million piggery development

 Sunday, 31 July 2022

 Agriculture Countryman News Renewable Energy WA News

 Westpork restarts plans at Moora for $28 million piggery development

 'Biggest' in southern hemisphere

Shire of Dandaragan chief executive officer Tony Nottle said he was surprised by the scale of the proposed piggery.

"It is a very large piggery proposal and at its full extent will probably be one of the biggest piggeries in the southern hemisphere," he said.

 

Recap: 2017

A plan to establish a very large piggery in the Shire of Dandaragan, about 25 kilometres north west of Moora, has prompted concern from those on neighbouring properties.

The proponent Westpork Pty Ltd has submitted an application for planning approval to develop two piggery modules with a capacity to house 68,000 pigs, in a farrow to finish or breeding to finish operation.

There is also a longer term site plan for a third module on the property that would cater for another 34,000 pigs.

The council has invited submissions on the proposal with their 24-day comment period closing on Wednesday, March 22.

Westpork purchased the rural-zoned property in late 2016.

It is surrounded by mixed farms, with three residents within two kilometres of the proposed piggery.

Mr Nottle said due to the project's size, the council would make a recommendation but the Joint Development Assessment Panel would make the final decision.

"We are not against economic development for our shire," he said.

"We are not against the piggery as such — it is just the scale and enormity of this enterprise has just come completely out of the blue for us.

"Our concerns are obviously the size of the enterprise, where the sheds are going to be located in our local landscape."

"This submission is over 500 pages long and it's on a disk," Mrs Brown said.

"The time and length and sheer volume of its pretty overwhelming."

 

The Road to Moora is a Very Good One

 WA Governor Kim Beazley has wrapped up a tour of Moora and Dandaragan, visiting several agribusinesses to learn about horticulture, livestock and tourism developments.

“I have had the best day in Moora — wonderfully looked after by Shire of Moora president Tracy Lefroy and her team,” he said.

“It is such an impressive town.

“It respects the arts and culture, is totally innovative in agriculture and has a great local history museum among the many other superb attributes.”

WA Governor Kim Beazley looking at the medical tool, equipment and clothes owned by resident Doctor George Lloyd Myles at Moora Historical Society. Credit: Adele Hollywood

Mr Beazley said West Australians should visit the Wheatbelt town to appreciate its economic importance.

Moora Citrus WA orchard manager Shane Kay Governor Kim Beazley at Moora Citrus. Credit: Adele Hollywood

“The road to Moora is a very good one,” he said. 33km east of Dandaragan WA.

Shire of Moora president Tracy Lefroy, who is also a local farmer, said the Governor’s tour formed part of his regional visit program.

“I love that we are lucky enough to have a Governor who wants to understand what makes the regions tick,” she said.

“In Moora, it is our willingness to engage with sport, recreation, the arts and tourism which make our town thrive and makes us tick.

“This in turn attracts business to the region as we are such a great place to live and work.

Mrs Lefroy said the visit provided an incredible opportunity to take stock, from industry to the arts, sports and recreation, tourism and education.

“We wanted to communicate to the Governor that Moora is a town where things are really happening at every level,” she said.

“We have new industry coming to town with Harvest Road Group’s Koojan Downs cattle finishing facility and the upgrade to CBH receival site means our backbone of agriculture is continuing to flourish.”

Harvest Road general manager Kim McDougall with WA Governor Kim Beazley at the Koojan Downs Cattle Feeding Facility. Credit: Andrew Bennett

Mr Beazley visited Koojan Downs to see the beef agriculture investment business which forms part of Harvest Road Group’s portfolio of food brands, exporting to more than 40 countries.

Harvest Road Group will build a $70 million cattle finishing enterprise at Koojan Downs. It will supply 60,000, 100-day grain finished cattle to Harvey Beef’s processing facility.

The property, which totals more than 7000ha from four lots, straddles the shires of Dandaragan, Moora and Victoria Plains.

Koojan Downs will be designed to supply 60,000, 100-day grain finished cattle each year to be processed at Harvey Beef.

Harvest Road general manager of Agriculture Kim McDougall said the Governor’s visit was an opportunity to demonstrate how the company’s long-term investment in the $70m Koojan Downs feedlot facility was part of its commitment to creating a sustainable and world-class beef supply chain in Western Australia.

“It’s an honour to welcome the Governor to Koojan Downs and showcase how Harvest Road’s feedlot facility will unlock value for beef producers and support employment opportunities across regional communities by creating an interlocking production chain from the north to south west of the State based on best-practice ecological planning and animal welfare management,” he said.

“The Governor is a passionate advocate for our State and it’s a great chance to demonstrate how our business is collaborating with the surrounding community and with cattle and grain suppliers to create industry best practices in animal welfare, environmental sustainability and operational efficiency.”

Mrs Lefroy said each sector of the Moora community and economy was working together to ensure that Moora remained vibrant.

Mr Beazley said the town’s facilities and people had “energy far beyond” what he had envisioned.

Mrs Lefroy and Mr Beazley discussed the barriers to innovation and education in the region, including telecommunications.

“Every industry, every educator, every healthcare service provider relies upon internet and telephone services,” Mrs Lefroy said.

“Current internet service provision is well and truly sub-optimal and we would love to see significant investment from government and private sectors in improving our telecommunications infrastructure here in the regions.”

“This investment would repay itself with improvements in productivity, the opportunity to decentralise industry and viable provision of remote education and health services.

She noted that Moora brands itself as being a region of opportunity.

“As a service centre, and with a massive geographic catchment zone, Moora is home some exceptional facilities and services,” Mrs Lefroy said.

“A big part of this is being open to new business opportunities in our region. Moora is thrilled that the Harvest Road Group is heavily committed to its ‘good neighbour’ policy whereby the staff of the enterprises integrate into the town and community in which they work.”

Wheatbelt Development Commission senior regional development officer 

Daniel Waterhouse,

Harvest Road group business development manager

Tom Puddy,

Harvest Road general manager

Kim McDougall,

Shire of Moora president

Tracy Lefroy,

WA Governor

Kim Beazley,

Wheatbelt Development Commission Central Midlands senior regional officer Rebecca Kelly,

RSA Contractors project directors:

Brendan Ostwald, Prue McGee, and Koojan Downs manager Sean McGee

Mrs Lefroy said the Koojan Downs venture offered benefits to the community ranging from employment, training, and a domestic feed grain market as well as flow-on effects to the town’s retail, education, sport and arts facilities.

“The sense of pride and ownership in this project is tangible within the town and we cannot wait to be involved,” she said.

“In turn, we want to welcome Koojan Downs to our region and we're working with the Wheatbelt Development Commission to ensure that our road infrastructure is appropriate to handle the large volume of traffic, with 1200 head of cattle per week in and out of our region.”

Mr Beazley also visited the Moora Shire office, the historical society, Candy’s Bush Reserve, and Moora Speedway where the Yued Mural showcases Indigenous night sky stories and the heritage of the local people.

Moora is nestled amongst a diverse range of economic opportunities and strategically located between two of the State’s most popular tourism attractions — New Norcia and the Pinnacles.

Moora is the largest regional town between Perth and Geraldton and provides a wealth of services.

 

Dambadgee Springs Dandaragan

 The Dambadgee Springs project is a 1,600 Ha property located in Dandaragan, Western Australia, 1.5 hours north of Perth.

The property was purchased in March 2017 for $4.2 million and has traditionally been operated for small grain and livestock production. The property is located in a reliable 600mm rainfall zone and is highly productive for traditional agriculture.

Alterra has completed a pre-feasibility study for conversion into intensive dairy and has commenced a pre-feasibility in relation to the potential for developing water to support high value tree crops including SHD olives, citrus, pomegranates and table grapes.

In May 2020, the company sold 913 hectares of the property for $3.1 million. The 727 hectares retained by Alterra contains the $2.5 million of contracted income from Yandin Wind Farm as well as surface water resources with development potential and areas suitable for livestock, plantation forestry and carbon forestry. 

Alterra expects to receive approximately $100,000 p.a. (net of costs) from a combination of leasing the retained land and wind farm income with an estimated ongoing annual return of investment (ROI) of 15 per cent based on the remaining equity held by the company.

Alterra Sells Part of Dambadgee Springs for $3.1M

Highlights 

• Alterra enters contracts to sell 913Ha for $3.1M

• Funds will be redeployed to support Alterra’s avocado development projects 

• 727Ha retained including the $2.5M Yandin Wind Farm income stream

• Alterra to continue adding value on remaining land

Alterra Ltd (ASX:1AG) (Alterra or the Company) is pleased to announce it has entered two contracts for the sale of its “Dambadgee Springs” property totalling 913 hectares of the 1,640-hectare property to a local farmer. 

The property was purchased in March 2017 for $4.2 million plus stamp duty of $0.2 million.

·       Contract 1 valued at $1.6 million is subject to finance (30 days) and expected to settle on or before 10 July 2020. 

·       Contract 2 valued at $1.5 million is subject to finance (30 days), land survey and subdivision approval.
Contract 2 is expected to settle on or before 20th January 2021. The buyer has agreed to lease the area contained in Contract 2 for the 2020 cropping season.

The area retained by Alterra includes the $2.5 million of contracted income from Yandin Wind Farm as well as surface water resources with development potential and areas suitable for livestock, plantation forestry and carbon forestry. 

The partial sale of this non-core asset will enable Alterra to access additional working capital to advance development operations at the Company’s projects in the South West region and retire debt on the Dambadgee Springs property.

Of the funds received from the sale:

• Contract 1: $1.3 million is expected to be retained for working capital with the balance utilised to retire debt

• Contract 2: $0.7 million is expected to be retained for working capital with the balance utilised to retire debt

 Based on completion of the above sales, the Dambadgee Springs property is currently achieving a six per cent internal rate of return (IRR) and 18 per cent return on investment (ROI).

Post settlement of Contract 2, Alterra expects to receive approximately $100,000 p.a. (net of costs) from a combination of leasing the retained land and wind farm income with an estimated ongoing annual ROI of 15 per cent based on the remaining equity held by Alterra. 

“Alterra is prioritising its development activities in the South West of Western Australia and the majority of capital released from this sale will be redeployed into Alterra’s avocado investment program, including the recently announced Carpenters Project in Pemberton,” said Alterra Managing Director Oliver Barnes.

“Alterra intends to continue adding value to the remaining land at Dambadgee Springs through pasture improvement for grazing as well as carbon and plantation forestry.”

- END -

About Alterra Limited Alterra is an originator, developer and manager of in-demand agricultural assets with a focus on ‘land use change’ opportunities in Australia, developing underutilised land and water into the next generation of agricultural assets capable of supplying premium whole foods. Alterra drives sustainable growth to leave a positive social, environmental and economic legacy to unlock investment-grade returns. Visit alterra.com.au for more information.

 

For investor enquiries, please contact: Oliver Barnes, Managing Director P: (+61) 08 9204 8400   E: obarnes@alterra.com.au

 For media enquiries, please contact: Tessa Dempster, Media Relations P: (+61) 415 640 665   E: communications@alterra.com.au

Here is another version of this local story

A PORTION of a premium property at Dandaragan, known as Dambadgee Springs, is in the process of being purchased by local farmers.

Dambadgee Springs was part of the iconic property Yathroo.

The property of 4170 hectares was listed on behalf of two vendors: the ASX-listed company Alterra and Mat and Jade Stoney, of Stoney Agri.

The portion that is close to selling is owned by Atlerra, which comprises 1640ha.

Alterra has retained 727ha of the offering, resulting in 913ha being bought by a neighbouring farming family for $3.1 million, equating to $3395 per hectare.

Alterra purchased the property in 2017 for $4.2m or $2561/ha.

This indicates an increase in value of about 24.5 per cent over three years.

Farm Weekly understands the buyers are cropping focussed farmers and the portion they purchased was the broadacre part of the parcel and will be included in in their 2020 program.

The buyer has also leased some of the land that Alterra retained that will also add to their 2020 cropping program.

The marketing of Dambadgee Springs is being handled by Steve Vaughan, Ray White Rural WA and Terry Norrish, Nutrien Harcourts.

It's understood that the portion of Dambadgee Springs held by the Stoneys is likely to be purchased by two buyers - a farmer/farming family and an agricultural business.

The portion still held by Alterra, of 727ha, includes a $2.5m income stream from the Yandin Wind Farm, surface water resources and areas suitable for livestock, plantation forestry and carbon forestry.

Alterra managing director Oliver Barnes said the company would still continue to add value on the remaining land until it decided to divest it to suit its investment model.

"The plan is in time to realise that investment and redeploy that capital in the South West region," Mr Barnes said.

"We have a short to medium-term view of holding this property.

"There's ongoing investment in the Dandaragan region, particularly very close to that property in feedlotting and finishing cattle and we think demand for land in that region will continue to increase."

Mr Barnes said the property was marketed to appeal to a broad range of buyers and it attracted strong interest, including those looking to hold agricultural land as a passive investment, but the natural buyer turned out to be a neighbour.

"I guess the opportunity doesn't come up that often to add additional land to their operation and they were very familiar with operating in the region - with those soils and that climate, so they had a good understanding of what the value attributes of the property were," he said.

"It's also nice to be able to transact with and support neighbouring farmers in the region."

Moving forward, Alterra plans to focus on its 300ha avocado investment at Pemberton, the Carpenters Project.

The land and water resources for the project have been leased from Red Moon Property Holdings Pty Ltd, an entity related to the Casotti Group, Western Australia's largest privately-owned fruit grower, packer and wholesaler.

Mr Barnes said the company was not currently seeking additional assets to develop.

Yandin Windfarm goes online

West Australia’s largest wind farm, Yandin, goes online.

The Yandin Wind Farm, a 212MW wind farm and western Australia’s largest wind farm has gone online and is officially operational. 

The wind farm completed electrification and delivered its first output to the Western Australian state grid, also known as the South West Integrated System (SWIS). 

The Yandin Wind Farm that began construction in July 2019, located in Dandaragan, Western Australia, around 175 kilometres north of Perth, is a joint venture between Ratch Australia and Alinta Energy with the investment in the wind farm is being managed by Alinta. 

The Yandin Wind Farm is estimated to have cost approximately US$400 million to construct the 51 turbines, that each have a capacity of 4.2MW.

Currently, only the first 34 of the 51 4.2MW Vestas turbines have been installed. 

The contracting company, Decmil, revealed the connection to the Western Power network, through a new 330kV terminal and 10km transmission line. 

The contracting company had the US$79 million contract to complete the civil and electrical design and construction, including wind turbine bases, access tracks, site cabling, switch room and substation.

Article supplied by:

ByCukia M

Jul 16, 2020  Construction Review online

 

Foreign Corporate Buys more Dandaragan Land

Foreign corporate adds to ag portfolio

Mollie Tracey13 Apr 2020, 6 a.m.

KLK Farms Pty Ltd is a Malaysian-owned company which operates a large scale mixed farming enterprise in Western Australia and recently purchased a premium Badgingarra property. In the Dandaragan Shire.

It's understood KLK paid about $6 million for a 1148 hectare mixed enterprise farm situated at Badgingarra, Dandaragan Shire

MALAYSIAN-owned company KLK Farms Pty Ltd has added to its vast Western Australia farmland portfolio by purchasing a property at Badgingarra.

Farm Weekly understands KLK paid in the vicinity of $6 million for 2150 Badgingarra Road, Badgingarra, of 1148 hectares in the Dandaragan Shire

While Elders real estate sales specialist and selling agent Kris Teakle declined to confirm the sale price, she said "it is a magnificent farm where someone could just walk straight in and continue on farming".

"It was a very well presented and top selling property in the Badgingarra/Dandaragan area," Ms Teakle said.

"The property is so versatile that it really lends itself to any type of operation.

"The vendors previously had a Poll Dorset stud and I believe the buyers intend to run cattle, so the only thing they would really need to add would be cattle yards."

The property was marketed as a 'jewel in the crown' with good soil types, quality pastures and good infrastructure, including a stunning rammed earth house.

As well as having an average annual rainfall of 550 millimetres, the property had abundant water.

Ms Teakle said she received strong enquiry from local buyers and some from South Australia and Victoria.

All of KLK's Australian agricultural land investments are in WA and including this recent purchase, it's freehold landholdings total 58,555ha.

According to the company's 2019 annual report, it has no leasehold investments in Australia.

Despite the head office of its parent company Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad being in Malaysia, the company has an extensive history of farming in WA, having owned land in the State for more than 40 years and has been steadily growing its portfolio over the past several years.

As outline in its latest annual report, KLK's WA farmland investments include:

Cattle and grain property Chilimony Farm, at Northampton, of 16,189ha;

Erregulla Farm, Mingenew, measuring 10,238ha for sheep and grain production;

Grain and cattle property Wyunga Farm, Dandaragan, spanning 14,418ha;

Jonlorrie Farm, at York, of 4927ha, which is a sheep and grain property;

Warrening Gully Farm, Williams, covering 5119ha for sheep and grain production; and

Grain and sheep property Tatchbrook Farm, Arthur River, measuring 6516ha.

KLK's other investments around the world include the manufacturing, plantation and property industries throughout Asia and Europe.

It is regarded as a palm oil producing giant, which is its core product.

KLK reported that in FY2019 its Australian farming businesses "improved substantially", with a profit of $10,500,372 compared to profits in FY2018 of $1,260,045 by increasing crop production with higher yields and a larger cropped area.

Both the vendor and buyer declined to comment on the sale, I wonder why?

Milsearch Completes Dandaragan's Yandin Wind Farm Project

 

Milsearch completes Unexploded Ordnance Remediation of Yandin Wind Farm in Dandaragan.

Decmil Group Limited, on behalf of Vestas and Alinta Energy, appointed Milsearch as specialist contractor to complete the geophysical survey and remediation of potential unexploded ordnance contamination, prior to the commencement of any construction works.

Comprising 51 turbines and due for completion in 2020, Yandin Wind Farm is Western Australia’s biggest wind farm located approximately 175km north of Perth. 5km south of Dandaragan. The designated 7.5ha project area overlapped the former Cataby Artillery Range, the former Dandaragan Artillery Range and the former Yatheroo Field Artillery Range.

Due to its extensive working history in Western Australia, Milsearch is well aware of the geological nature of the area and the types of Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) that might be encountered. After being awarded the project following a successful tender process, Milsearch deployed its Western Australia based survey team to conduct a 100% UXO survey and remediation of the area.

Milsearch’s Chief Operating Officer, John Halmarick, commented “Milsearch has a great deal of UXO experience in Western Australia and we are delighted to be working with Decmil Group Limited on a project as significant as Yandin Wind Farm. The renewable energy sector is a key market for Milsearch and we are also pleased to continue our relationship with Vestas, which has seen Milsearch provide UXO expertise on windfarm projects in South Australia, Queensland, Western Australia, Vietnam and Sri Lanka.”

Redgum Village Dandaragan.

Vestas Windfarm Projects

Vestas passes 1GW mark for wind orders in Australia in 2018, with 184MW WA project

Global wind energy giant Vestas notched up more than 1GW of turbine orders in Australia over the course of 2018, as the large-scale renewable energy market continues to boom Down Under.

The company reached the milestone in late December, after winning the engineering, procurement and construction contract to build a 184MW wind farm in Western Australia, a project being developed by Bright Energy Investments.

The Warradarge Wind Farm, which is on track to begin construction later this year in the state’s mid-west, has since been given the green light by the WA state government

The site for the wind farm, near the town of Eneabba, has been praised by both Vestas and newly appointed state energy minister Bill Johnston for its “abundant” wind resource.

“The wind farm will have a total output of 180 megawatts with a 50pc capacity factor – the equivalent of the average annual electricity needs of 135,000 WA homes,” Johnston said in comments earlier this month.

“The state government remains committed to ensuring a transition to a renewable energy future at the lowest cost possible to WA taxpayers.

“By developing renewables projects, we are demonstrating our commitment to ensuring our State meets its 2020 Large-scale Renewable Energy Target obligations.”

Vestas says the project will feature 51 V136-3.45MW turbines delivered in 3.6MW Power Optimised Mode with hub heights of 84 meters to maximise performance in its specific wind conditions.

The wind farm also signals a new focus for Vestas on the WA market , which has lagged behind the rest of Australia on large-scale wind and solar installations.

This happily coincides with a new focus on large-scale renewables by the Labor McGowan government, which late last year opened up the state’s south-west interconnected network to just under 1GW of new big solar and wind, and appointed a new energy minister – Johnston – to shepherd the process.

“We are extremely pleased to work with Bright Energy Investments on this project,” said Vestas Asia Pacific President Clive Turton in comments.

“It has extraordinary wind conditions and will make an important contribution to powering Western Australia with competitive renewable energy.

“After the Warradarge Wind Farm comes online, Vestas will have an installed base of 561MW in Western Australia, expanding our service footprint and capability to support future projects in the state.”

Bright Energy Investments (BEI) is a joint venture between state-owned gen-tailer Synergy, global infrastructure fund DIF and super fund Cbus.

The group’s general manager of investments, Tom Frood, said the “high calibre of the parties involved” and the appointment of Vestas would ensure that wind farm was delivered on-schedule.

“Synergy has a strong history in Western Australian solar and wind assets, and is committed to increasing its renewable energy portfolio, and Vestas’ rich industry expertise and proven track record will ensure that the first power generation is on track for 2020”.

Vestas has also signed up to a 30-year Active Output Management 5000 (AOM 5000) service agreement, designed to maximise energy production for the lifetime of the project.