Preserving Family Farms || Carolyn Suggate

Organic farming investment opportunities for co-investors

Carolyn Suggate from ORICoop

Through the establishment of ORICoop and embarking on the daunting journey of preserving family farms, we are excited to share our learnings and pathways towards seeing more farms retained by existing organic farming families, by aligning ethical co-investors to be part owners and to enable the next generation access to affordable and profitable organic farmland.

Raising capital and talking about investment is complex! It’s prickly with family, can go south with friends, and can be just plain awkward with others! To successfully preserve some of the existing, profitable organic farms around Australia - we need to explore ways to connect capital with people to protect the future of sustainable farming in Australia.

ORICoop has established a pathway for farmers to register their interest in seeking external capital in their family farm. There are some key steps in this process:

• Establish the physical parameters of farm

• Ascertain the family dynamics of a farm transition

• Consider the future production potential of the farm (and diversity)

• Establish a farm management plan for the next 5+ years

• Explore suitable investment structures based on the coinvestors

• Create an Investment Proposition that investors understand

This process takes time, trust and money. It’s not a fast process, and sometimes it doesn’t end the way you thought. This can be through family dynamics, capital appetite, profitability or farm management expectations.

Beyond the mechanical process of farm transitions, there is also an underlying pressure of how we as people view ‘farm ownership’ and investment. Including our expectations of returns, both financially, environmentally and socially. What if there was a new normal of ‘land commons’ that set aside significant land. That preserved it for our next generation of farmers, like land was in our earlier days. That land was valued on these key parameters of food, people, land and culture. And not just as a commodity that is ‘valued’ and extracted upon for what it produces.

We are excited by the variety of investment concepts across farmland that we are working on. Including organic cropping farms, organic dairy, multiple enterprise farms, vertical integration plus education and research opportunities. Over the coming months ORICoop will host a number of farm owner/investor think tank conversations. So farmers are empowered to formulate and structure the business, transition and investment strategy and deep dive their investment concepts with feedback from experienced and aligned potential investors. And to look at ways that we can support our farm members to raise additional capital they need to expand their farm, buy out a larger share or move to a new enterprise. We hope that you will join us as part of the crowd, either as a co-investor, a customer of the farm, or a supporter of the farmer!

These are the steps required for you to invest into these organic farmland opportunities:

1. Become an ORICoop member

2. Read our Disclosure Statement

3. Read the Investment Documentation provided

4. Nominate your Investment choice

5. Purchase Investor Shares here

As a co-investor you will get to enjoy the feedback on the farm. The annual report of your investment. And depending on the farm get to enjoy an investor visit over time as well!

Investment Criteria Guide

• Existing certified organic farmland (or managed organically)

• Suitable & appropriate farm management

• Located in suitable regional area (community and climate)

• Suitable farm infrastructure

• Business with good resilience & diversity

• Good water and land security