Two investors on Wednesday announced an Australian partnership focused on ecosystem services and regenerative agriculture.
The Australian arm of family office Macdoch and US-based agricultural investor Impact Ag Partners have launched a vehicle called Impact Ag Australia, they said in a press release.
Macdoch Australia has taken a “meaningful stake” of undisclosed size in Impact Ag Australia, they said.
Alasdair MacLeod, executive chair of Macdoch Australia, is now the chair of Impact Ag Australia. The son-in-law of media entrepreneur Rupert Murdoch, MacLeod is a newspaper publisher turned soil carbon entrepreneur.
“Macdoch and Impact Ag Partners have worked closely together for nearly 20 years, but now is the time to build a more significant partnership and scale up,” said MacLeod.
The CEO of Impact Ag Australia will be Hugh Killen, who is also the CEO of Impact Ag Partners, following a role as chair at Climate Asset Management.
“We will demonstrate how investing in natural capital and adopting regenerative agricultural practices will increase farm productivity and profitability, rebuild the resilience of our agricultural land, and concurrently decarbonise agriculture for our industry, supply chain partners, and investors,” Killen said in a comment on LinkedIn.
“Killen brings deep expertise in leadership, finance, and agricultural production at scale,” said MacLeod.
“Under his management, I am 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 portfolios.”
Impact Ag Partners manages approximately A$1 billion ($660 million) across over 250,000 hectares of land in Australia and the US.
“As global nature and climate crises escalate, the need for transition in agricultural land management is only becoming more urgent,” Killen said.
In 2021, Impact Ag became one of the first organisations to trade Australian soil carbon credits via its Wilmot Cattle company, it said.
By Thomas Cox – t.cox@carbon-pulse.com
*** Click here to sign up to our twice-weekly biodiversity newsletter ***
