Regenerative Farming – A visit to AFF’s Tocumwal Property

Last week, I had the pleasure of visiting Australian Food & Farming’s Marabou property, a purpose built 1,539 hectares farm in New South Wales which is part of the company’s ambitious plans to become Australia’s premier lamb brand.

Whilst the expansive size of this one property was significant, the company possess a further 15,000+ hectares in Western Australia with more than 9,000 dorper lambs spread amongst the properties.

Upon arrival at Marabou, what was most striking were the lush green pastures within the property at a time when draught has forced neighbour pastures to run dry.

One of the keys to the company’s business model is the drought protection measures in place where strategic location selections on each Australian coast provide measures to reduce the impact on the farm’s operations, which is assisted by access to bore water and sizable water storage facilities.

Fundamental to this property’s ability to maintain their green pastures was the regenerative farming methods which AFF have been implementing since purchasing the property in 2017 at a minimum, when much of the land was delapdated. This regenerative farming intertwined with the practice of livestock cell grazing is integral to AFF’s strategy of having fresh pastures for their 9,000+ dorper lambs to graze on, year round.

Left: Bare paddock prior to any cropping or regenerative work.
Right: Regenerated paddock ready for livestock grazing.

Guided through the property by Farm Manager, Greg Ingram, we are able to see how various paddocks in different periodic stages, were being regenerated through barley, oats, millet and lucerne.

Through these practices, AFF is able to ensure they have green pastures year round between their east and west coast properties, where the scale of AFF’s operations enable transit across each coast for $15 per lamb, just a fraction of the $150 sale price of a plump lamb – just one of the drought protection measures employed by AFF.

Dorper lambs in a paddock, preparing to move to a fresh one for grazing.

Whilst on the farm, we are able to meet the local butcher who had just carved two lambs and told us a bit more about the product which goes to market. Showing each individual cut of meat, what was most impressive was the low fat content and minimal wastage which gives the meat a shiny gleam, attractive for market.

Included in our tour of the farm was lunch, where we are able to taste the various cuts of dorper lamb. At the end of the day, the success of the farm will ultimately depend on the quality of the product, which in the author’s view was exquisite.

Overall, the day was a terrific way to witness the entire paddock-to-plate journey and how this progressive business is well on its way to becoming Australia’s premier lamb brand.

Australian Dorper lamb from paddock to plate.

Investors seeking an investment opportunity not correlated to global markets could consider the AFF Key Advantage Fund which targets 15% p.a returns and can learn more here. 

** Reach Markets are the advisors assisting on with the management of this offer and may receive fees depending on whether an offer is taken up by investors.