US giant quits NT cattle station amid carbon confusion

The US platform took over Benmara in May last year on its own after its original partner for the property, the Wealthcheck agricultural investment platform led by Sam Mitchell, collapsed.

While a cattle operation was planned as part of the Benmara business, Hartree’s main focus was the prospect of running a carbon offset scheme on the sprawling property.

The station has a carbon project registered with the Clean Energy Regulator based on the much-criticised human-induced regeneration method, but no credits have been issued. Instead, Hartree was awaiting the release of rules for more rigorous and wider-ranging offset processes.

But with delays to the “integrated farm and land management” (IFLM) and “savanna burning” carbon methods, the US platform has opted to quit its investment.

Rules for the new processes were initially due by the third or fourth quarter of 2024 but are not expected from the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water until late 2025.

That uncertainty has raised a question mark against further investment from the US giant.

“While we remained dedicated to the Australian market, we are reassessing our investment priorities until there is more clarity on new carbon methods,” Cheryl Bower, head of environmental origination in the Asia-Pacific, told The Australian Financial Review.

“Hartree took over management of the property upon acquisition on 10 May 2024 and appointed an experienced manager with 30 years of on-ground agricultural experience. We have invested over $1 million in improvements at Benmara since taking ownership, including repairs and upgrades to station infrastructure.”

Hartree is jointly owned by its senior management, along with funds managed by Oaktree, an arm of funds giant Brookfield, which specialises in alternative investments and has around $320 billion in assets under management.

John Connor, a climate policy advocate and chief executive of the Climate Market Institute, said investors had been waiting for certainty on the rules for the expanded IFLM method.

“There are significant delays. People think it’s the Wild West, but it [the carbon credit system] is actually heavily regulated. There are a number of sheriffs in this country,” he told the Financial Review.

Even with an exposure draft on the new rules due out by the middle of this year, it would be unlikely that any credits could be claimed before next year or the following year, according to Connor.

“We’re plagued by uncertainty even beyond the Trumpian and [federal] election uncertainty. It’s been unfortunate, and we’re burning investors and investment in climate solutions at a time when it’s urgent.”

In the interim, it is Benmara’s potential as a large-scale cattle breeding property that is coming to the fore, according to CBRE’s Andrew Loughnan and John Harrison, who have been appointed to broker the station.

Interest is expected from Australian pastoralists, institutions, overseas investors, and high-net-worth domestic investors, particularly those seeking a large-scale breeding operation to support a broader domestic supply chain, Loughnan said.

“Benmara has been largely destocked over the past 18 months. During this period, the property has benefited from good rainfall and better pasture growth, making the clean skin cattle an attractive prospect for an astute operator,” he said.

Meanwhile, another vast Northern Territory station complex, which also has an approved carbon project, has been put on the market by the family of the late pastoralist Don Hoar. It has expectations of $50 million or more.