Learn how we’re leading the way.
Read the below testimonials from the Leading Harvest Australian Founding Members.
Manulife Investment Management:
Manulife Investment Management’s agriculture portfolio in Australia is mainly comprised of almond, premium winegrape, cotton and cereal production in South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.
“At Manulife Investment Management, we recognize the importance of sustainable farm management. As a founding member of Leading Harvest in the United States, we are excited for the launch of Leading Harvest in Australia and are proud to be part of a growing community that will innovate to find efficient paths to achieve the shared sustainability goals embedded in the Leading Harvest program. Verifying such outcomes using an independent, third-party auditing process that certifies real progress on the farm is consistent with our commitment to transparent assurance for our clients, employees, and communities in which we operate. We believe the Leading Harvest Farmland Management Standard opens the code of a sustainable future – and the future of what will be demanded from agricultural production.”
- Brian J. Kernohan, Chief Sustainability Officer - Manulife Investment Management.
goFARM Australia:
goFARM Australia’s agricultural and horticultural portfolio includes broadacre cropping in the Mallee, dryland and irrigated cropping, almonds, citrus, and tomatoes in northern Victoria, and horticulture developments in Tasmania.
“At goFARM, we’ve always worked to enhance our environmental footprint across soils, carbon, water and vegetation. We know this is not just the right thing to do, but it makes good business sense. This means investing in best practice farming systems and water efficient irrigation technology to enhance productivity and resilience, while cultivating biodiversity and natural capital. This vital work is being done by farmers and agribusiness across Australia but can be challenging to navigate different industry and supply chain sustainability initiatives.
Until now there has been no unifying, independently audited sustainability standard our industry can use to track and measure sustainable farming practices. goFARM is proud to have contributed to the development of Leading Harvest’s Australian ‘Farmland Management Standard’, recognising and defining best practice and sustainability standards for Australia in a practical and achievable way.
We look forward to measuring ourselves against the 13 principals in the program and the opportunity to identify how we can continually improve our farming practices and management systems.
Across its portfolio, goFARM has dug more than 15,000 soil pits to inform bespoke soil amelioration activities and installed more than 14,000km of irrigation drip tube to optimise water use efficiency. Leading Harvest will help us track initiatives like this that contribute to critical areas such as soil health and conservation, protection of water resources and adoption of best practices.
This way, we can not only give reassurance to investors that we are doing the right thing, but also fulfilling our purpose – to deliver innovation and capital solutions that propel growth in Australian agriculture and leave behind a positive legacy for all to be proud of.”
- Liam Lenaghan, goFARM co-founder and Managing Director
Warakirri:
Warakirri Asset Management represent several funds including Warakirri Cropping, Warakirri Diversified Agriculture Fund, and Warakirri Farmland Fund. These portfolios are majority represented by row crop, open land horticulture and permanent crops, in six states.
“Warakirri’s proud history and long-term experience in agriculture has taught us those agricultural investments committed to environmental sustainability, positive social impact and responsible management, produce higher and more sustainable long-term returns. Over more than 25 years, our investors’ expectations on sustainability have evolved and they are increasingly seeking sustainable investment strategies from asset managers such as Warakirri. Following a successful 12-month pilot across multiple sectors in which we have participated, we feel confident the program standard is robust and sets the benchmark as a sustainability program that is now tailored to the Australian agriculture environment.
While several sustainability frameworks exist, following the evolution of this pilot we believe this holistic program is best suited to drive positive change in the agricultural industry in Australia and promote sustainable practices and deliver long-term value for investors. Our participation in this program aligns with our mission to invest and operate ethically and sustainably and will ensure Warakirri remains at the forefront of, and as a leader in, sustainable agricultural investments.”
- Jim McKay, Managing Director
Altora Ag:
Altora Ag is row crops in NSW, Victoria, Queensland and WA.
“The Altora Ag story is one about finding the right opportunities, embracing possibility and growing together. We found this as participants of Leading Harvest Pilot Program in Australia and look forward to continuing to be an enrolled member in the Program. As Australia’s largest broadacre agribusiness, we have adopted an integrated approach to safety, wellbeing, environment and our role within the communities we operate within. We know a farm is not just another place of business. It’s a home, and it’s part of a community. We look forward to continuing to maintain and adopt regenerative farming practices that balance the material needs of people, our plant and our shareholders, as we put sustainability at the forefront of our strategies and operations.”
- Shane Bird, Chief Executive Officer
Stahmann Webster:
Stahmann Webster is a tree nut producer – pecans, walnuts, macadamias and almonds – in Tasmania, NSW and Queensland.
“Stahmann Webster welcomed working with Leading Harvest and the various pilot participants to come together to identify material areas of sustainability for review, reporting and continuous improvement. For 180 years, we’ve been guided by the Australian spirit, and as Australia’s fourth oldest farming company (established in 1831) we have come to understand the importance of sustainability and regenerative farming practices. We view our participation in initiatives such as Leading Harvest as essential for a purpose-built, paddock-to-plate organisation with a resilient supply chain for safe and healthy foods that support sustainability and asset stewardship. We look forward to continued involvement with Leading Harvest and enrolled members as we share our efforts and commitments to the planet and the people we serve.”
- Ross Burling, Chief Executive Officer
Southern Premium Vineyards:
An owner of vineyards across South Australia and NSW.
“Southern Premium Vineyards looks forward to continuing our responsible stewardship of the natural resources we operate and furthering our positive community contributions through our enrolment within the Leading Harvest Program. We recognise that important matters such as sustainability and regenerative practices require systemic management and commitment from organisations such as ours. I am proud of the activities our people have undertaken in this space and the ongoing work in advancing the enablers of climate mitigation and adaptation.”
- Matt Alexander, Chief Executive Officer
Australian Food & Fibre:
AFF is a cotton producer in NSW.
“AFF embraced the opportunity to be part of the Leading Harvest Pilot and is now a supportive enrolled member of the Program. We were proud to share both our regenerative farming practices and lessons learned from implementation of the Australian Cotton Industry’s voluntary farm and environmental management system ‘myBMP’, which provides self-assessment mechanisms, practical tools and auditing processes. We look forward to continuing to partner with Leading Harvest and its member base as we have done with Cotton Australia since the original BMP program began in 1997. As custodians of the land, adopting sustainable and regenerative practices on our farms is important to us to ensure the future of our communities and our industry.”
- Joe Robinson, Chief Executive Officer
RRG Capital Management:
RRG farms table grapes in Victoria.
“The investments of RRG Capital Management (RRGCM) around the world are centered around smart, sustainable strategies for scaled food production in concert with land and water conservation – managing natural resources to meet the needs of both people and the environment. We were pleased to work with Leading Harvest here in Australia to test and apply its new standard, an independent and comprehensive approach that signals alignment with customers, investors, and lenders. At the same time, the new standard is specifically designed to provide farm managers with more efficient compliance processes and actionable, flexible applications. RRGCM supports initiatives that aim to bring sustainability to the agriculture industry as a whole, and we see Leading Harvest as a scalable and meaningful tool to further that goal.”
- Simon Jongebloed, CEO of RRG Australia Pty Ltd