Agribusiness - Johnson Winter & Slattery

We recognise Australia’s rapidly changing agribusiness sector, and have a dedicated agribusiness team with the necessary experience and expertise to assist with all aspects of the sector from on farm and farm gate to portside.

We understand the law, but more importantly, we understand the issues that each of the sectors comprising the “agribusiness sector” is facing in these changing times - such as water security, the cost of delivery to market and the requirement for investment in infrastructure and who will be tomorrow’s farmers.

Our experience covers:

Acquisitions & related matters

acquisitions and disposals of farm properties across a broad range of sectors, including cattle, cotton, row crops (dry land and irrigated), wheat and sugar, including preparing and negotiating purchase and sale documentation and detailed due diligence (including multi-state transactions)
acquisition and disposal of livestock and the National Livestock Identification System (NLIS)
water acquisitions and disposals, including water licences, water entitlements and water shares from government, private irrigation schemes and private water licence holders, including both surface (river) and ground (aquifer/bore) water and all works associated with water entitlements, including regulatory compliance across different states in relation to water trading
acquisition of farm equipment from both domestic and international suppliers, including letters of credit and shipping arrangements
regulatory consent regime for foreign owners and investors (FIRB)

Contracts & agreements

grazing/agistment agreements
share farming agreements, crop sale agreements and commodity supply agreements
farm management agreements with third party managers
sugar cane supply contracts between grower and mill (QLD and NSW) and fuel supply for bio-mass energy production

Leases & other matters

all aspects of land tenure associated with farmland, including freehold, pastoral leases and other long-term Crown leases, licensing of land from Crown (closed roads etc.) leasehold, forestry rights/profit a prendres and plantation licences and access rights and easements
ownership of land adjoining lakes and rivers and the law of accretion
branding and livestock identification (not applicable in all states)
mining interests and the interface with farming
environmental issues, including flora and fauna/critical habitat protection and the interface with farming
organic farming, including ACO and USDA requirements.