The New Zealand Superannuation Fund is in the hunt for more dairy farms, have bought its first, a dairy property in West Otago.
It's the first step in the Super Fund's rural land strategy in which it could invest up to $500 million in New Zealand and overseas.
The fund has appointed South Island-based farm management and consultancy company FarmRight as investment manager.
FarmRight chief executive Jim Lee says it's actively looking at further farm purchases in New Zealand for the Super Fund and the focus at this stage is on dairy farms.
Mr Lee says FarmRight will manage the Super Fund's first farm in West Otago and any others it buys.
The company runs more than 40 properties in the South and North Islands, mostly dairy farms with a total of 34,000 cows.
Meanwhile, record-high commodity prices are stimulating further investment in the rural sector.
Andrew Watters is a director of MyFarm, a company which buys, sets up and runs farms on behalf of investors.
Mr Watters says the firm has been fielding many calls from investors keen to take advantage of the dairy sector's rosy long-term outlook.
The ANZ Commodity Price Index rose for the fifth consecutive month in January.
