Southwell Land & Water

An open letter from Rob Southwell, Southwell Land & Water Southwell Land & Water is a leading independent agency that specialises in selling rural property and irrigation water assets.  After 15 years of operating a leading NSW real estate franchise, we designed a business model to better suit the future needs of our clients.  We saw an opportunity to do more for our clients by being independent and specialist.  We sell land and we sell water assets, nothing else. Specialising allows us to spend maximum time on the sale of each property with zero conflict of interest.   We understand that over the lifetime of a farm investment, which might be five years or even one hundred years, about 30% of income from that investment is generated from the activity of farming, be it raising livestock or growing crops.  The remaining 70% is generated by the capital appreciation of the land asset.  Most farmers have little experience when it comes to realising that capital appreciation.  They are great at growing crops and generating profit however they rarely get a chance to work in the capital realisation space.  I have seen plenty of growers with experience in buying farms but little or none when it comes to selling.  Their initial approach is based around their buying experience.   Selling the farm requires an entirely different approach – a whole different kettle of fish as it were.  Also selling the farm is nothing like selling a commodity. When we decided to specialise we looked closely at the product we were selling and decided that a lifetime of effort by our clients needed somebody who was a specialist and dedicated to the sale of that asset - be it water, land, or somebody to tidy up the farm machinery at the end of the job with a clearing sale. Unlike typical agencies we are not trying to be a pastoral house, or trying to be your banker. We don't want to sell your livestock, and we won't take your listing just to fill up our shop window or internet page to make ourselves look good.  When we're talking about farms, it's sometimes a one-in-a-100 year transaction that requires absolute dedication and full-time commitment.   Most importantly, we are a family business that understands family farms.  Our name is highly recognisable and synonymous with gaining superior results with integrity.   We have a quality rural contact database built up over 35 years of doing business throughout the eastern states and we come with a reputation for hard work and attention to detail.   We are a small company producing big results.  Marketing is our forté and is what attracted me to selling properties after many years in the farm machinery business.  I get a big buzz out of presenting a farm to its absolute best.   Right from the start I was drawn to irrigation properties with all their complexities and uncertainties. I think they frighten a lot of agents but I love the challenge.  Let's face it, selling an irrigation property is a complex business.  You really need to understand water, water licensing, works approvals, when you can water, when you can't water. Over my lifetime I've witnessed sheep farms turn into wheat farms and then into irrigation fields.  There's a lot at stake.  To be able to present any farm and get the best results for the people who have developed that property is very satisfying indeed. I spend a week each month in our Sydney office maintaining contacts within the corporate world including agricultural advisory specialists, super fund managers and overseas investment representatives – and we aim to keep these contacts in order to provide a full service. We work throughout NSW and southern Qld. When you dig right to the bottom of it, what we sell is trust. When someone has worked at building an asset over generations they need to be able to hand the sale to someone they can trust. Do I trust somebody who has been selling my cattle for the past thirty years and doing a great job or do I need to find a specialist? We do nothing else.  We're not in the business of listing, when we're engaged to sell a property we explain the process so that vendors can make informed decisions. We gather market intelligence for our clients and then work out a marketing plan.  Marketing is our strong point.  We've won so many awards we don't keep them anymore. Narrabri is at the cutting edge of agriculture in Australia which is why we moved our family here in 1983. If you take a four hour drive radius around Narrabri you'll find the best farming in Australia – Toowoomba and the Darling Downs, St George and Roma, Walgett, Coonamble, Warren the Liverpool Plains. Narrabri as a town boasts a very high level of agricultural research that includes the University of Sydney and the Australian Cotton Research Institute.  It's a very educated community and I’ve been told we have more PHD's per head of population than anywhere. A great cross section of people from all over the world come here for research. It's been a great place to bring up our children, all of whom achieved tertiary education at the University of New England. I have a passion for fly fishing and clay target shooting (cast and blast) but tragically I’m not very good at either.  Selling Land and Water is what I am good at!