Synopsis
Chapter 21
Synopsis
Synopsis
Business Definition And Legal Entities
Clyde Agriculture Limited is a privately owned company that is principally in the business
of producing food and fibre. Food production includes wheat, barley, chickpeas, canola,
cottonseed, beef, lamb and mutton. Fibre production consists of cotton and wool. With
operational headquarters in Bourke, the Company owns and operates nineteen rural
holdings/aggregations in northern NSW and Western Queensland upon which these
commodities are produced.
Additionally, the Company operates a cotton gin to process its own cotton, as well as that
of other growers. The Company also owns the Port of Bourke Hotel.
Clyde Agriculture Limited is owned 100% by John Swire & Sons Pty Ltd, the Australian
holding company for the UK based Swire Group.
Clyde has two subsidiaries: Darling River Cotton Pty Ltd, which operates the cotton gin at
Bourke, and Wesbeef Agencies Pty Ltd, a licensed stock and station agent which operates
only on behalf of the parent company.
The Company normally employs approximately 120 permanent staff.
Philosophy And Broad Strategy
Clyde’s aim is to take a long term position in Australia’s food and natural fibre industries,
successfully combining the best traditions of the Australian bush - care of the land its
people and its animals - with the sensible use of appropriate modern technology and
techniques.
It aims to consistently achieve growing profits, at an acceptable rate of return on the level
of assets employed, by:
• Spreading its enterprise mix across cotton, wool, mutton, lamb, beef and cereal/
oilseed crops, whilst retaining the benefits of focus/concentration;
• Accepting Australia’s inherent rainfall variability and cushioning its financial impact by
having a geographic spread of holdings across districts with differing rainfall averages
and patterns;
• Maintaining operational flexibility on the pastoral properties by conservative stocking
of core breeding livestock and taking up additional capacity with more flexible (dry)
trading stock;
• Being at least as efficient as the top 20% of family farmers;
• Owning and operating only ‘AAA’ properties;
• Fostering a high level of maintenance, land and animal care, including creating a
responsible culture that gives emphasis to the health and safety of employees, and
commitment to the principles of ecologically sustainable development;
• Having scale in each unit and continually monitoring both the performance of each
unit and the individual activity performance within each unit;
• Employing quality management at all levels;
• Minimising bureaucracy and overheads;
• Concentrating on being large scale family farmers and resisting proposals to extend
into processing;
• Accepting that it is largely in the commodity business, and thus subject to volatile
markets and long term adverse price trends;
• Cushioning the impact of price volatility and the cost/price squeeze by
- The commodity spread referred to above;
- Applying the benefits available from scientific and technological developments
to produce quality products at the lowest possible unit cost (most commonly by
increasing “yields”);
- Flexibly marketing its products by taking full advantage of pricing opportunities as
they occur, separating the functions of pricing and delivery and utilising forward
physical pricing and other risk management mechanisms.
Production decisions are always made against the background of the need to protect, if
not enhance, the resource base for the benefit of future generations.
The Company strives to adhere to the Swire Group ethos of always taking the long term
view and being mindful of the Group motto - “Esse Quam Videri” (“to be rather than to
seem to be”).
 Synopsis

Principal Assets And Their Location COTTON FARMS

The Company’s principal assets and their location are as follows: Developed Area Sown
‘Green’ Acres 2004/2005
Name Location
GRAZING & FARMING PROPERTIES *** Hectares Acres Hectares Acres

Area Ave. Annual Rainfall Beemery 1,935 4,781 1,374 3,394 Bourke, NSW
Name Location
Hectares Acres mm Inches Brewon 1,102 2,723 704 1,740 Bourke, NSW

Bourke, NSW
Bundemar Park 2,067 5,108 1,272 3,144
Beemery (1) 51,929 128,317 53 km E of Bourke, 360 14.40
NSW Latoka/Longmeadows 2,603 6,432 1,358 3,355 Bourke, NSW
Brewon 42,612 105,295 77 km SW of Walgett, 406 16.25
NSW Rumleigh 1,257 3,106 886 2,190 Brewarrina, NSW
Bundemar Park 4,573 11,300 32 km NE of Trangie, 505 20.20
NSW Toorale 2,064 5,101 1,062 2,623 Bourke, NSW
Clover Downs 125,420 309,914 68 km SE of 362 14.50
Cunnamulla, Qld TOTAL AREA 754,252 27,251 6,656 16,446
Janbeth 7,220 17,840 Bourke, NSW 348 13.90

Lakeside 1,337 3,303 36 km S-E of Walcha, 1,000 40.00

NSW These irrigated cotton farms produce between 50,000 and 65,000 bales of high-quality
Longmeadows (1) 7,203 17,799 Bourke, NSW 348 13.90 cotton lint, and 16,000 to 20,000 tonnes of cottonseed annually.

Merrimba 18,879 46,651 70 km N of Warren, 425 17.00 The Company adopts a rotation policy of two years in cotton then one year out - possibly
NSW sown to wheat for its agronomic benefit. Developed land is laser levelled to a slope of
Netherway 12,565 31,048 31 km N-W of 450 18.00 1 in 2,000.
Coonamble, NSW
Oxley 35,168 86,900 95 km N of Warren, 430 17.20 Water storage capacity is 69,400 megalitres with the aim being to have available 8.75
NSW megalitres per sown hectare. The largest single storage is Janbeth which has a capacity of
Pier Pier 29,420 72,696 70 km NW of 420 16.80 13,300 megalitres, and covers an area of 360 hectares, with 9.4 kilometres of storage wall.
Coonamble, NSW Evaporation rates amount to 1.8 metres per annum.
Toorale (2) 91,383 225,807 60 km SW of Bourke, 338 13.50
NSW Pumping from the Barwon/Darling is limited, inter alia, to times of substantial river flows
Thylungra 281,563 695,743 126 km NW of Quilpie, 285 11.40 and is governed by simultaneous river heights at both up and downstream gauges.
Qld
Wingadee 31,193 77,077 47 km N of 485 19.40
Coonamble, NSW Cotton Gin
Wirribilla 4,921 12,159 30 km S of Walcha, 900 36.00
NSW The cotton gin is located at Bourke and has an annual and seasonal capacity of 60,000
745,386 1,841,849 to 70,000 bales. The gin is a “combined gin” in that it incorporates both a conventional
COTTON saw- tooth section, with three Continental Eagle gin stands, and a roller gin for the
FARMS processing of extra-long staple ‘Pima’ cotton.
(Exclusive)
Ferguson (3) 2,760 6,820 Bourke, NSW 348 13.90 The two sections share common infrastructure, including a modern high-density press.

Latoka 3,400 8,401 Bourke, NSW 348 13.90

Rumleigh 2,265 5,598 Brewarrina, NSW 360 14.40

8,425 20,819

Trafalgar 388 959 Bourke, NSW

Homestead
Weir Farm 53 130 Bourke, NSW

TOTAL AREA 754,252 1,863,757

*** Where the Cotton Farms are within the boundaries of grazing holdings, the area is included in the
grazing holding.
(1 & 2) These properties are run in conjunction, as single units.
(3) There are 6.13 hectares of Chardonnay grapes on Ferguson.
 Synopsis

Stations Clyde Agriculture Organisation August 2007

The Stations normally run 129,000 breeding ewes (119,000 Merino, 10,000 first cross),
36,000 wethers, 12,650 breeding cows and 6,500 steers. These, together with lambs, ewe
weaners, calves and heifers, result in sheep numbers peaking at around 350,000 head and
BOARD
cattle at around 36,000 head.

Some 30,000 hectares are designated for winter crop production, including some country
in a lucerne rotation. Crops grown include wheat (with the aim of producing prime hard
high protein grades), canola, chickpeas and barley. Considerations in determining crop CEO
type or fallow, centre on moisture, nutrient, disease and economic factors. Total annual
grain, oilseed and pulse production can be as high as 60,000 tonnes.

Executive Assistant

No. ‘Perman- Peak No. ‘Perman- Peak

Name Breeding ent’ Sheep Breeding ent’ Cattle
Ewes Wethers No. Cows Steers No.
GENERAL MANAGER GENERAL MANAGER
COTTON OPERATIONS PASTORAL
Beemery (1) 11,000 2,000 29.000 1000 - 2200

Brewon 12,000 - 30.000 800 - 1800 COMPANY ACCOUNTANT

Clover 32,000 3000 78.000 1000 - 2200

Downs Assistant
FARM STATION
MANAGERS Accountant MANAGERS
Lakeside - - - - 3000 3000
Beemery Management
Accountant Beemery
Ferguson
Merrimba 12.000 - 30.000 350 - 800 Payroll Officer Brewon
Janbeth
Clover Downs
Laloka Account
Rumleigh Payable Clerk Lakeside
Oxley - - - 4000 - 10000
Toorale Storeman Merrimba
Netherway
Pier Pier 12,000 - 30.000 800 500 2500 Oxley
AGRONOMY Pier Pier
Toorale (2) 12,000 7,000 37.000 700 - 1500 Thylungra
Toorale
Wingadee
Thylungra 18,000 16,000 60.000 1800 - 4000 GIN
Wirribilla

Wingadee 10,000 1,000 25.000 1000 2000 4200

PORT OF BOURKE Overseer
HOTEL Bundemar
Wirribilla 10,000 5,000 28.000 1200 1000 3500 Park

WORKSHOP
TOTAL AREA 129,000 36,000 347,000 12,650 6,500 35,700
Aircraft

(1) Includes Longmeadows

(2) Includes Janbeth Bourke/Brewarrina District Based
(3) Border Leicester/Merino cross ewes
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Northern Murray Darling Basin

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NSW Properties
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Queensland Properties