A breakdown of cattle station ownership has revealed the changing face of the northern pastoral industry, with family owned-and-operated stations in decline following a string of big-budget buy-ups by corporates.

Since 2011, the number of Kimberley stations owned by individuals has dropped from 19 to 11.

There has also been an increase in overseas ownership. Of Western Australia's 454 station leases, seven per cent are in foreign hands, up from two per cent in 2011.

Chairman of the Kimberley Pilbara Cattlemen's Association David Stoate said it was a positive development as the new owners brought much-needed funds and employment to vast and often remote properties.

"We've seen a few notable families exit the industry in the last few years and those stations have been brought up by a mix of corporates, so we've seen a bit less family ownership and a bit more corporate ownership over the last few years," Mr Stoate, who owns and runs Anna Plains station south of Broome, said.

"That's generally a positive trend, where the industry needs capital investment and those large corporates in a good position to provide that.

"When the corporate agri-businesses come in, they're looking to upscale, so they've invested in the properties, they've intensified the operations and generally made a lot of improvements and that flows through to the community, so we'll be able to see the benefits of that in the coming years."

David Stoate, who owns and runs Anna Plains Station in the Kimberley, says increased foreign ownership is bringing much-needed investment to the region. ( ABC Kimberley: Courtney Fowler )

Proud new owners

The new players are a mix of Australian billionaires, investment companies and overseas investors, all of whom are keen to capitalise on strong beef prices and growing Asian markets.

In recent years, mining magnate Gina Rinehart has paid around $100 million for three Kimberley stations, including the historic Fossil Downs, which up until 2015 had been owned and run by the Henwood family for 133 years.

Then in 2016 the company Consolidated Australian Pastoral Holdings paid an estimated $100 million for four Kimberley stations, a price tag thought to have set a record in the region for a single purchase.

Among the new breed of owners is Bruce Cheung, a Hong Kong-based businessman who bought Pardoo Station in 2015.

Since then he's spent around $13 million upgrading infrastructure, expanding the herd, and developing irrigated pastures.

Brett Blanchett, who has been brought on to manage the station, said it had been exciting to see.

"Bruce Cheung came to Australia looking for Australian investments. Agriculture is not his primary business, but he was really looking for an agricultural investment where food security and food safety was paramount," Mr Blanchett said.

"As you can imagine there is a big capital draw early on, so it's a good example for the naysayers of foreign investment.

"All of the infrastructure that's been put in here is here to stay, the bores, the pivots, the roads, the fences, everything's actually here and it can't be moved."

Nothing to Fear



While some may feel nostalgic about the decline of the 'ma and pa' cattle station, the industry attitude is one of pragmatism.

Any investment is good investment, especially if there are flow-on benefits for smaller and Indigenous operators via transport links, new markets and investment in research and development.

Cattle stations are seen as a good investment on the back of strong beef prices. ( Supplied: Caddie Brain )

Veterans of the industry point out there has always been foreign and corporate ownership, with the Kimberley pastoral industry in particular built upon British and American investment.

WA Nationals leader Mia Davies said while the party's successfully campaigned for greater transparency around foreign investment, the trend should not be a cause for alarm.

"I think that any investment in regional WA is positive — it creates jobs and , it creates opportunities," she said.

"It does need to be monitored, we are always cautious about that.

"And the Nationals have always had a very strong position on that, but for me I feel very positive about some of the changes that we've seen over the past few years."

Bucking the trend

Annabelle Coppin is bucking the trend, owning and running Yarrie Station with her husband and two young children.

She says the corporatisation of the industry brings great opportunity, so long as the industry can pull together.

"These guys have got the connections to the global market far more than us, so if they can build a strong supply chain, and can collaborate with us and use our beef as well and we work together as a whole, that's great, that's what we welcome," she said.

"What we don't want to see is what the iron ore industry has done in the Pilbara, where they all compete with each other in the global market place,

"We need to be a bit smarter, work together and market ourselves globally as Australian beef, whether you're corporate, a private property, a mining companies lease, or an Aboriginal lease, because we're such a small industry in Australia to such a large market internationally."