Transcription
They grace boardrooms and high rises around the world, that these two brothers find their true contentment in the dust and dirt. That's why I've been out here so much, mixing with the animals, being out on the land, and then, and yeah, mixing with the people that are doing the day-to-day jobs for us.
Here in Central Australia is one of their jewels, the largest organically certified land parcel in the world. Consisting of four properties, now we tour Glen Helen, Derwent, and Nap. It adds up to almost 2 million hectares, just northwest of Alice Springs, and carries more than 35,000 head of cattle.
But their operations aren't confined to just the Northern Territory. Ben and Mick Hewitt's empire stretches from the Red Centre to Julia Creek to the western districts of Victoria, with cattle and sheep stations and pig farms dotted across half the country. In all, they run 200,000 head of livestock across more than 2.2 million hectares on 20 major aggregations of cattle and sheep stations. Hewitt is one of Australia's largest landholders and the biggest organic meat producers in the country.
But to see them mixing in the stock camp, they clearly are still very in touch with their roots. And it was very authentic. "Like we just grew up, you know, as wild bush kids, I suppose. And what a childhood it was." They have 120 years of pastoral lineage. Parents Colin and Linda Hewitt founded the Hewitt Cattle Company in Central Queensland in 1987. They instilled a strong set of principles and tenacious work ethic in their offspring, as well as good business sense.
"So they were, they were sort of taking less developed blocks, developing them, and actually starting to really up the productivity of those pieces of land that they operated on at that stage and really set the foundations for what we're doing now, really."
The brothers say their differences have been a powerful asset. In his role as agribusiness manager, Ben oversees a lot of the decisions in production management, while CEO Mick takes the broader deals and supply chain. "If you can figure out really points of difference, but also, as I say, strengths and weaknesses, and I guess own your own patch, that's where it works best because you're not kind of in each other's face."
"I will be eternally grateful for the rest of my career and my life to have a brother like Ben, who has allowed me to express my greatest strengths. And in doing so, I've allowed him to express his greatest strengths. And it's our superpower. We're very lucky from that perspective."
Colin and Linda Hewitt handed over to the sons in 2014. And the ambitious brothers started to spread their own wings. "We got to go up and work on large cattle stations in the north. And we kind of saw what scale delivered in terms of opportunity. And so that, I think, that kind of got the creative cogs churning. And then it was a case of, well, actually, how do we go about doing that?"
But borrowing from the banks wasn't a model they wanted to pursue. "The traditional debt-funded family model didn't seem to be really the route of, you know, I talk to people all the time, think big. And that's really what we did. And we, and we, as a result of that, we then went and had a look around for strategic partners to help us invest. And really, the rest is history."
An answer came knocking in 2015, in the form of a Canadian handshake. Canada's Public Sector Pension Investment Board was looking to partner up and invest in agriculture. They manage the superannuation of Canada's government workers, including the mounted police and armed services.
"It certainly wasn't the luck of the draw or or that was that they didn't get stumbled across. It was quite a concerted effort to find someone who would partner with us and actually provide the strategic support, I suppose, and the financial support for us to be able to take advantage of those opportunities that we could see."
The Hewitts set an important precedent. "We were one of the first, if not the first platform that established that way in Australia, really, that private and institutional wealth partnering. And as part of that, we're extremely proud of the fact that we're hopeful that one of our legacies will be that we pave the way for other families to actually explore that and maximize that type of investment structure."
It seems it was a reassuring first foray for PSP. Since then, the Canadian company has spent $4 billion on agricultural assets globally. It is now one of the largest farmland holders and investors in Australian agriculture. "We didn't necessarily set out to be the biggest or the boldest, or whatever it was, it was just to buy the right assets, and then let the journey take itself along, really."
The family started with four stations. With Canadian investment, Hewitt spent more than $500 million to expand the hoofprint of their property portfolio, venturing into free-range pigs and organically raised sheep. "It has been difficult, actually, to be honest. And it's, it's quite humbling, because you've got to learn a lot of things from the start again."
The Hewitts say their Canadian partner company has let them steer the land acquisition. "It was a monumental undertaking, but I'm not sure it's quite finished yet either."
The Hewitts reject criticism of foreign land ownership and say capital diversity is critical in this country. "There's all manner of ways to raise capital to grow a business, and it's naive to suggest anything other. The capital, of whatever form, provided it comes from high integrity sources, should be able to deliver great prosperity to communities across Australia."
As to why they've leaned so hard into organic production: "This was very obvious to me, that was a space that really needed to make that transition if you live from cottage to real industry. And so having the scale or the emergent scale that we had, it was just, I just really identified it as something that was worthwhile pursuing."
Central Australia has been an ideal match for those ambitions. The region is fast becoming dominated by organic production. "Very fertile soils, with a lower rainfall, there's less pests and diseases, you know, the grasses are sweeter, there's a lot, lot less inputs required in this area. So that's what makes it perfectly suited for organic production, really."
It also fits their production philosophy of sustainability first. Looking after the land is paramount. The sustainability initiatives don't just end at the farm gate, though; the company wants to see the plans extend right throughout the entire supply chain. They've reduced packaging by 75% on their main line, Cleavers. They also have carbon-neutral products and plan to expand further, ensuring you're producing the most amount of kilos of protein for the least amount of impact.
"What we are interested in, I guess, is actually how do we develop new methods, whether it be ways to capture carbon through carbon sequestration or carbon abatement initiatives."
Hewitt employs 300 staff who seem just as passionate as the leaders. "There's no verandah sort of managers here, like, yeah, they're all out in the field with us, and sort of trying to, like, get us to be the best, the best that we can be while we're out here."
They also want their young station hands to see working here as a career platform. "I actually probably say even more than be a place of career, I want it to be a place of opportunity. And I challenge my team all the time. I'm not going to be CEO forever, I guarantee. I am actually really excited about the prospect of who will ultimately rise to take that job from me."
They have rolled out leadership courses and embedded those who show promise into other parts of the supply chain. "You know, the steer that we have out in the paddock, and then have looking at the product that is then being given to the Americans and being able to say the product that's then being taken to Whole Foods, and distributed to millions, maybe millions of people around the world. Really, it made me sort of excited and wanting to become better at my job here."
Love of this lifestyle is shared right throughout the company. "I can never get over when I wake up in the morning and see that beautiful mountain out there. And going out mustering in all the different, because it's also different, all the different landscapes on these different stations that we work on. Yeah, it's, I think, you know, day to day when you're handling the animals and you're seeing a response in the landscape or the animals are healthy, I think you have those little moments where you are really proud of what you do and who you do it with. It's really, it's like living on Yellowstone, really, minus the train station and whatnot."
They might be renowned in the ag world, but you could be forgiven for not knowing them. Landline's been given rare access to the Hewitt boys, who have been shy of the spotlight. "I suppose that it is a humility thing, but it's also let our actions do the talking, is the main thing. So walk the walk and not talk the talk, so of thing, you know. We're not well known for being that comfortable with it, that's for sure. Possibly, again, maybe a little bit of my upbringing. But I think humility is such a beautiful thing in most people. And I always think that if you're a capable individual, you'll always succeed, with a little bit of effort and resilience and have a go, as we do in Australia."
But in a world where scrutiny on agriculture is ever present, they know the time for laying low has passed. "It's critically important that we can actually, I suppose, tell the story. And now with our vertically integrated supply chain, and, and the fact that we're delivering these wonderful products to our consumers, we need to be a little bit less humble, to be able to say things like, you know, feeding the world with a system that lasts forever. We need to be able to invite people in to actually give people confidence that that's actually what we are trying to do."
Cowboys, yes, but big dreamers too, in country that possibly can't help but inspire it. "I think we just want to be, you know, want to be able to maintain that mantle of the world's most sustainable meat producer, really. And that's something we're taking very seriously. My dream is to create an iconic Australian business. I want to have impact. And I want to have impact that actually is seen around the world, not just here in Australia."