A New Zealand company that manages farms on behalf of investor syndicates says it is mostly locals who are investing in dairy farm expansion.
MyFarm now manages 45 farms on behalf of investors - mostly dairy farms in the South Island and four in Australia.
They include 12 farms bought by German investment funds managed by the Aquila Group.
In the latest of those purchases, the Overseas Investment Office has approved the application by a German partnership to buy a sheep and beef farm in eastern Southland which will be combined with a neighbouring dairy farm bought by the group earlier this year.
A MyFarm director, Andrew Watters, says New Zealand farming investors are also involved in those properties.
He says all the directors are New Zealanders and in all cases the farmer or sharemilker are offered the chance to invest in the business.
Mr Watters says New Zealand farms are regarded as a safe haven, especially for European investors facing the financial turmoil there.
