A History of Hassad Australia Lindsay Falvey This paper describes the decade over which Hassad Australia (HA) developed to become one of the largest sheep and grain producers in Australia. Initially focussed on a preferred type of meat and some grain, the latter enterprise was to assume increased importance over time. It represented a major investment in personnel, technical services, equipment and supporting systems that served a large and sophisticated network of properties across five Australian states. Focussing on Awassi-style sheep, wheat, barley and canola production, successive policy changes in Qatar reduced emphasis on direct production for food security in favour of responsible maximization of profit, and ultimately to the majority of the enhanced properties being merged into managed agricultural funds that released Qatar from direct management responsibilities. The venture contributed substantially to Australian agriculture and it legacy provides some key avenues for further studies about foreign investment, animal welfare, sheep genetics and other subjects. This paper summarizes some aspects of the enterprises history using publicly available resources. i Origins A summary document of Hassad Australia’s first half decade noted that “in 2008 the government of Qatar recognized the need to provide greater security for Qatar’s food supply, given the country’s near-total reliance on imported foods. The government set [the Qatar-based parent company, Hassad Foods, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Qatar Investment Authority of the nation’s Sovereign Wealth Fund] a goal of addressing this need through investing in the highest quality agricultural production and processing facilities worldwide. … Hassad Food’s original mandate was to operate in the local, regional and global arenas of agri-business with the primary objective of securing a stable and reliable source of food for Qatar, and being able to support the region in times of crisis and shortage in food supply.” ii The food security policy was elicited in the Qatar National Vision, which aimed to ensure national security over food by 2030 through investment in food surplus nations with stable governance and production records. Australia was selected as the first and main country in which to invest on the basis of its consistent record in exporting meat and grain to the Middle East. Other factors in the choice of Australia included its comparative production advantages, equitable foreign investment policies, strong legal framework, product quality guarantee systems, continuity of economic growth, talented workforce, and ease of doing business. In particular, Australia allowed 100 percent foreign ownership of farmland provided that it did not compromise national interests. As a rich nation with few agricultural resources, Qatar’s interpretation of food security varied from the conventional use of the term in which food security referred to poor nations with large populations. For Qatar, specific types of preferred food were to be secured, such as meat from fat-tailed sheep and hard wheats suitable for traditional breads.