China's money changes the landscape in Australia

GUNNEDAH, Australia (AP) — Tony Clift’s family has plowed the rich black soil of Australia’s Liverpool Plains for six generations. The thought of selling never crossed his mind — until a Chinese company came to town.

Shenhua Watermark Coal offered to buy farms at unheard-of prices. The decision wasn’t easy, Clift says. His pioneer ancestors settled the land in 1832. But farming is a business nowadays, and selling his 6,500 acres (2,600 hectares) made business sense.