Set of secondary yards on the Rockybank aggregation, south of Roma

PROMINENT Queensland Wagyu producer Laird Morgan and family have purchased the majority of Gina Rinehart’s substantial Roma district backgrounding and breeding property aggregation, Rockybank.

No price has been disclosed, but a combined figure of $55 million was floated as likely during the marketing campaign for the three-property grazing and dryland cropping aggregation. Settlement is due to take place tomorrow.

Spanning 22,666ha, the Rockybank Aggregation comprises three holdings near Tingun, 25km south of Roma.

As reported earlier on Beef Central, frustrations over the Queensland State Government’s foreign land tax impact (through Ms Rinehart’s one third minority partner in S Kidman, Shanghai Cred) was raised as a key reason for the sale of the Rockybank aggregation (see details below).

Laird and Sony Morgan operate a large lotfeeding and Wagyu bull and commercial cattle breeding business at Lilyvale, near Condamine, on Queensland’s Darling Downs. Mr Morgan is the current president of the Australian Wagyu Association.

The Morgans have purchased the majority of the Kidman-owned portfolio, including the 16,440ha Rockybank portion, and the 4145ha Holyrood.  The Rockybank portion was offered during the marketing campaign with a price guide of $35m, while Hollyrood carried a price guide of more than $12m.

The adjoining 2082ha Maffra South portion settled earlier, selling to a local grazing family. It had carried an $8m plus price expectation.

Backgrounding, breeding role

The Morgans plan to run about 2000 Fullblood Wagyu breeders on their new Roma country, in addition to backgrounding another 2000 Wagyu steers for feedlot entry.

The country features brigalow/belah scrub, poplar box, cypress pine, Mitchell grasslands and coolibah floodplains and is estimated to run around 5800 adult equivalents.

Around 2900ha of the aggregation is developed for dryland cropping for forage and fodder production.

Boasting frontage to Duncan, Camp, Emu and Back Creeks, the aggregation is also watered by a bore network to tanks and troughs, supported by numerous dams.

The infrastructure was described during the marketing phase as high quality, and includes multiple dwellings, cattle yards, feed pens, silos, numerous sheds and well-developed fencing.

Back in January, Beef Central wrote about Gina Rinehart’s pastoral vehicles’ Hancock Agriculture and S. Kidman plan to sell three prized grazing assets in the Roma region of southern Queensland – with frustrations aligned with the State Government’s damaging land tax policies understood to be a principal reason.

Put on the block were Kidman’s highly productive Rockybank aggregation, along with Hancock’s Holyrood and Forestvale properties in the Maranoa region – used principally within the companies’ pastoral networks for bull breeding and backgrounding work.

Just last week, the issue of Queensland’s foreign land tax and its adverse impact on foreign investment came up at the Global AgInvestment Forum held in Brisbane.

Heavily sponsored by the Queensland State Government, it was anticipated that the event would be used by Queensland Premier David Crisifulli for a major policy announcement about tax reforms, but nothing eventuated.

The state’s foreign land tax was never targeted at agricultural land deals, but residential property held by foreign interests and simply locked up. Ag investment became collateral damage along the way, but neither the current Coalition nor previous Labor State Governments have shown any appetite for change.

The Rockybank Aggregation was offered via expressions of interest through LAWD agents Danny Thomas and Elizabeth Doyle.