Part of the solar-powered water infrastructure on Madura Plains.

CONSOLIDATED Pastoral Company has confirmed it will buy the Madura Plain Station in Western Australia and maintain its flock of 60,000 Canowie Poll Merino blood sheep.

Selling agents Elders today said CC Cooper and Co and Consolidated Pastoral Co had entered into a sale and purchase agreement for the 711,638ha property.

The agreement is conditional upon CPC receiving the customary Western Australia government approval to the transfer of the pastoral leases.

The sale is otherwise unconditional and has received FIRB approval, Elders said in a statement.

Madura Plains has been sold on a going concern walk-in, walk-out basis, including the sheep flock and goat herd. All current employees will be offered ongoing roles with CPC, Elders said. No sale price will be disclosed. The station is also running 3500 Boer cross goats, plus kids.

Madura Plains lies to the east of the largest sheep station in Western Australia, the one million hectare-plus Rawlinna, which was bought by CPC last year. Elders said Madura Plains is an aggregation of two pastoral leases – Madura and Moonera – with a carrying capacity of more than 60,000 sheep. It is located near the border of Western Australia and South Australia, positioning it to participate in the western and eastern sheep and wool markets, Elders said.

Elders chief executive officer Tom Russo said it was exciting to see CPC invest again after the company’s recent acquisition of Rawlinna.

“Whilst not quite contiguous, the two stations are in close proximity and will complement each other. We believe that the integrated operation is the largest sheep station in the world,” he said.

CPC chief executive officer Troy Setter said the company intended to continue to build on the quality improvements that Cooper and Co have made to the station and the flock.

This would include continuing to focus on increasing the productivity of the high-quality Madura Plains Merino flock in reproduction, wool yield and quality.

Mr Setter said the opportunity to combine Rawlinna and Madura Plains was very compelling and will allow us to achieve significant operational efficiencies that are required today in rangelands sheep production.

“The Rawlinna acquisition allowed CPC to re-enter the Australian sheep production space at scale and the integration of Madura Plains will accelerate our ambition of building out the sheep platform of our diversified portfolio, which includes cattle, goat, sheep and wool production, natural capital and over 20,000 hectares of cropping capacity.”

CC Cooper and Co have made significant investments on Madura’s livestock handling infrastructure. Elders said a 10,000 head sheep feedlot and holding yards have been established in a central location and there are modern yards located strategically throughout. Technology has been extensively adopted. Every ewe is tagged with electronic identification ear tag, enabling detailed individual records and use of an auto drafter to sort animals by paddock, performance, age, sex or shearing. Starlink internet is supported at key infrastructure points across more than 118 paddocks, including bore sites to provide remote monitoring, co-ordination and communication.

CC Cooper & Co purchased the property in 2016 and has painstakingly developed the property further through a significant capital works program aimed at maximising the efficiency and productivity.

A water infrastructure revitalisation program installed 1400km of interconnected pipelines, delivering reliable good quality water across the vast property, unlocking its full production potential. The water delivery system includes solar powered pumping systems at all critical points and remote monitoring via smartphone and Starlink-enabled connectivity, enabling management and monitoring of pumps and tanks from anywhere.

There has also been more than 1000km of fencing installed, subdividing very large paddocks to create 118 paddocks and 376km of internal laneways to optimise grazing management.

CPC was purchased by United Kingdom-based Hands Family in October 2020. It  owns and operates an 11 station aggregation in Australia and two feedlots in Indonesia.

Elders said across more than 5.5m hectares of land, the CPC team can care for more than 400,000 head of cattle, 45,000 goats and produce a diverse range of crops. With an asset base in excess of A$1.6 billion , CPC supplies a variety of domestic and international customers. CPC also owns the iconic Isis Downs Station that was one of Australia’s largest sheep stations that once ran nearly 300,000 sheep. It now runs 31,000 cattle and 45,000 goats.

CC Cooper and Co principal David Seth Cooper said the company acquired Madura Plains with the clear strategic intent to build a best in class modern sheep station that fully capitalises on the production potential of the vast landholding and stock water supply, whilst being resilient through the cycles.

“We have also invested to deliver operational efficiencies and maximise animal welfare and sustainability outcomes.

“We are proud that we have achieved our vision and it’s now the right time for us to deliver the finished product to a new custodian,” he said.

“We are delighted with the outcome of the sale process and excited to see what the future holds for Madura Plains after a period of significant development and investment by our family.

“We are particularly pleased that the Madura Plains team will be retained and no doubt given great opportunities within CPC, given the scale and diversity of their operations nationally.”

The Madura lease was taken up in 1876 by G. Heinzmann to establish a station for breeding cavalry horses destined for the British Imperial Indian Army. It was selected due to the reliable underground bore water and an abundance of available feed. It also played an important role during WWII when the station’s bore was crucial to army engineers constructing the Eyre Highway.

Madura and Moonera were merged operationally by Jumbuck Pastoral Co in the 1980s, creating one of Australia’s most significant sheep grazing enterprises, and one of the world’s largest sheep stations. Jumbuck Pastoral developed the enterprise with the addition of fences, windmills, bores and all the accompanying water infrastructure. A 550-kilometre vermin proof boundary fence was also erected.

Sources: Elders, CPC.