Cattle on Narwietooma, west of Alice Springs

CENTRAL Australian beef producers Tim and Emily Edmunds have completed the acquisition of three adjoining cattle stations in the tightly-held Alice Springs district in the Northern Territory.

The three stations, Narwietooma, Derwent and Glen Helen were acquired from Tony and Pam Davis to add to the Edmunds’ neighbouring Napperby Station.

The deal, believed to be for $38.5 million, has created a contiguous cattle breeding, growing and finishing aggregation spanning about 11,125sq km, or 1.112 million hectares.

The aggregation is estimated to have a carrying capacity of more than 40,000 head of cattle, with the ability to increase to 50,000 with further infrastructure development. The entire aggregation is currently certified as organic-in-conversion.

Beef Central understands Some cattle were included in the deal, but specific cattle numbers were not disclosed.

The Edmonds’ Hale River Group is an integrated beef production enterprise that also owns a fleet of road trains and a spelling and transfer facility located in the Clare Valley in South Australia.

Property Central first wrote about the emerging dealings between the Edmonds and Davis families for Narwietooma, Derwent and Glen Helen in this article published in June last year. 

The Davis family also operates the nearby Amburla and Hamilton Downs stations.

The Edmunds family is completing a herd renovation across the new stations by introducing Droughtmaster/Santa cross cattle to complement the existing high-quality cattle herd that is run on Napperby Station.

“We are always seeking new opportunities to grow and develop rural properties to reach their peak production and maximise their resilience from season to season,” Mr Edmunds said.

“This acquisition provides our existing operation with greater economies of scale and puts together country that is perfectly suited to breeding, growing and finishing quality organic, grassfed cattle for slaughter from a single pastoral holding.

“We are passionate about this industry and the future opportunities for the Central Australian pastoral region,” he said.

Mr Edmonds emphasised Central Australia’s widely-held reputation for having some of the lowest-costs for extensive beef production in Australia.

“It is renowned for producing organically certified grass finished beef, given its position below the cattle tick zone, and as it is in a bluetongue free zone, there is no need for chemical intervention to support the health and wellbeing of the cattle,” he said.

“The location of our Central Australian properties allows access to all Australian markets (North, to live export; East, South and West for slaughter and store cattle) as well as all global markets.”

“We’ve been fortunate to be involved in some exciting rural transactions in recent years. Our approach is that it is not about the assets you’ve got and an attitude of hoarding them – it’s about what you do with the asset whilst you’ve got it, and leaving a property more productive and more resilient compared to the day you took it over,” Mr Edmonds said.

Source: Hale River Holdings