The Baratria aggregation is estimated to have a sustainable carrying capacity of 9000 head.

PROMINENT Australian meat processors, the Teys family, have decided to sell their large Western Queensland pastoral operation, Baratria, after almost 30 years of ownership.

Located between Longreach and Winton, the 77,747ha property is an aggregation of three separate downs country pastoral landholdings – Baratria, Hartree and Clyde – which are being offered to market as a turnkey investment and an opportunity to acquire a large-scale pastoral enterprise in the highly-regarded Winton region.

The aggregation is not part of the Teys Australia joint venture processing business with Cargill, but is held under a separate Teys family company. The family bought Baratria in 1992, following their earlier acquisition of Sedgeford, near Alpha, from Sir William Allan. Hartree and Clyde were added later, creating one of the larger aggregations in the Winton district.

About 80pc of the country is typical open Mitchell and Flinders grass downs, with the balance mostly broken channels.

Baratria has been used for a variety of purposes over the years, primarily breeding EU-eligible feeder cattle for the Teys feedlot at Condamine, or for oats-finishing at nearby Miamba. It has also played a supply chain role for the Teys Grasslands certified grassfed brand program.

Company patriach Allan Teys took a great deal of satisfaction in the development of Baratria and surrounding holdings as an efficient pastoral operation over the past 28 years. The growing demands of day-to-day management of the Teys Australia processing business across three states has made it harder to focus on the cattle operations on Baratria, leading to the decision to divest, Beef Central was told.

Yards infrastructure on Baratria

JLL’s directors – agribusiness Geoff Warriner and Chris Holgar in conjunction with Walter Cooper of RPL have been appointed to sell the aggregation via an expressions-of-interest campaign.

“Due to the scale, location, level of development and favourable pasture and soil types, we anticipate Baratria will generate significant interest from existing industry participants seeking expansion of an existing supply chain, or investors seeking a high-quality, viable standalone enterprise,” Mr Warriner said.

“Since being acquired by the Teys family, Baratria has earned an enviable reputation for the consistent production of EU accredited cattle to domestic markets.”

“Having undergone practical development and conservatively stocked over the past 28 years, Baratria is a turnkey opportunity with quality infrastructure, an abundance of water and available pasture,” Mr Warriner said.

The aggregation represented an excellent opportunity to all participants in the North Australian beef sector, Mr Holgar said. Located 50km east of Winton, the property is bisected by the Landsborough Highway, a major thoroughfare for northern beef producers to access eastern markets.

The aggregation is estimated to have a sustainable carrying capacity of 9000 head.

“The diversity and flexibility of Baratria lends itself to being used as a large-scale breeding enterprise for producers with fattening properties further to the east, or alternatively, a large-scale backgrounding enterprise for larger producers to the north and west,” Mr Holgar said.

Expressions of interest will close 17 September.

• JLL’s Agribusiness have recently transacted a number of agricultural assets in Queensland, including Leeora Downs for circa $16 million and in conjunction with RPL, Bowen Downs for circa $19.5 million, Terrick Terrick for circa $40 million and Retreat Station for $20 million.