THIS week’s property review includes this wrap-up of recently completed sales (passed in results further below), and a separate article on interesting recent listings across the country.

• Three neighbouring SA grazing properties make $30m+
• QLD family snaps up Aramac country prior to auction
• Coastal fattening & backgrounding makes $7-$8m
• $7m+ for high production country in southern NSW
• $11,297/ha for tightly held mixed farm at Tumut
• Bundaberg’s historic Moolyung sells under the hammer
• Mach family downsizes with northern NSW’s Pontibah

Three neighbouring SA grazing properties make $30m+

A local is believed to have paid more than $30 million for three neighbouring grazing properties in South Australia’s south-east.

The 1292ha Punari and 1196ha Oakbank owned by Deb and Bruce Nulty and Lachie Stewart’s adjoining 420ha Taratap are situated in the tightly held area of Taratap, around 30km north of Kingston.

Grant Schubert from Elders who handled the sale was unable to disclose the price or the purchaser, but said it was an established local producer seeking expansion.

“The sale of 3000ha in the state’s south-east generated tremendous interest. Multiple offers were received during the expressions of interest campaign, but these were outweighed by the larger operators chasing scale.”

The 2488ha Punari – Oakbank aggregation is suited to cattle and sheep production and capable of running around 6000 ewes and lambs, plus 400 head of cattle.

 

In addition, the Nultys have been cutting hay annually from ryegrass and clover mixes.

The productive heavy grey loams over clay flats on the two properties are known for their ability to grow an abundance of feed during the spring and early summer months.

The high ground country provides shelter and warmth allowing livestock to mother up during the winter months.

The neighbouring Taratap features a balance of strong productive flats, complimented by high ground, ideal for all year-round grazing.

 

Currently being run as a mixed prime livestock enterprise, it has productive black loams to clay over limestone on the flats.

Taratap is watered by two solar submersibles and one electric submersible to satellite tanks across the property.

 

QLD family snaps up Aramac country prior to auction

A Queensland family has secured Aramac’s Fortuna Aggregation prior to auction.

The 38,951ha parcel was due to be auctioned bare on November 11 but was placed under contract to a family seeking additional safe breeding country.

Andrew Turner from Ray White Rural was unable to disclose the price paid or buyer.

Owned by the House family for almost 45 years, the Fortuna Aggregation is located 40km north of Aramac and 100km north of Barcaldine with good access to saleyards at Blackall, Emerald and Roma.

With an estimated carrying capacity of 1200 breeders plus progeny, the property has a reputation for producing high quality weaner cattle.

There are three sets of steel cattle yards with vet crushes and scales, however there is also sheep infrastructure including two shearing sheds and shearer quarters.

At the time of sale, Fortuna Aggregation was enjoying brilliant seasonal conditions and was extremely well grassed with buffel, desert Mitchell, stylos, soft spinifex and edible shrubs.

The country on Fortuna comprises desert uplands including yellow jacket, ironbark, box and gidgee, interspersed with creek flats and jump-ups.

It is well watered by 12 dams and seven sub-artesian bores reticulated to 30 tanks and 70 troughs.

 

Coastal fattening & backgrounding makes $7-$8m

Drought free coastal fattening and backgrounding grazing country has sold to a northern grazing family for between $7 million and $8 million bare.

The 431ha Silkwood is situated on the Cassowary Coast, 30 minutes from Innisfail, 25 minutes from Mission Beach and a little under two hours from Cairns.

It was offered for sale in May by luxury hotel and residential interior design company, the GA Group, together with the 33,900ha Crystalbrook Station.

Silkwood was a key component of Crystalbrook’s supply chain, used for growing-out and finishing progeny.

In July, the breeding opportunity was purchased by the McClymont family for more than $12 million including 2748 cattle, plant and equipment.

Silkwood comprises four adjoining farms and grows improved pasture grasses and legumes. It has two homesteads, excellent shedding, two sets of yards, good fencing and good access.

Peter McPherson from Queensland Rural handled the sale but was unable to disclose a price or the name of the purchaser.

 

$7m+ for high production country in southern NSW

A local with other farming interests has paid $7.11 million at auction for a productive mixed operation in southern New South Wales.

The 201ha Culverly Rise is suited to prime lambs and beef cattle production along with fodder/hay and dryland/irrigated cash cropping enterprises.

Situated 11km from Howlong and 23km from Albury, Culvery Rise also has development approval for a lamb feedlot.

The sale was handled by Inglis Rural Property and Elders Rural Services Victoria.

Inglis selling agent Liam Griffiths said it was a big price for the region.

“Excluding water entitlements, the land alone achieved between $30,000/ha and $3150/ha,” he said.

Most of Culverly Rise is arable with gentle undulation, scattered timber and designated timber shelter belts for the 100 breeders.

Comprising heavy clay brown soils rising to free draining red loams, around 115ha is sown to canola and 40ha to grazing wheat.

Underpinning production, the property features a 500mgl groundwater entitlement interlinked between three irrigation bores supported by two centre pivots.

Culvery Rise is watered by several surface dams along with a bore that pumps directly to a network of concrete troughs.

 

$11,297/ha for tightly held mixed farm at Tumut

A local family with interests in the Gundagai district has paid $5.4 million or $11,300/ha for James Fallon’s high quality mixed farm on the Tumut River in southern New South Wales.

The 478ha Quidong is situated in the tightly held Tumut region, 16km from Tumut and 22km from Gundagai.

The country is well balanced and features a mix of unfailing Tumut River flats, picturesque open productive valleys that are arable, rising to timbered hilly grazing country.

It is suited to a wide range of enterprises including beef, prime lambs, fodder production, dairy and/or cereal and oilseed cash cropping.

Quidong is currently enjoying an outstanding season and running 250 breeding cows plus followers. Inherently, the fertile river flats exhibit high density stocking rates of between 20 and 22 dry sheep equivalents per hectare.

In an average season, Quidong can carry between 3500 to 4000DSE, however there is scope to lift those numbers with further development.

It features a 1.75km Tumut River frontage plus a large network of strategically placed dams.

Inglis Rural Property and Ray White Tumut handled the sale.

 

Bundaberg’s historic Moolyung sells under the hammer

Cameron and Samantha Christensen have paid $2.2 million for one of the oldest established grazing properties in Central Queensland’s Bundaberg district.

The 888ha Moolyung is 35km from Gin Gin and 50km from Bundaberg and was offered to the market for the first time in almost four decades.

Previous owners include the King family who grew beef for their butcher shops and barley for their Fairymead brewery.

Vendors Tom and Helen Wainwright have been running a 350 head beef breeding operation and selling predominantly light feeder type Charalois x Brahman progeny.

Moolyung is watered by springs, creeks, dams and bores with more than 140ha of improved pastures.

The sale was handled by Richard Brosnan from Ray White Rural.

 

Mach family downsizes with northern NSW’s Pontibah

The Mach family from Bingara has paid $3.485 million for Pontibah, an 116ha irrigation and farming block at Attunga, 22km east of Tamworth in northern New South Wales.

Situated on the banks of the Peel River, the property offers exceptional water with a 366mgl Peel River licence and a second 348mgl bore licence.

The country is described as well-balanced, ranging from alluvial Peel River flats to gently undulating arable heavy basalt country. Most of the block is arable including irrigated lucerne and oats.

There is expansive shedding including machinery and hay sheds and 150 tonnes of grain storage.

George Barton from McCulloch Agencies handled the sale of Pontibah.

 

Passed-in or withdrawn properties…

• WA grazing & carbon opportunity withdrawn
• Negotiations underway on St George’s Burwah
• High rainfall in southern NSW returns to the market
• New England grazing opportunity listed for $5m
• Liverpool Plains country fails to sell at auction

WA grazing & carbon opportunity withdrawn

An 8164ha grazing opportunity with commanding views in one of the fastest growing renewable energy areas of Australia has been withdrawn from sale.

Karakin Farm is located at Lancelin, 130km north of Perth on the edge of the Indian Ocean. Owned by an Australian developer, it was anticipated to make between $35 million and $40 million.

The aggregation of Karakin and San Angelo Farms was offered for sale via expressions of interest as a whole or as seven individual titles ranging in size from 383ha to 1829ha with Greg Smith from Elders.

Situated one hour from the Muchea Livestock selling centre, Karakin Farm is described as an ideal finishing block for livestock bred further north or east.

Receiving around 600mm of reliable rainfall per annum, the property is also suited to high intensity grazing, fodder crops and grain and oilseed production.

For the last six years, Karakin Farm has been leased, but has reportedly run around 20,000 ewes.

 

Negotiations underway on St George’s Burwah

Ray White Rural Goondiwindi and GDL St George are negotiating with interested parties after the southern Queensland grazing property Burwah was passed in on a vendor’s bid at auction.

Owned by the Scriven family, Burwah is described as a ‘magnificent’ breeding or background operation located 20km from St George, 176km south of Roma and 380km west of Toowoomba.

The 9943ha property is conservatively running 800 breeders plus progeny.

When Burwah was listed for sale, RWR’s Anthony Hyland said the property was underpinned by productive land and soil types, secure water resources and good operational infrastructure.

“Over recent years, the vendors have significantly invested in expanding and improving pastures, clearing regrowth, exclusion fencing and livestock handling infrastructure,” he said.

Water is a feature on the property with a private sub-artesian bore and a GASBI capped and piped artesian bore feeding 27 tanks and troughs. In addition, there are ten stock dams and semi-permanent holes along the Glear watercourse.

The last grazing property offered in the St George area was the 5250ha Kendal which sold for $7.75 million in November last year.

 

High rainfall in southern NSW returns to the market

A productive grazing operation in the highly-regarded, high-rainfall south-west slopes region of New South Wales has been listed for $9 million after failing to sell at auction.

The 2346ha Green Valley was passed in at a Nutrien Harcourts auction at $8.5 million, with selling agent Sally Douglas now negotiating with interested parties.

Situated 8km southeast of Tarcutta and 53km from Wagga Wagga, Green Valley is rated to run around 500 cows or 10,000 DSE.

Located in a temperate climate, the property enjoys an average annual rainfall of around 750mm.

The country is described as a good balance of fertile creek flats rising to open sheltered valleys and timbered ridges.

Green Valley features double frontage to three permanent local creeks, and multiple spring-fed dams.

Members of the McAllister family have owned part of the property since the 1930s. Its current owners, brothers Pat and Lachie, are now retiring.

 

New England grazing opportunity listed for $5m

New England grazing opportunity Khancoban has been listed with a $5 million pricetag, after failing to sell during an expressions of interest campaign.

The 703ha property is situated 45km southeast of Glen Innes and 50km northeast of Guyra in a highly regarded high rainfall grazing district, known for its strong and consistent production performance.

Inverell’s John and Sarah Thompson are offloading Khancoban after two years of ownership to consolidate their assets.

The country is undulating to hilly boasting a productive blend of basalt, granite and loam soils.

Khancoban has a proven production history of carrying sheep and cattle with capacity to run 5600 dry sheep equivalents. It is conservatively stocked with 2500 Dorper ewes and lambs, but previously carried 550 cows (50 with calves) and 700 Dorper sheep.

Water is a feature. The property benefits from 1.7km double frontage to Moggs Swamp and has 41 dams (23 are spring fed), as well as a solar bore.

The property is subdivided into 32 main paddocks and has recently undergone significant upgrading of internal and external fencing, including 8km of exclusion fencing.

The sale is being handled by Simon Cudmore from LAWD (Land, Agribusiness, Water & Development).

 

Liverpool Plains country fails to sell at auction

A productive 432ha mixed grazing and cropping property with 360-degree views over the renowned and tightly-held Liverpool Plains has been listed for sale after failing to sell at auction.

Tathra is centrally located 30 minutes from Gunnedah and Quirindi and 50 minutes from Tamworth.

Boasting rich heavy basalt soils, selling agent George Barton said the incoming purchaser can change the current 50 percent grazing and 50 percent cropping ratio to suit their needs.

The infrastructure includes steel cattle yards, a number of workshops, machinery sheds and fodder storage (silos, grain sheds and a hay shed).

George Barton from McCulloch Agencies said Tathra is also a future development opportunity.

“Tathra is situated on two separate titles which means it can be subdivided and sold as two individual holdings.”

 

Click here to access more property sales results