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

• Brett Cattle Co secures Augathella’s Valera Vale
• Chinese-owned Qld aggregation splits two ways
• Circa $25m+ for landmark northern NSW holding
• Miles family pays $15m for Goulburn Valley aggregation
• Flinders Ranges lease sells locally
• Local expands with Moonie district backgrounding country
• NSW Golden Triangle property makes $10m
• G&G’s Cashmere West goes under offer

Droughtmaster registered breeders on Valera Vale

Brett Cattle Co secures Augathella’s Valera Vale

The northern buyer who secured Valera Vale in south-west Queensland for backgrounding purposes has been named as the Brett Cattle Co of Waterloo Station in the Northern Territory.

Owned by the Flynn family for 40 years, the 9858ha highly regarded growing and finishing operation Valera Vale is located 22km south-west of Augathella and 45km north-east of Charleville.

Scott Kostecki from the Leichardt Group was unable to disclose the sale price however said it is understood to have achieved well north of $22 million.

“The interest in Valera Vale was exceptional, attracting a large number of inspections from central, southern, western and central western Queensland, as well as New South Wales and the Northern Territory,” he said.

Valera Vale is suited to backgrounding around 2500 head of cattle.

The country is mostly brigalow and gidgee scrub valleys established to improved pastures, including buffel and urochloa, as well as lightly shaded river plains and channels.

The Flynn’s Valera Vale Droughtmaster Stud will continue to produce high-quality bulls on Yanna and Pinnacle, their separate western Queensland grazing country, together with land in southern Queensland.

Water on Valera Vale is supplied by a shared equipped bore, supporting dams, semi-permanent waterholes along the 11km frontage along the Warrego and Nive Rivers and seasonal waterholes in the Yo Yo, Winters and CB Creeks.

Extensively developed by the Flynn family, Valera Vale boasts institutional-standard infrastructure. It includes a five-bedroom home, a renovated cottage, a nine-bedroom worker complex, modern steel cattle yards, an attached stud selling arena and numerous sheds.

Chinese-owned Qld aggregation splits two ways

Two adjoining cattle and cropping assets in southern Queensland have sold separately to two Queensland producers.

The 61,007ha Hollymount and Mt Driven are located 50km south-east of St George and 160km north-west of Goondiwindi.

The properties were offloaded by Sydney-based, Chinese-owned Hailiang Australian Land Investment Co after a ten-year investment term.

Hollymount

The 34,046ha Hollymount comprises four adjoining properties – Hollymount, Iandra, Beltana and West Harran – ideal for cropping and grazing.

There is 3500ha of dryland cultivation currently sown to oats and wheat, 3500ha of previous cultivation converted to buffel, 11,960ha of improved pastures and 11,895ha of grazing country, with the remainder older regrowth timber and remnant vegetation.

Hollymount is watered by two bores and 30 dams.

The infrastructure includes two homes, a donga, two steel cattle yards, numerous sheds, five silos, a shearing shed and quarters.

Mt Driven

The neighbouring 26,960ha Mt Driven (comprising Westernbrook and Mt Driven) is 36km east of St George.

It consists of 18,760ha of established improved pastures, 1800ha of cleared cultivation and 700ha of cultivation land, with 5700ha of remnant vegetation.

It is watered by the Moonie River, two bores (one is shared between three neighbouring properties), supported by 24 dams.

Infrastructure includes two homes, two steel cattle yards and a shearing shed.

It is understood a package of three unsupplemented water allocations totalling 3980ML sold separately.

Ray White Rural agent Richard Brosnan who handled the expressions of interest process was unable to disclose the buyers or the prices paid, but confirmed a sale had taken place.

Circa $25m+ for landmark northern NSW holding

A local farming business is believed to have paid around $25 million for a landmark holding in the Willow Tree district in northern New South Wales.

Millers Creek Station is a highly productive and well-balanced grazing and mixed farming enterprise located at the foothills of the Liverpool Range, 27km from Willow Tree and halfway between Murrurundi and Quirindi.

Spanning 4743ha, the property is one of the largest in the district and has been held by members of the Evans family for 58 years.

Purchased in 1966 by the late Harry Evans, it was listed by his wife Josie Walton and daughters Zara Holmes a Court and Alice Strang.

Operated as a mixed farming enterprise, Millers Creek is suited to cattle and sheep breeding and fattening, wool production and a dryland cropping program spanning 278ha.

The property is estimated to carry 1200 cows and followers or around 25,000 DSE. Under the current management, it supports 1050 joined cows, 184 joined heifers along with 240 weaner heifers.

Previous management ran cattle and sheep, including 500 cows and 6000 Merino ewes, in addition to cash cropping.

More than 200ha has been cropped or sown to lucerne via a winter cereal and oilseed (canola) crop rotation. An additional 200ha is considered arable and suitable for annual cropping.

Millers Creek is situated at the head of the Millers Creek and Little Jacks Creek valleys, with the country rising to arable slopes and scenic timbered ridges featuring heavy volcanic black and red basalt soils.

Located in a reliable 800mm plus annual rainfall region, the property benefits from multiple creeks and tributaries, dams and ten bores (five are equipped), with water reticulated to a network of tanks and troughs.

Infrastructure includes eight residences, including a fully renovated six-bedroom home, a 10-stand shearing shed, sheep and cattle yards and numerous sheds.

Inglis Rural Property agent Sam Triggs who handled the sale was unable to disclose the buyer or the price paid.

Miles family pays $15m for Goulburn Valley aggregation

The Miles family of Kotupna has paid around $15 million for productive grazing and farming country in northern Victoria’s Goulburn Valley.

The 1950ha Summit Aggregation is located 10km from Nathalia, halfway between Echuca/Moama and Shepparton, and comprises the 440ha Rothwell Park, 872ha Willunga, 476ha Summit and 162ha Mulberry Tree.

During the marketing campaign, Inglis Rural Property agent Sam Triggs and Elders Real Estate Deniliquin agent Matt Horne described the offering as exceptional.

“The Summit Aggregation represents an opportunity for investors, family operators and locals seeking scale, expansion, high quality and consistently performing farming land. The irrigation land and water provide an excellent opportunity for future development and improvement,” they said.

Featuring extensive frontage to the Goulburn River, two water licences totalling 869ML, underpinning the 215ha of irrigation, were offered separately.

While the flat landscape has minimal paddock timber making it ideal for large-scale cropping, under the current ownership, the Summit Aggregation has been managed with a focus on sheep and wool production together with a dryland winter cropping and fodder production program.

Historically, 1000ha has been cropped alongside 2000 to 2500 Merino ewes and followers.

Around 89 percent of the red-brown earth soils are arable and underpinned by a long history of soil amelioration including lime, gypsum and fertiliser.

Mulberry Tree has 95ha of established irrigation country, providing immediate water access. A further 120ha of older irrigation on Summit offers scope for future development.

Across the aggregation, water is sourced from dams, bores and two licenced pump stations on the Goulburn River.

Infrastructure includes two homes (Summit and Mulberry), numerous sheds and livestock handling facilities, as well as grain storage.

Flinders Ranges lease sells locally

An historic Flinders Ranges pastoral lease has sold to a South Australian family looking to expand with ‘outside’ grazing country to complement their ‘inside’ land.

The scenic 31,000ha Puttapa Station is located on the Outback Highway, 4km south of Leigh Creek and 20km east of Beltana.

Originally part of Beltana Station, Puttapa was purchased by Len Ragless in 1936 and offered for sale earlier this year by grandson, Graham.

Ray White Rural agent Sam Krieg was unable to disclose the sale price however Puttapa Station is understood to have sold in line with recent nearby sales including the 44,696ha Wilkatana Station that sold in November for $7.4 million and the 43,300ha Lake Torrens Station that sold in August for $5.4m.

Earlier this year, Puttapa had a good amount of dry feed to carry through to winter and was running between 2500 to 3000 Dorper ewes and followers. However, it is understood the family will transition the property back to sheep and cattle.

The station also offers further tourism potential, together with a variety of 4WD tracks.

Puttapa has an abundance of underground water. Across the holding, there are ten bores.

Infrastructure includes a recently renovated, four-bedroom stone homestead (circa 1939), a nine-bedroom shearers quarters, a four-stand shearing shed and eight stock yards.

Puttapa Station yards

Local expands with Moonie district backgrounding country

A Western Downs producer is expanding with well-developed backgrounding country near Moonie in south-west Queensland.

The 3815ha Glenalan, located 9km west of Moonie and 100km north of Goondiwindi, was listed for $17.25 million after passing in at auction for $16m.

Eastern Rural agents Roger Lyne was unable to disclose the buyer or the price paid, however it is understood to have met the vendor’s expectations.

Glenalan was sold by Glen and Evie Brown after 66 years of family ownership during which time it transformed from a mixed sheep and grain farm into a backgrounding enterprise comfortably running 1000 head of cattle.

It comprises two adjoining holdings with the 1571ha Glenalan North drawn as a brigalow ballot block by Glen’s father in 1959 and the 2243ha Glenalan South (originally known as J-Ray) added in 1974.

Originally undeveloped brigalow, belah and melon hole country, the aggregation has been cleared and blade-ploughed with extensive pasture improvement including bambatsi, buffel and natural blue grass.

Glenalan is watered by three equipped bores, a 10ML water entitlement and six dams supported by 600mm of average annual rainfall. There is a four-bedroom home, steel cattle yards, numerous sheds and 1326-tonnes of grain storage.

Glenalan South has a four-bedroom home, a two-bedroom cottage, cattle yards, a 400SCU feedlot (four pens, bunk and bin), as well as numerous sheds and 140-tonnes of grain storage.

NSW Golden Triangle property makes $10m

Part of a versatile Golden Triangle property with the ability to pivot in line with season and commodity prices has sold to a Croppa Creek family for expansion.

The 1304ha Brentwood was carved off the 3497ha Postmans Aggregation which was offered for sale by Alistair Michel in June last year.

Located 39km north of Warialda and 94km north-east of Moree, on the edge of the renowned Golden Triangle region of north-west New South Wales, the aggregation was anticipated to raise around $30 million.

The Postmans Aggregation is suited to cattle and sheep breeding and trading, with an estimated carrying capacity of 21,000 Dry Sheep Equivalents, combined with dual-purpose crops and fodder production.

When it failed to sell following an expressions of interest process, Brentwood was carved off and sold to the Smith family from Croppa Creek. While LAWD agent George Barton was unable to disclose the price paid, the property was offered with a $10 million price guide.

The remaining Postmans, Yarran and Yarran West, spanning 2193ha, have been withdrawn from the market.

The aggregation is watered by three bores, 24 dams and a 200ML storage dam, supported by a 685mm annual average rainfall.

Infrastructure includes a four-bedroom home (Brentwood), a circa 1880 stone home (Postmans), two staff dwellings (Postmans and Yarran), numerous machinery sheds, four steel cattle yards, two (unequipped) shearing sheds and 16 grain silos with 760 tonnes of capacity.

The 3497ha Postmans Aggregation is located 39km north of Warialda and 94km north-east of Moree, on the edge of the renowned Golden Triangle region.

G&G’s Cashmere West goes under offer

A second Grimwade & Gordon grazing property has been placed under offer prior to auction.

The 11,906ha Cashmere West, near St George, is a fully exclusion fenced turnkey operation, rated to run 2295AE that had been managed with the company’s Oinmurra near Dirranbandi.

Elders agent Phillip Kelly, who handled the sale of both properties, said the prices paid were well within the vendor’s price expectations.

Mr Kelly reported solid inquiry from locals and producers from central and south-western Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria with the successful purchaser an interstate producer with local interests seeking expansion and integration of their existing business operation.

When Cashmere West was brought to market in March, it had been running significant numbers of agisted beef cattle on first class, high-performing buffel grass grazing country, alongside a small stock enterprise.

Purchased by Grimwade & Gordon Land in 2020 for expansion, portions were sold off from the original 22,161ha. The sale follows a change in production focus and geographic footprint for the group.

Mostly flat, there are areas of brigalow and melon hole timbered with poplar box, brigalow, yellow jacket, cypress and beneficial mulga.

Cashmere West is watered by two equipped bores (including a shared bore) and several dams.

Infrastructure includes a three-bedroom home, a cottage, workers accommodation, numerous sheds, cattle yards, feeder pens and excellent fencing and laneways.

Oinmurra in south-west Queensland was also placed under contract prior to auction, with the buyer believed to be an interstate producer.

The fully exclusion-fenced property is located in the Balonne region, 40km north-west of Dirranbandi and 70km south-west of St George.

Described as a beef production enterprise with diverse options, Oinmurra has been running core small stock mobs with significant numbers of agistment cattle.

As a livestock operation, it can run around 2000 Adult Equivalents.

It offers flat red soils with productive buffel grass pastures and some brigalow melon hole country with beneficial mulga.

An artesian controlled flowing bore feeds two dams and seven tanks which connect to 31 watering troughs across the property.

Infrastructure includes a cottage, a five-stand shearing shed, two steel cattle yards and sheep yards.