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

• NT’s well-watered Dixie Station sells for $6m plus
• Part of Dubbo’s Gilgai Farms trades for $5.3m
• NSW Southern Tablelands block makes more than $10,000/ha
• Coonamble’s Trewilga finds northern QLD buyer +video

 

NT’s well-watered Dixie Station sells for $6m plus

Chris and Amanda Howie from Bindaroo Pastures, in the Northern Territory’s Douglas Daly region, have paid more than $6 million for Dixie Station on the Sturt Plateau.

The 46,200ha perpetual pastoral lease, 110km south west of Katherine, sits on top of the Tindal Aquifer, and is watered by four bores, eight dams and numerous semi-permanent waterholes.

Over recent years Dixie has been mostly stocked with agistment cattle, however the vendor estimates the developed carrying capacity to be 3100 adult equivalents.

During Bill Doyle’s ownership, there was a significant investment in weed and regrowth control, clearing and improving pastures.

There is no doubt the standout opportunity for the Howies was the production of dryland hay. For the past ten years, Dixie Station has been producing hay worth more than $310,000 per season.

On Bindaroo, the Howies run the farming side of things, producing Jarra and Cavalcade hay.

After recently taking over the reins of Dixie, the cultivation country was sprayed and fertilised in preparation for next season’s hay and tropical legumes.

Dixie was offered on a walk-in, walk-out basis with an extensive farming plant. The sale was handled by Peter Watkins from Australian Ag Advisory and Management following an expressions of interest campaign.

Part of Dubbo’s Gilgai Farms trades for $5.3m

The Glenara and Murga Ridge portions of Dubbo’s high-quality benchmarked grazing enterprise Gilgai Farms has sold for $5.3 million ($4827/ha) to an existing farm operator moving into the area.

The central western New South Wales aggregation was put together by Bathurst-based Rhonda Wilson about 15 years ago.

The sale coincided with the retirement of her brother who has been managing the operation.

Gilgai Farms has been operated for breeding and fattening of both sheep and cattle. However, it does have a mixed farm ability, with cropping having been undertaken in the past.

Col Medway from LAWD is handling the sale of the remaining three parcels of land – Comobella, Loisville and Gilgai. Spanning 1089ha, they are available separately, or as a whole for $6.3 million.

NSW Southern Tablelands block makes more than $10,000/ha

Meantime, LAWD has sold country in the renowned high rainfall grazing district of Crookwell, on the Southern Tablelands, for $4.85 million ($10,146/ha).

The 478ha Bellwood, 33km north of Crookwell and 12km north east of Binda, was purchased by well-known local producer, John McGeechan, who also owns McGeechan Farm Supplies at Crookwell.

Bellwood last traded in 2012 for $1.9m ($3975/ha) – an increase of 155 percent – and has been home to the Millpaca Stud, boasting the second largest alpaca herd in Australia.

Bellwood has been extensively developed with a full array of operational improvements required to operate cattle, sheep and alpacas. It has the capacity to carry 4250 DSE or 8.8 DSE per hectare.

Water is secured by two bores, spring fed dams and the Cooksvale Creek.

Coonamble’s Trewilga finds northern buyer

High quality Coonamble grazing and farming property Trewilga has been bought by North Queensland grazing interests for an undisclosed sum.

Julia Creek beef and live export cattle producers Philip and Tania Curr, Arizona, have bought the property for use for backgrounding of young cattle from their Queensland operations. Brennan Mayne Agribusiness’s Brad Castle confirmed the purchase.

“Trewilga consists of some very good quality country on the Castlereagh River that has been carefully and comprehensively developed into a highly productive and efficient property,” Mr Castle said.

“It will be utilised in co-ordination with the Curr family’s existing property portfolio and will provide a significant addition to the family’s chain of supply.”

He said the Curr family wanted to acknowledge that Trewilga had been very well presented and was an absolute credit to the Green family who have developed it over the past 110 years.

Marketing agent was Colliers International.

 

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