Mort & Co lists Queensland feedlot assets as part of revised capital strategy

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Mort & Co lists Queensland feedlot assets as part of revised capital strategy

Size: Pinegrove Feedlot - 882ha, Yarranbrook Feedlot - 13,439ha, Gogango Feedlot Development Site - 1,227ha

Location: South East and Central Queensland

Sale method: Offers close at 12pm on November 28, unless sold prior.

Price guide: N/A

Mort & Co has listed three Queensland feedlot assets for sale after concluding a review of its asset base and capital strategy, placing the Pinegrove and Yarranbrook feedlots and the Gogango Feedlot Development Site on the market.

The company undertook a capital-raising process in 2025 aimed at attracting investment for growth across its portfolio, but while the process attracted strong interest in individual operating sites, no offer suitable for an equity stake in the entire business was received.

The three Queensland assets are being offered individually or as a combined portfolio, with LAWD appointed to advise on the sale process.

Executive Chairman and Founder Charlie Mort said the decision reflects the future expansion potential of the assets.

“We, as a board and a company, recognise the potential for those three sites and firmly believe the future success of both Yarranbrook and Pinegrove feedlots is in the ability to expand and meet the growing grainfed beef requirements worldwide,” he said.

Pinegrove Feedlot is located between Millmerran and Cecil Plains on the Darling Downs and operates at 9,698 Standard Cattle Units (SCU), with development approval lifting capacity to 21,100 SCU.

The 882ha site has 480ML of high-security groundwater, a licence to impound up to 234ML of surface water and a mix of irrigated and dryland farming.

The feedlot specialises in EU-accredited Angus programs for export markets.

Yarranbrook Feedlot. Pic: Supplied

Yarranbrook Feedlot, near Inglewood in South East Queensland, spans 13,439ha and is currently feeding 18,540 SCU.

It is approved to expand to 35,000 SCU and is supported by more than 3,000ML of water entitlements from the Macintyre Brook and Coolmunda Dam system.

Mort & Co took full ownership in 2024 and has upgraded water systems, effluent management facilities and on-site infrastructure.

The Gogango Feedlot Development Site is a fully approved 36,500 SCU greenfield project near Rockhampton.

The 1,227ha site includes 1,820ML of medium-security water entitlements on a long-term lease, detailed engineering designs and full environmental and development approvals.

It has secured $20 million in government grants to support development costs.

“This is not the way we envisaged the capital raising heading, but as it is in business, we need to be able to pivot from strategic plans in order to continue to be successful,” Mr Mort said.

“We have had great loyalty from our 50 plus shareholders – many for more than 20 years, and we must accept that there are changes in their plans too.

“I believe this new plan will enable the growth at Yarranbrook and Pinegrove that we had hoped for, and for a new feedlot to be built in the heart of cattle country, at Gogango in Central Queensland.”

LAWD Senior Director Jaclyn Hope said the assets were strategically positioned in established production regions.

“The company’s three assets in Southern and Central Queensland are all sited within established feed and processing corridors, providing efficient logistics for grain, water and cattle, and minimising freight costs, all of which enhance operating margins,” she said.

“Each of these sites combines scale, water security, strategic location and the operational excellence that Mort & Co is renowned for as a leading global producer of premium feedlot beef.

“The operational quality and expansion approvals at Pinegrove and Yarranbrook will align particularly well for buyers with a strategic or vertical-integration focus.”

Strong interest from a range of buyers, including domestic and international beef processors looking to secure throughput, corporate agribusiness and institutional investors seeking long-term exposure to the Australian beef sector, and family-owned enterprises and regional operations who may be looking to scale up existing feeding or backgrounding operations.

LAWD Senior Director Tim McKinnon said market fundamentals continue to support demand.

“The Australian grain-fed sector has expanded 36% over the past decade, so demand for well-managed, scalable beef assets is expected to remain robust,” he said.

Offers close at 12pm on November 28, unless sold prior.

Historic Fairholm hits market with $5 million-plus price tag after five generations of family stewardship

Size: 186ha

Location: Whiteheads Creek, VIC

Sale method: EOI closing 2pm (AEDT) on November 26.

Price guide: More than $5 million

If the walls at Fairholm could talk, they would tell a family story filled with shared meals, milestone celebrations and a steady custodianship shaped by seasons, stockwork and the rhythm of a working farm.

Five generations of Philip and Anne Smith’s family have lived at the mixed farming property at Whiteheads Creek, just 7km from Seymour, since the late 1800s, defining a family legacy of longevity not often seen today.

Mr Smith’s great great grandfather, William Wheeley Orme, was the first to call the section of land home.

“He came up to the Worrough Run in the 1850s, and then acquired land, including part of Fairholm and various other blocks, in the early 1860s,” Mrs Smith said.

“It’s thought he had about 800 acres and initially lived in slab huts just below this house.

“He then built this house in 1874.”

The Fairholm homestead. Pic: Supplied

The house was built from bricks created from a dam just below the current homestead before it was acquired by the bank in 1884 and sold. 

Various owners occupied the farm for several years, before Mr Smith’s grandfather, Alfred Wallis, bought the property back in 1920.

“After World War one, Phil’s grandfather, Alfred Wallis, who grew up just nearby, acquired part of what Fairholm is now, and the house as a soldier settlement block,” Mrs Smith said.

Mr Wallis’s mother also lived at the property for a time, as did Mr Smith’s mother.

Mr Smith has owned the property since 1990.

“It’s a bit special because our cousins are on both sides of the property, which is quite unique,” Mr Smith said.

“We've got photos of all sorts of beautiful occasions that have been held here. There’s been quite a few weddings over the generations and 21st birthdays and family reunions.”

Set across four titles, Fairholm is ideally suited to grazing and fodder production, supported by as-new fencing, multiple dams, troughs and double frontage to Whiteheads Creek.

The property currently runs Angus cattle and Merino and first-cross sheep in a rotational system underpinned by perennial rye grasses, sub-clover pastures and annual lucerne.

At its centre stands the lovingly maintained 1874 homestead, surrounded by established gardens, a tennis court and a heated mineral pool, with a one-bedroom self-contained cottage providing additional accommodation for guests or as a short-stay rental.

The four-bedroom residence blends period character with modern amenity, offering updated bathrooms, a stone-topped Miele kitchen, wood heating and split-system climate control across its formal and informal living zones.

Mr Smith said they loved the location of the property.

“It’s close to Melbourne, the four-lane highway and all of the services in Seymour,” he said.

“We also love the climate, you get four seasons in one year.

“There’s pretty reliable rainfall and it’s productive. We’re on Whiteheads Creek, which has good alluvial loamy flats and they’re very productive. We run sheep, cattle and make hay.”

Mrs Smith said they had strengthened the property’s water security over the years.

“We’ve put in a plentiful water supply, a trough system to most paddocks and we’ve put in a couple of big dams, so we've been able to spoil ourselves with garden water, which certainly generations before haven't been able to do,” she said.

“And now the house is nestled in a very lovely garden.”

LAWD Director, Bart O’Sullivan, said Fairholm offered all the benefits of a turnkey rural property with a showcase home, and the market expects a sale price of more than $5 million. 

He said Fairholm was well set up for livestock, with 17 paddocks, extensive shelter belts for year-round stock protection, and high-quality, stockproof fencing throughout.

Infrastructure includes a three-stand shearing shed, 260sq m machinery shed, barn, hay shed and steel yards for both cattle and sheep, with the property also benefiting from three road frontages.

“The fact that Fairholm has been in one family for five generations signifies its reliability, productivity and security as a working farm, and the new buyer could move straight in and begin working,” Mr O’Sullivan said.

“With its proximity to the large regional town of Seymour and just 90 minutes’ drive from Melbourne, Fairholm also offers excellent potential for investors seeking an established country estate.”

Fairholm is being offered for sale by Expressions of Interest in partnership with Nutrien/Harcourts. The campaign closes at 2pm (AEDT) on November 26.

Stanbroke expands grainfed empire with $400 million Rangers Valley acquisition

Size: 4856ha 

Location: Glen Innes, NSW 

Sale price: About $400 million

Stanbroke has made a decisive expansion into the premium grain-fed beef market, acquiring the renowned Rangers Valley Cattle Station feedlot and branded beef business in northern NSW - a deal understood to be worth around $400 million.

The 4856ha enterprise near Glen Innes ranks among the most influential players in Australia’s high-end beef supply chain, producing long-fed Angus and Wagyu for elite export and domestic markets.

Its Japanese owner, Marubeni Corporation, has sold 100 per cent of its shareholding after nearly four decades of ownership.

In a statement, Marubeni confirmed the divestment as part of its capital shift under its mid-term management strategy.

“Under Marubeni’s ownership since 1988, Rangers Valley has grown into one of the world’s leading premium beef suppliers, operating one of the largest feedlots in Australia with over 40,000 head of cattle,” it said.

The business will transition to Stanbroke from November 1.

Stanbroke already operates the 50,000-head feedlot at Chinchilla and runs 200,000 cattle across seven stations totalling 1.2 million hectares in Queensland.

Rangers Valley managing director Keith Howe emphasised continuity for customers, producers and staff.

“It will be business as usual at Rangers Valley,” he said.

“We will continue to operate as always with each key functional area and team members continuing to support the Rangers Valley way – producing some of the world’s leading premium Wagyu and long-fed Pure Black Angus programs.”

Mr Howe said Stanbroke’s vertically integrated structure would create long-term strategic benefits.

“The strength of the Stanbroke business is an important feature in this change, including provision of a future centralised meat processing operation.

“This shift to a more vertical integration of processing provides efficiencies and benefits for both the Stanbroke and Rangers Valley businesses.”

Stanbroke announced the acquisition on social media.

“Stanbroke is proud to welcome Rangers Valley. We look forward to continuing their legacy of quality and honouring the traditions that have made them one of Australia’s most respected beef producers,” it said on Facebook.

Regarded as Australia’s fourth-largest feedlot, Rangers Valley specialises in 270–300-day Angus programs designed to maximise marbling performance.

The acquisition further consolidates Stanbroke’s position as a powerhouse in the nation’s premium beef segment.

Three neighbouring Central West farms snapped up for $5.325m in rare triple auction 

Size: Combined 1581ha

Location: Ootha, NSW

Sale price: Combined $5.325 million

A century-long farming legacy in the NSW Central West has officially changed hands, with three adjoining properties at Ootha selling for a combined $5.325 million at a fiercely contested auction on Wednesday.

The aggregation – comprising “Tilga”, “The Gums” and “Tamba” – drew eight registered bidders and five active participants, all local farmers seeking expansion opportunities in one of the region’s most tightly held grazing and cropping districts. The three neighbouring holdings were offered separately by long-time owners John and Jenn Greig.

“Tilga” at 329 Ootha North Road realised $1,650,000, while the flagship holding “The Gums” at 962 Burkes Road achieved the highest price at $2,575,000. The third parcel, “Tamba” at 1087 Burkes Road, sold for $1,100,000.

"The Gums", part of the Ootha aggregation. Pic: Supplied

Ray White Rural Parkes, Forbes, Condobolin, West Wyalong Partner Paddy Ward said the result highlighted both scarcity and proven performance.

“It was very rare for properties of this calibre to be offered to the market, particularly when they have been held within the same family for more than a century,” Mr Ward said.

“The long history of successful cropping and grazing across generations provides buyers with confidence in the land's proven productivity and ongoing potential.”

Buyers were further incentivised by the inclusion of standing crops ahead of the harvest season. Ray White Rural auctioneer Max Nell said favourable conditions helped underpin strong bidding.

“All in all, both parties walked away happy,” Mr Nell said.

For the vendors, the sale marked the close of a formative chapter.

“It's hard from a seller's perspective to sell in the current market when knowing how good prices were two to three years ago, but the results today have allowed us to move forward in our life and into another chapter,” John and Jenn Greig said.

The triple sale underscores continued confidence in the Central West’s agricultural sector, particularly for scalable land with deep-rooted production history.

Renovator’s rural gem: channel-fronted Riverina block goes to market

Size: 97ha

Location: Tullakool, NSW

Sale method: Online auction with AuctionsPlus at 11am (AEDT) on November 12

Price guide: N/A

A mixed-farming property with significant upside potential has hit the market in the NSW Riverina, with ‘Yileen’ offering a rare opportunity for buyers prepared to renovate, modernise and capitalise on long-term value improvement.

Positioned across two lots and intersected by Murray Irrigation’s Southern Branch Channel, the 97ha holding at Tullakool combines secure water access with scope for refurbishment and productivity uplift.

Ray White Deniliquin agent Hamish Thomson said interest is expected from both hands-on farmers and strategic buyers looking to add scale.

“It’s an excellent opportunity for someone who wants to potentially get extremely involved and bring the current property up to its former glory,” he said.

“It’s certainly not for the faint-hearted but if you roll your sleeves up, hook in and have a go there’s some probably reasonable capital gain or good capital gain to be made for those who can do that work themselves.”

The property sits on a mix of loam and clay-loam soils and benefits from highly desirable water adjacency, with the main irrigation channel running through the centre of the farm and another branch along the eastern boundary.

The existing asset base includes a four-bedroom timber homestead, a decommissioned herringbone dairy, machinery and hay storage, two general purpose sheds, animal and garden shedding, an older border-check irrigation system with recycle dam, stock water system with concrete troughs and access to local shire filtered water.

Mr Thomson said the listing would appeal to several buyer types.

“There are probably a few different buyers,” he said.

“One is the standalone, buy it and make it your home or flip it or a really good tack on block for someone within proximity.”

‘Yileen’ will be sold via online auction with AuctionsPlus at 11am (AEDT) on November 12.

Kylie Dulhunty is a journalist with more than 20 years experience covering everything from court to health. Today, Kylie loves nothing more than turning market trends, industry insights and epic property sales - residential, rural and commercial into captivating stories.