In this week's Property Round-up:
35,000ha Emerald farming portfolio set to shine
Riverina powerhouse dwelling set for sale through online auction
Growing opportunity for Central NSW broadacre croppers
US investors shake hands in $780m deal for iconic NSW sheep stations
Size: 225,000ha
Location: NSW
Sold price: $780m
Australian Food and Agriculture is selling its entire 225,000ha NSW property portfolio to special purpose acquisition company Agriculture & Natural Solutions Acquisition Corporation.
The NSW property portfolio which includes the historic sheep stations ‘Wanganella’ and ‘Boonoke’
‘Wanganella’ and ‘Boonoke’ were listed for sale last year following the passing of stockbroker Colin Bell at the age of 80. Both properties have pastoral heritage dating back to the 1860s.
The Australian Food and Agriculture Company owned 18 properties across the Riverina and central-west NSW, covering 225,405ha. These properties supported over 100,000 commercial and stud Merino sheep, along with 15,000 head of cattle.
Agriculture and Natural Solutions Acquisition Corporation (ANSC) will be publicly listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The corporation, formed by partners ANSC, Riverstone, and Impact Ag, has acquired the expansive holdings.
The deal is also believed to include a large portfolio of water entitlements.
Colin Bell established AFA in 1993, following the purchase of the historic “Burrabogie station”.
The mammoth portfolio had grown exponentially since Mr Bell's first purchase, with the portfolio including some of NSW's most prestigious sheep holdings.
Included in the portfolio, AFA owned about 57,600ha near Hay including the “Burrabogie”, “Kolora” and “Mulberry” properties.
Additionally, in the portfolio is the Coonamble group of farms, about 160km north of Dubbo, span 44,800ha including “Wingadee” and “Netherby” stations.
The company also owned the 12,000 head of cattle on the “Conargo Feedlot.”
The deal remains subject to the approval of ANSC’s shareholders and approval from Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board.
More details to come.
35,000ha Emerald farming portfolio set to shine
Size: 34,944ha
Location: Emerald. QLD
For sale price: N/A
The “Arcturus Downs Portfolio” a diversified irrigated cropping, broadacre farming, and beef cattle breeding and backgrounding operation in Central Queensland has entered the market.
Spanning 34,944ha south of Emerald, the Portfolio of four properties is made up of 15,601ha of contiguous cropping and grazing land “Arcturus Downs”, “Kronje” and “Barton Downs”, together the “Arcturus Downs Aggregation” and the 19,343ha “Pindari” property located 30km away, best suited to livestock production.
Cropping land has been extensively developed, producing cotton, sorghum and mungbeans on 1,000ha of irrigation, as well as wheat, barley, chickpeas, sorghum, cotton and oats across 6,852ha of dryland operations.
“Pindari” features 6,450ha of open grazing land, complemented by 4,600ha of timbered grazing and 8,293ha of rangelands with a carrying capacity of 2,250 adult equivalents. “Pindari” is stocked with 1,500 breeding females.
The portfolio is supported by reliable water resources and receives an average annual rainfall of 685mm (27 inches).
The water system on “Pindari” has undergone extensive upgrades and expansion over the past seven years to coincide with a change in management to a rotational grazing system.
Much of the operational infrastructure across the “Arcturus Downs Portfolio” is new or recently upgraded and designed to meet the requirements of its workforce and highly diversified cropping and livestock operations.
The primary homestead has five bedrooms, with four additional dwellings located on “Arcturus Downs”, along with well-established living quarters for on-site employees.
Notable structural improvements at the “Arcturus Downs” aggregation include an extensive integrated grain storage complex with a combined capacity of 7,850t with grain handling facilities, three sets of cattle yards, horse yards and stables as well as substantial residential infrastructure including two main homesteads, six-cottages and staff quarters as well as a hangar.
Structural improvements on “Pindari” include a renovated 100sqm, three-bedroom homestead, a cottage and a mustering hut, four sets of cattle yards, an airstrip, machinery and hay sheds and a workshop.
The portfolio is being offered for sale by Expression of Interest closing October 10, 2024. LAWD Directors Simon Cudmore, Jaclyn Hope and Grant Veivers are handling the sale.
WA cropping opportunity seeking $8,500 plus per hectare
Size: 3,055ha
Location: South Stirling, WA
For sale price: $26.2m
Located 65km north-east of Albany with frontage to the South Coast Highway and consisting of three freehold titles.
An ideal acquisition for farmers or investors looking to increase their footprint in a reliable, high rainfall production zone.
Modern infrastructure includes a large near new machinery shed with adjoining enclosed chemical storage and workshop, large fertiliser and grain storage shed, as well as on-site office and grain silos with combined capacity of 562t.
Predominantly operated under a sustainable canola and cereal cropping rotation in recent years, with the majority of the arable area cropped in 2024.
The property has 70ha of unencumbered blue gum plantation. The property is well suited to canola and cereal cropping production, sheep and cattle grazing as well as agroforestry.
The property benefits from being within a mild climatic zone, with a very low frost risk and minimal days of heat stress being close to the South Coast and receiving an average annual rainfall of approximately 620 mm.
Simon Thomas and Simon Cheetham from Elders Real Estate Albany are handling the sale.
Chinese investors to sell 13,000ha across major NSW farms
Chinese investors are set to sell nearly 13,000 ha of prime grazing and mixed farmland in the NSW Liverpool Plains, west of Gunnedah.
Aohai Australia, a subsidiary of Hunan Aohai Development Co., has listed two major properties: the 5,351ha “McEvers Park,” a five-farm aggregation and the 7,377ha mixed farming enterprise “Butheroo”.
Aohai Australia, led by Sydney-based directors Yawen Huang, Zuhong Yu, and Mingqian Yu, entered the Australian agricultural market in 2016 by purchasing “Butheroo” for $9.5 million. They later expanded with the $18 million acquisition of “McEvers Park” in 2020.
Liverpool Plains' “McEvers Park”
Size: 5,351ha
Location: Goolhi, NSW
For sale price: N/A
“McEvers Park”, located in the highly sought-after Liverpool Plains, has entered the market. Utilised as a dryland cropping and beef production, the property’s productive soil type and location within the high rainfall region promotes a number of agricultural avenues.
“McEvers Park” located 50km from Gunnedah and 342km to Sydney, is being offered for sale by Expressions of Interest.
The property has 2,000ha of arable cropping land, with the balance comprising productive grazing land and support areas, and is rated to have a carrying capacity of about 35,000 dry sheep equivalents.
The highly fertile soil types and flat to undulating topography, underpinned by reliable annual rainfall of 681mm.
Structural improvements include four dwellings, three sets of steel cattle yards, multiple machinery and hay sheds, a three-stand shearing shed with adjoining yards and about 2,000 tonnes of grain storage.
The property is well fenced with a laneway system. Reticulated stock water is supplied via several bores and supplemented by dams and creeks.
Binnaway's "Butheroo"
Size: 7,737ha
Location: Coolah, NSW
For sale price: N/A
The second property offered by Aohai Australia is “Butheroo”, a grazing enterprise located between Coolah and Binnaway and has an estimated carrying capacity of 20,000 DSE.
The property is used for beef and sheep production and has about 1100ha dedicated to cropping country.
Notable infrastructure includes two sets of steel cattle yards (one of which is undercover), a three-stand shearing shed with yards, a machinery shed and workshop, two hay sheds, 550 tonnes of grain storage, and an aircraft hangar with an airstrip.
Accommodation includes a four-bedroom homestead with swimming pool and tennis court, as well as five other dwellings.
Both “McEvers Park” and “Butheroo” are being sold by CBRE Agribusiness through an expressions of interest process that closes on October 3, 2024.
CBRE Senior Director’s James Beer, Nick Connor, John Harrison and Thomas Quinn are handling the sale.
Riverina powerhouse dwelling set for sale through online auction
Size: 217ha
Location: Mangoplah, NSW
For sale price: N/A
“Brookside” located on the highly-sought after Riverina flats is available to purchase via online Auction. The near-new property is marketed as an ideal spot for both cattle and equine stud breeders or someone wishing to downsize in a blue-ribbon location.
The property was purchased in 2019 and everything has since been built new, including house, yards, sheds, fencing, troughs and waterlines.
Operational infrastructure includes the 300-head custom built cattle yards with fully enclosed sides, undercover working area with crush, long concreted race and force as well as additional holding pens and sand arena.
The property has a central laneway leading to 24 paddocks, all sown to pastures and lucerne with a solid fertiliser history.
“Brookside” boasts a near-new four-bedroom Maslin home built in 2020. Located in the heart of the Riverina between Wagga and Holbrook, the property is only 15 mins to Wagga’s city boundaries, and only a minute’s drive to Mangoplah for all your local needs, including rural store, corner store, post office and pub.
“Brookside” will be offered for sale on September 6, via AuctionsPlus.
Nathan Everingham from Nathan Everingham & Co is handling enquiries for the property.
Growing opportunity for Central NSW broadacre croppers
Size: 2,460ha
Location: Tottenham, NSW
For sale price: $6,500,000
“Mogal Plains” located in Central NSW has entered the market, priced at $6.5m or $2,642/ha equivalents.
The listing contributes to the over 7500ha of broadacre farming and grazing country recently listed in the Tottenham region.
Two of the neighboring property owners adjacent to "Mogal Plains," have recently offered land for sale through separate listings.
Located 46km west of Tottenham and 93km North of Condobolin, the property boasts 94% arability.
The property has been described as “rich red loam farming country with superior improvements in a renowned area.”
The flat to gently undulating red loam soils with areas of flood-out country, is suited to both cropping and grazing.
The average annual rainfall for the property is 493mm. However, the system of harvesting the water run-off has underpinned the water security of “Mogal Plains” with a 4ML water licence that allows flood irrigation when season permits.
The fully-automated Boyd lamb feeding system is a notable asset to the sale. The system includes 54 boyd sheep feeders in 19 lamb pens (160-320 head per pen), all of which are supplied by three feed sources.
Further operational infrastructure includes steel cattle and sheep yards, as well as ample shedding and grain storage. Accommodation includes a four-bedroom homestead.
Paddy Ward from Ray White is handling the sale.
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