Australia's biggest farm sales of 2024, as reported on AuctionsPlus, showcased jaw-dropping prices and fierce competition for premium agricultural assets. From the $300-$350 million sale of the ‘Worral Creek Aggregation’ to standout deals like ‘Fairfield Station’ at $49 million, this year’s top transactions reshaped the rural real estate landscape.
The ‘Worral Creek Aggregation’ near Goondiwindi, QLD, set the benchmark for Australian farm sales in 2024, changing hands for an estimated $300 to $350 million.
The 26,885ha property, among the nation's largest privately owned irrigation and dryland farming operations, was acquired by Melbourne-based Warakirri Asset Management and US-backed Alkira Farms, a subsidiary of US agricultural investment giant Farmland Reserve.
Vendors Robert and Jennie Reardon, prominent cotton and cattle farmers, sold the aggregation comprising seven properties and 65,900ML of water entitlements after more than three decades of development.
The purchase adds to Farmland Reserve’s global portfolio, representing the investment arm of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, also known as the Mormon church, with the property to be managed by Solterra under Warakirri’s leadership.
Renowned cotton growers Timothy and Roger Commins sold their 2,807ha cropping portfolio in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation District for about $88 million.
The sale, to a private domestic investor, includes four hubs within an 18km radius featuring 80% laser-levelled irrigation and over 14,000ML in water entitlements.
The Commins brothers, pioneers of cotton growing in the region, also co-founded Southern Cotton’s $20 million gin at Whitton.
The transaction was managed by LAWD’s Danny Thomas and Erica Semmens and adds to the buyer's landholdings in the NSW Riverina.
The iconic ‘Gattonvale Holding,’ a 62-year-old cattle property renowned for breeding and finishing premium bullocks and cull cows, is believed to have sold for more than $70 million.
The 7,500 adult cattle equivalent holding, located near Bowen in Queensland, was offered on a walk-in walk-out basis, including a 4,900-head Santa Gertrudis cattle herd, water rights, and extensive plant and machinery.
Featuring a five-bedroom homestead, modern infrastructure, and frontage to the permanent Bowen River, the property aligns with premium grass-fed brand specifications.
The sale, managed by Shepherdson and Boyd’s Mike Barry and Vince O’Brien, also transferred the vendors' HK1 stock brand to the new owner.
The 10,522ha ‘Fairfield Station,’ part of the Ray Scott Pastoral Portfolio’s ‘Fairfield Aggregation,’ sold at auction for $49 million to the Dennis family’s Twin Hills Cattle Company.
The sale was a highlight of the seven-property aggregation, which spans 29,798ha in Bauhinia, Central Queensland, which has now fetched more than $150 million in total.
Other notable sales included ‘Kurrajong Park’ for $26.1 million, and post-auction deals for ‘Ellis Camp,’ ‘Wongaburra,’ and ‘Hatari’ to local and regional grazing families.
Elders’ Mark Barber described the portfolio as an exceptional legacy, offering rare access to high-quality, tightly held grazing land in a highly productive and strategically located area of Queensland.
Rallen Australia acquired the 64,700ha ‘Woolner Station’ near Darwin, NT, for $49 million, further expanding their Northern Territory grazing empire.
Located 150km east of Darwin in the Mary River region, the station featured 48,000ha of fertile black soil floodplains and 18km of coastal frontage, supporting up to 15,000 cattle during the dry season.
This purchase brought Rallen Australia’s total investment in the Top End to $207 million over six years, amassing 1.1 million hectares of grazing land.
With an average annual rainfall of 1,700mm, ‘Woolner Station’ was ideally suited for tropical pastures and large-scale cattle operations.
The 6,622ha ‘Mayneland’ and ‘Baamba Plains’ properties near Rolleston, QLD, were partially sold for $39 million to New York-based investment firm The Rohatyn Group (TRG).
The deal saw Rural Funds Management retain a 50% stake while TRG and a global institutional investor leased the properties under a 10-year triple-net lease agreement.
‘Mayneland,’ a cotton and mixed-cropping enterprise, was acquired by the Rural Funds Group in 2018 for $18 million, while ‘Baamba Plains,’ purchased in 2021 for $32 million, includes 20,733ML of water entitlements.
The Rural Funds Group stated the transaction would confirm asset values, reduce debt, and mitigate exposure to operating earnings.
The 9,548ha ‘Hillcrest Station’ near Middlemount, Queensland, is believed to have sold for about $33 million to Consolidated Pastoral Company (CPC), pending Foreign Investment Review Board approval.
Passed in at auction for $31.6 million, the blue-ribbon property featured premium Brigalow scrub country, Isaac River flats, and infrastructure capable of supporting 1,800 Red Brahman cattle.
The sale adds to CPC’s neighbouring holdings, Jimarndy and Langley stations, enhancing flood-resilient grazing land in the region.
Nutrien Harcourts GDL agent Dan Tyson described Hillcrest as a rare offering with “not a bad acre,” making it one of Central Queensland’s most desirable properties.
The 4,477ha ‘Pameroo,’ located 65km north of Roma, QLD, sold at auction for $26.3 million, equating to about $5,874 per hectare.
Purchased by Reade and Jill Radel, who run the Kandoona Red Brahman stud in Taroom, the property offered extensive Buffel and improved pastures, ideal for cattle fattening.
With 23 dams, a solar-powered bore system, and two operational bores, the property boasts reliable water infrastructure alongside ample grazing and cleared paddocks.
The sale, managed by Carl Warren of TopX, attracted eight registered bidders and highlighted ‘Pameroo’ as a sought-after grazing asset with 98% of its land classified as open vegetation.
The 18,077ha ‘Gowan Station,’ located 70km south of Blackall, QLD, sold to a Taroom-based investor for an undisclosed sum, believed to exceed $25.5 million.
Initially passed in at auction, the property is estimated to have fetched more than $1,410 per hectare through post-auction negotiations.
Previously owned by Consolidated Pastoral Company and later sold to Blue Sky Beef in 2016 for $7.2 million ($400/ha), the station featured seven freehold titles and a carrying capacity of 3,000 adult equivalents.
The sale, handled by Ray White Rural’s Bruce Douglas and Andrew Turner alongside Wally Cooper of Rural Property & Livestock, included infrastructure such as a five-bedroom homestead, shearing shed, horse yards, and stables.
‘Oakleigh West’, near Bowenville, QLD, sold for $24.75 million, two years after it was first listed.
Acquired by a local farming family, the sale of the 611ha property marked the end of the Stephen family's 80-year stewardship of the tightly held Darling Downs cropping property.
Located 20km south-east of Dalby, the property included 90% arable land, dual frontage to Oakey Creek, and significant water entitlements, including 1,349ML and a 3,324ML annual volumetric allowance.
The transaction was managed by JLL agents Chris Holgar, Clayton Smith, Geoff Warriner, and James Mitchell.
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.
