A RANGE of properties are already on the market for the spring selling season, and include the Ascot & Arundel Aggregation on the Darling Downs, the Rosehill Aggregation north of Inverell, and Borderleen south-east of Renmark.

Ascot & Arundel Aggregation, Qld

A turnkey blue-chip asset on southern Queensland’s Darling Downs has been listed for sale by expressions of interest.

The 1015ha Ascot & Arundel Aggregation is located 21km east of Cecil Plains and 58km south of Dalby.

JLL Agribusiness directors Clayton Smith, Chris Holgar and Geoff Warriner, who have been appointed to sell the Ascot and Arundel Aggregation, were unable to disclose a price guide or the vendor, who they described as a sophisticated investor.

Mr Smith said the well-developed, fully operational farm has been progressively developed into a highly productive irrigated enterprise.

“The aggregation has some of the richest black soils Australia has to offer, perfect for producing high yielding crops when paired with the three on-farm water resources and the functional irrigation development.”

Mr Holgar said the properties are ideally situated in the heart of a prime farming region.

“Complimented by water security and functional infrastructures for efficient production, these holdings are placed at the pinnacle of Australian cropping opportunities.”

The aggregation comprises two distinct management hubs:

• 513ha Ascot and Hoedown of which 446ha is irrigated and 2ha is dryland;
• 502ha Arundel and Glengyle comprising 178ha of flood Irrigation, 199ha of lateral irrigation and 76ha of dryland.

Combined, 81 percent is irrigable land with the balance dryland cropping and support land.

Around 240ha is currently fallow in preparation for the coming summer, with water available in storage.

Water

Current ownership has invested significant capital into new pump stations and a new 18-span lateral irrigator ensuring high levels of operational efficiency.

Irrigation water is underpinned by ground water (via the Condamine Alluvium)
with a total licenced volume of 187ML.

Additionally, there is a 40ML unsupplemented water allocation from the Upper Condamine Zone, a 300ML volumetric limit, 1106ML of on-farm water storages, and opportunistic capturing of overland flows.

The Ascot & Arundel Aggregation is offered for sale by expressions of interest in one line or as separate assets closing on October 10.

Rosehill Aggregation, NSW

More than $19 million bare is anticipated for Gunn Agri’s mixed-farming platform used to breed and background Wagyu cattle.

The 4246ha Rosehill Aggregation is a high-rainfall opportunity north-west of the highly regarded New England region of New South Wales.

It is located 21km from Ashford and 44km from Deepwater.

LAWD agents Col Medway and Daniel McCulloch have been appointed to sell the three properties, aggregated over the company’s three-year ownership.

They comprise the adjoining 3499ha Rocky Creek, 488ha Hodges, and 258ha Leeton.

Gunn Agri co-founder and managing director Brad Wheaton said key capital improvements have been completed.

“Rosehill is being taken to market to focus on the part of the company’s operation based at Delungra which has greater cropping potential,” Mr Wheaton said.

The 4300ha Gragin Aggregation, 47km north-west of Inverell, is a mix of grazing and 1400ha of broadacre cropping.

Mr Wheaton said the Rosehill and Gragin Aggregations were operating as one management unit until recently.

“Given their geographic distance (100km apart) and as more opportunities opened up for the company at Delungra, it became clearer to focus on growing scale at Gragin.

“Today, the aggregation spans eight properties, grows crops and works with long-term cattle-grazing tenants.”

Mr Wheaton said the highest and best use of Rosehill is as a mixed-farming or cattle-focused enterprise.

Money raised from the sale will allow Gunn Agri, on behalf of the Transforming Farming Platform, which manages mixed-farming properties for Australian and European institutional investors, to expand its footprint in the Delungra area.

The Rosehill Aggregation has a combination of self-mulching red and black basalt, granite and New England trap soils.

There are 1043 arable hectares (25 percent) with 777ha currently sown to oats with the potential to expand the cropping enterprise.

The open and timbered grazing land which rises to timbered hills have a carrying capacity of 17,500 Dry Sheep Equivalents.

Water is sourced from a bore, two wells, a spring fed dam and numerous creek and river systems.

Interest in the Rosehill Aggregation is likely to come from locals, Wagyu producers and other premium supply chain operators from NSW and Qld seeking safe country to run either full-blood, pure-bred F1 Wagyu or Angus cattle.

Infrastructure includes a three-bedroom home, a three-bedroom cottage, a two-bedroom workers quarters, two steel cattle yards, a shearing shed, sheep yards, numerous sheds and silos with 160 tonnes of grain storage.

Potential carbon income

A 25-year 1466ha soil-carbon project has been developed to the point of registration with the Clean Energy Regulator.

The property sits in the New England Renewable Energy Zone and is transected by an existing high-voltage powerline, with the vendor also receiving proposals from developers of two solar and one wind project.

In addition, an ecological analysis report has found areas of significant biodiversity value proving potential for a NSW Government biodiversity stewardship agreement.

Expressions of interest for the Rosehill Aggregation close on October 17.

Borderleen, SA

The sale of one of the largest properties in South Australia’s Mallee district will end three generations of Fielke family ownership.

The 4935ha Borderleen is located 38km south-east of Renmark and 43km north-east of Loxton and has been listed for sale by Darryl and Annette Fielke.

The Murray Mallee is a vast plain renowned for its grain-growing and livestock grazing.

It lies south of the Murray River, with the Victorian border to the east.

The stand-alone operation offers flexibility across a variety of enterprises with existing infrastructure supporting large-scale cropping and adequate feed grain to facilitate a beef and/or sheep grazing operation or a piggery.

TOOP+TOOP agent Nigel Gosse said with broadacre land prices across South Australia increasing at historically high rates, the Mallee has never looked so favourable from an agribusiness farming proposition.

“Borderleen provides a well-established farming opportunity for both local and interstate families wishing to take advantage of the value on offer.”

Borderleen comprises four holdings with mostly sandy loam soils and water supplied by SA mains water.

• 532ha Caudis – 516ha arable. Infrastructure includes a three-bedroom home, steel cattle yards, a two-stand shearing shed, sheep yards and numerous sheds;
• 1108ha Addis – 1084ha arable. Infrastructure includes a three-bedroom home, steel cattle yards, sheds and a silo;
• 3178ha Home – 2467ha arable;
• 117ha Piggery – 95ha arable. The 600-sow piggery is not currently operating but is able to be switched on with relative ease. Infrastructure includes a four-bedroom home, numerous sheds and steel cattle yards.

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