The Condamine River Portfolio includes 16.5km of frontage to the Condamine River. Photo: CBRE

TEN LOCAL operators have paid in excess of $30 million for the 4447ha Condamine River Portfolio in southern Queensland’s Western Downs region.

The properties were listed in November last year by Aberdare Collieries, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Queensland Government’s CS Energy, the owner of the Kogan Open Cut Coal Mine in the Surat Basin.

Comprising nine non-contiguous holdings, the portfolio is located 15km south-east of Chinchilla and 80km west of Dalby in the Hopelands, Boonarga and Brigalow districts.

The sale was brokered by CBRE Agribusiness agent Edward O’Dwyer, who was unable to disclose the price paid or the buyers, but said they ranged from small family farmers to large stud operators.

“CS Energy was determined to sell the portfolio to high-calibre local producers with deep connections to the Condamine River and the greater Chinchilla district who will continue as custodians of the land.”

With alluvial soils throughout, ranging from brown duplex to grey self-mulching cracking clays, around 2540ha, or more than 60 percent, of the total holding is considered arable.

All the properties are capable of growing wheat, barley, fodder and some pulses and there is also a small opportunity on one or two of the holdings to develop irrigated land for crops such as lucerne.

Featuring 16.5km of Condamine River frontage, each of the nine properties has direct access to the water.

In addition to on-farm water storage, there are water licences or allocations available for some  aggregations, as well as various supporting infrastructure and structures.

When the Condamine River Portfolio was offered to the market late last year, Grain Central was told all aggregations were considered farming properties and were not impacted by CS Energy’s operations, including coal mining.

North of the Condamine River, the holdings include:

• North 1 Aggregation: 183ha Ebony;
• North 2 Aggregation: 399ha McCutcheons and Fayes;
• North 3 Aggregation: 387ha Rodgers, Forest Park, Boonarga and Craigmore; and,
• North 4 Aggregation: 336ha Jones, Dandaloo and Bendaloo.

On the south side of the river, the holdings include:

• South 1 Aggregation: 663ha Forteseven and Sunnyvale;
• South 2 Aggregation: 881ha Wilga Hill, Mi Von and Glen Wilga;
• South 3 Aggregation: 539ha Riverview;
• South 4 Aggregation: 665ha Cloverdale and Strathmore; and,
• South 5 Aggregation: 395ha Glengarry and Teran.

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