The Merrowie and Sunland Aggregation features significant groundwater and Lachlan River irrigation allocations, and produced 33,000 bales of cotton last season. Photo: LAWD

THE Merrowie and Sunland Aggregation at Hillston is being offered for sale by US-based MERS Global Investments LLC.

Its listing through LAWD offers the chance to secure up to 100-percent ownership of an institutional-scale, diversified irrigated and dryland cropping, grazing, and horticulture aggregation, in the Lachlan Valley region of New South Wales.

Underpinned by 35,938 megalitres of secure water entitlements, the aggregation spans 34,523ha across two contiguous aggregations comprising the 32,778ha Merrowie and 1738ha Sunland, as well as the 7ha Merrowie Grain Facility.

Diversity of income across a range of commodities with favourable dynamics is a stand-out, with the aggregation currently producing cotton, vegetables, grain, and almonds, in addition to beef, lamb, and wool.

Significant investment has been made to develop the productive capacity of the aggregation, including the conversion of dryland areas to irrigation.

The aggregation includes 195ha of precision GPS-levelled bankless channel irrigation, 5244ha of laser-levelled flood irrigation, 2966ha of lateral-move and centre-pivot irrigation, and 3323ha of dryland cropping.

Irrigation comes from regulated water sources including groundwater, and high-security and general-security Lachlan River allocations.

Strong production across commodities

In the year to June 2024, the aggregation produced more than 33,000 bales of cotton, 25,000 tonnes of winter crops, 15,000 tonnes of beetroot and sweet corn in total, and 290 bales of wool.

A recently developed 450ha almond orchard will start commercial production this year, and an additional 335ha is earmarked for future almond and pistachio production, of which 250ha is already significantly developed ahead of almond tree planting in 2025.

The Merrowie and Sunland Aggregation is an established grower of beetroot and sweet corn. Photo: LAWD

The aggregation’s livestock enterprise is managed across 18,949ha of grazing land on Merrowie, and includes a self-replacing Merino flock and an Angus herd.

Grain production on Merrowie and Sunland is complemented by the Merrowie Grain Facility, with a storage capacity for up to 32,100 tonnes of cereals and pulses, including 5400 tonnes of silo storage and 26,700t of bunker storage, as well as 260t of fertiliser storage.

In addition to facilities supporting grain production, the aggregation includes machinery sheds, shearing sheds and yards, cattle yards, packing sheds, airstrips, a weighbridge, and ample accommodation options from homesteads through to modern casual staff accommodation.

LAWD senior director Danny Thomas said the aggregation presented an attractive value proposition to the market, given its size, location, flexible income streams, and the production of commodities supplying growing domestic and export markets.

“The Lachlan Valley is renowned for being a highly productive agricultural region with water security and access to major commodity processing centres, which is exemplified by the significant institutional investor footprint in the immediate surrounds,” Mr Thomas said.

“The current vendors determine the crop mix across the aggregation by seasonal water availability, contracted volumes, commodity prices, and agronomic benefits.

“This means the vast range of commodities produced each year provide diverse income streams, mitigating single commodity risk.”

The Merrowie and Sunland Aggregation is being offered for sale by expressions of interest closing April 17.

Merrowie was sold to MERS in 2018 by the Kahlbetzer family’s Twynam Agricultural Group, while the nearby Sunland, which listed in 2021, was sold by Tim and Sally Watson.