THE Norman family is selling its irrigated and dryland cotton, grain and pulse-growing operation on the Queensland-New South Wales border via an international expression of interest campaign.

Harvesting on the Norman Farming aggregations at Toobeah.

CBRE Agribusiness agents, Danny Thomas and Duncan McCulloch, are handling the sale, and at 18,028 hectares, have described the Norman Farming holding as one of Australia’s largest irrigated and dryland cropping operations.

Located at Toobeah in the prized Border Rivers region, the holding is comprised of the Kalanga and Mobandilla aggregations.

Aileen and Arthur Norman bought Kalanga in 1981, and since then, the Norman family has acquired adjacent properties which have given the Norman Farming unit roughly 5000ha of flood irrigation.

The balance of Norman Farming includes dryland cultivation, grazing land and water storages that have helped the operation make the most of its water entitlements.

These entitlements provide up to 71,170 megalitres per annum, and have allowed Norman Farming to produce more than 40,000 bales of cotton annually, thanks to yields which have regularly exceeded 12 bales per hectare, well above the industry average.

The Kalanga and Mobandilla aggregations are described as having excellent operational infrastructure, productive soil types, technological developments that enhance on-farm efficiencies, and quality improvements.

Mr Thomas said the Norman Farming listing had presented the market with a large-scale, institutional-grade irrigated asset in an area that represented excellent value for money, and would generate strong buyer interest from domestic and international investors alike.

Norman Farming was the 2010 Australian Cotton Grower of the Year in 2010, and Aileen and Arthur Norman’s son, John, was a finalist in the Farmer of the Year in 2011.

The Norman Farming team has participated in several industry best-management-practice programs, and has continually implemented Robert Kaplan’s Balanced Scorecard system on its farms.

The Macintyre Valley properties are being offered for sale on a walk-in/walk-out basis which includes crops in the ground.