The 5295ha The Oaks is located 45km west of Esperance, and is being sold by the Malaysia-based Russell family, owners of Nerada Tea in Far North Queensland. Photo: Colliers

THIS week’s property review includes listings west of Esperance in Western Australia and north of Grenfell in central New South Wales, and the sale to parties of the HFE Aggregation on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula.

The Oaks, WA

The Malaysia-based Russell family has listed its significant and strategically located mixed farm on WA’s south coast with hopes of raising more than $50 million.

The 5295ha The Oaks is located 45km west of Esperance and is being sold after more than 50 years of ownership due to a change in direction, with the family business understood to be deploying capital elsewhere.

The Russells are the largest tea producers in Malaysia and Australia, and own Nerada Tea in Far North Queensland.

JA Russell (Australia) purchased its first farm in Esperance in 1967 and expanded with the neighbouring property, The Oaks, in 1974.

Historically, the aggregation has operated as a sheep and cropping enterprise, with more than half the land dedicated to pasture production.

Over the past five years, crop production has advanced, with the family adopting and deploying capital into advanced technologies, soil amelioration, and modern machinery.

This has shifted the focus of The Oaks to a 70:30 split between cropping wheat, barley, and canola, and pasture.

In the past three years, 80 percent of the farm has been deep ripped to 500mm.

The registration of interest process for The Oaks is being handled by Colliers Agribusiness agents Rawdon Briggs, Duncan McCulloch and Gabi Mewburn and AWN Rural’s Rowan Spittle.

They said The Oaks’ proximity to the coast provides a favourable environment for high-yielding crops and cost-effective freight.

“This location safeguards efficient grain logistics with quick turnaround times from the CBH, and there is excellent road access to paddocks with three main access driveways and a gravelled internal laneway network,” they stated.

The Russell family is selling The Oaks on WA’s coast west of Esperance. Photo: Colliers

The perennial pastures feature a diverse mix of kikuyu grass, clover, serradella and ryegrass capable of running 12 DSE/ha during winter.

The current sheep genetics boast a fine micron-yielding Merino base, with cull ewes mated to a White Suffolk ram.

Infrastructure includes a six-stand shearing shed and two sheep yards, as well as extensive fence replacement.

Water comes from three river systems which run through the property to provide excellent drainage, as well as 30 dams and a comprehensive waterline supplying troughs and cup-and-saucer tanks.

Grenfell Aggregation, NSW

More than $23.4M is anticipated for an aggregation of four adjoining farms in central western New South Wales.

The 1893ha Grenfell Aggregation is 25km north of Grenfell and comprises the 425ha Aroma, 495ha Craigieleigh, 648ha Tumble Downs, and 325ha Loch Lomond.

Aggregated by the South Australian-based Myore McCabe over 12 years, the properties are being made available for purchase immediately or in stages, or lease, with offers above $12,355/ha, or $5000/acre being considered.

Nutrien Harcourts agent Ainslie Toole said there has been good interest, particularly from larger family operators looking to diversify into cropping.

“In this high-rainfall belt, it is difficult to find properties of scale and the country is surprisingly level, 95 per cent level to gently sloping,” Ms Toole said.

“It is also the pick of the valley, taking in the whole of the valley floor.”

“The Grenfell Aggregation represents excellent value compared to other districts, particularly to the south.”

At Young, just south of Grenfell, she said land was selling for $8000-$10,000/acre.

The 1893ha Grenfell Aggregation is 25km north of Grenfell and is available for sale or lease. Photo: Nutrien Harcourts

While the aggregation has been set up solely for cropping, Ms Toole said it could revert to mixed farming or livestock.

“With a history of producing dryland winter crops and prime lambs, the four farms are being currently run by a team of professional managers/contractors who are happy to stay on if required.”

Around 80-85pc of the aggregation has arable rich red loams to deep alluvial creek flats suited to winter cropping, with the ability to run prime lambs on 230ha of grazing country.

With more than 200mm of rain since harvest, canola and wheat were sown into a full moisture profile.

Ms Toole said across the holding, wheat has yielded up to 6.5 tonnes/ha and averaged up to 5.5t/ha, while canola has yielded up to 3.8t/ha averaging up to 2.55t/ha.

Infrastructure includes three homes, numerous sheds, a two-stand shearing shed, two sheep yards and seven silos with a combined capacity of 510t.

HFE Aggregation, SA

A large-scale continuous cropping portfolio on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula has sold to two locals for expansion after passing in at auction.

The 2429ha HFE Aggregation is located 11km south of Lock and 69km north of Cummins, close to major bulk-handling sites at Lock, Cummins, Lucky Bay, and Port Lincoln.

Ray White Rural agent Daniel Schell was unable to disclose the price paid or the purchasers but said one party bought the 611ha Shangri-La block with a five-bedroom home, a three-stand shearing shed, sheep yards, numerous sheds and eight seed silos.

The other buyer secured the 571ha Abilene with a workers’ cottage and a shed, the 537ha Kings with a workers’ cottage, a two-stand shearing shed, sheep yards and two sheds, and the 709ha Teraleah with three sheds.

Sold by the Hancock family, the HFE Aggregation has flat to undulating land with sandy loam soils over clay that typically grow wheat, barley, canola, and lentils, in a 300-350mm average annual rainfall district.

Each of the four properties had been fenced into large paddocks with long easy runs allowing for efficient cropping, with most of the aggregation deep ripped over the past two years.

The HFE aggregation was offered with a strong history of sound management with a well-respected local farm manager implementing a best practice continuous cropping program over the past five years.