ADJOINING farms north of Moree, Kanglea on Eyre Peninsula, Oakleigh West on the Darling Downs, and Hidden Valley at Mundubbera are among the latest properties to change hands.

Guildford and Castlevilla, NSW

A local farming family has paid between $8000 and $9000 an arable hectare for adjoining cropping properties near Boomi in north-west NSW.

In February, brothers John and David Oats listed the 5570ha Guildford Aggregation, comprising three properties, with one of the blocks held by the family for five generations.

The purchaser secured the adjoining 2049ha Guildford and 1995ha Castlevilla, with around 2000 arable hectares, including 254ha of sorghum.

The nearby 1526ha Boronga, including 570ha of arable country, will return to the market later this year.

Moree Real Estate agent Terry Adams was unable to disclose the buyer or the price, but it is understood it was in line with recent sales in the area.

The country on Guildford and Castlevilla features alluvial brown or grey clays and black loam soils timbered with coolibah, river red gum, western grey box, belah, weeping myall and river cooba.

Situated in a 525mm average rainfall area, water is secured by frontages to the Boomi and McIntyre River, the Boomi and Boomi East capped and piped schemes, 45 tanks and troughs and a 150ML water licence.

Improvements include two four-bedroom homes, a five-bedroom cottage, numerous sheds, two cattle yards, quality fencing and five silos with 365t of grain storage.

Oakleigh West, Qld

An irrigation and dryland enterprise in the tightly held inner Darling Downs cropping region of Bowenville has sold to a local family for $24 million.

The sale of the 611ha Oakleigh West, 20km south-east of Dalby, ends 80 years of ownership by the Stephen family and included all available water and land assets.

JLL directors Chris Holgar, Clayton Smith, Geoff Warriner and James Mitchell handled the sale of Oakleigh but were unable to disclose the buyer or the price paid.

JLL agent Chris Holgar said water is a feature.

“Groundwater and harvest licences underwrite not only the existing operation but also provide the capacity to support landholdings in the broader region seeking additional water.”

Oakleigh West has easy access to the significant water assets, including double frontage to the Oakey Creek.

The water entitlements include:

• 3324ML annual volumetric entitlement from the Oakey Creek, with a nominal entitlement of 1349ML;
• 244ML irrigation bore licence from the Condamine Alluvium with an additional 244ML carryover from the previous year;
• 1150ML of on-farm storages;
• Overland flow opportunities.

Around 90 percent of the property is arable and benefits from deep self-mulching black soils.

Historically it has grown a number of high-yielding crops on both a summer and winter rotation.

Previously, some of the property was under flood irrigation and an additional area was identified as suitable for irrigation development.

Capital has been continually invested ensuring operational efficiency including the installation of a 199ha lateral irrigator.

Other improvements include 800 tonnes of grain storage, numerous sheds, two bores and pumping infrastructure.

Kanglea, SA

Doug Burton’s continuous-cropping country on SA’s Eyre Peninsula has been split up and sold to two neighbours for a combined $3.3 million.

Situated 11km west of Darke Peak, the 1231ha Kanglea comprises the 442ha on Rangeview Road and the 295ha on Wickstein Road.

The properties are centrally located 60km south-east of Cleve, 65km north-east of Kimba and 55km south-west of Lock.

The Rangeview Road properties, which neighbour the Hambidge Wilderness Protection Area, feature mainly open plains with sandy loam soils.

The Wickstein Road property has multiple non-arable sections of sandbanks covered in native vegetation.

Around 676ha is arable and growing wheat and barley.

Kanglea is situated in a 350mm annual average rainfall region and is watered by three dams and multiple tanks, with troughs or dams in most paddocks.

Elders agent Nick Schumann handled the sale.

Hidden Valley, Qld

A Biggenden family is expanding with a southern Queensland block suitable for irrigation, lucerne hay production or cattle backgrounding.

Held by the Sporne family for around six years, the 409ha Hidden Valley is 10km from Mundubbera and 30km from Eidsvold.

As a backgrounding operation, Hidden Valley can run upwards of 500 head but conversely, all of the country can be irrigated.

At the time of sale, the property was planted with 173ha of irrigated leucaena and 10ha of lucerne, with an additional 73ha to a multi-species lucerne-based cattle feed.

Hidden Valley has an abundance of water including a 100ML Burnett River water allocation, two dams, a turkey nest and five bores including one with a 90ha licence.

Improvements include two homes, steel cattle yards, sheds and good quality fencing.

Danielle Meyer Rural agent Danielle Meyer handled the sale of Hidden Valley.

 

Grain Central: Get our free news straight to your inbox – Click here