Full list of people and companies behind Queensland’s biggest farms in 2024
Who owns – and works – Queensland’s largest agricultural landholdings? Meet the farmers on the land, the families, and companies behind them. SEE THE FULL LIST
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Find out about the families and companies that are among Queensland’s biggest landowners, some of whom are among the world’s largest landholders.
Queensland’s biggest farmers and land owners have been revealed in The Weekly Times’ annual investigation into who owns Australia’s farms.
From the list, we have compiled all the major players owning properties in the state.
Queensland’s largest land holders are among the world’s largest private landowners, with many owning properties the size of several countries.
Some Queensland farms are owned by international investors, while the majority are still owned by proud farming families and locals.
As of 2024, the largest farming land holder in the state is understood to be the Australian Agricultural Company (AACo), which is one of Australia’s largest producers of beef and holds significant pastoral land in Queensland, with operations spanning 6.5 million hectares across the state and Northern Territory – equating to one per cent of Australia’s land mass.
The third-largest landholder in Australia, the North Australian Pastoral Company (NAPCo) is also among the state’s largest landholders, overseeing a herd of 200,000 cattle across 14 stations and six million hectares in Queensland and the Northern Territory — an area comparable in size to Belgium.
The Macquarie Bank-backed Macquarie Agriculture also rates among Queensland’s biggest landholders with more than 4.06 million hectares of farmland as part of a national footprint of 4.7 million hectares.
Below, meet some of the people, families, and companies that own the state’s largest farms to smaller-scale family-owned operations that live and breathe life on the farm.
‘MORE THAN JUST A BEEF COMPANY’
While the Lee family of Australian Country Choice operate the nation’s largest vertically integrated beef business valued at $1.8 billion, there is more to the business at its heart.
Founded by now rich lister Trevor Lee in 1968, the ACC Group was established eight years after his father, Norm, purchased foundation property Brindley Park near Roma.
In the present day, the ACC Group is headed by Trevor’s son Anthony Lee, with the company managing 300,000 head of cattle over close to 1.75 million hectares of pastoral, grazing and farming land, an area sized between Fiji and Kuwait in terms of land area in hectares.
The largest property owned by the group is Barkly Downs 942,500 hectares, which is larger than Cyprus.
“We’ve got about four and a half million acres of land around Queensland with a 300,000 head of cattle capacity,” Mr Lee said.
“Barkly Downs would be our biggest property, it’s two and a half million acres and runs 60,000 head of cattle.
“By plane it takes several hours to fly around, by car a day or number of days, and you wouldn’t want to walk it mate.”
The meat processing company has a significant geographical spread across Queensland, with its 42 properties spread over several aggregations producing enough meals to “feed every Australian every week”.
“We’ve formed our properties into aggregations and built them up over time,” Mr Lee said.
“We have three feed lots which are strategically placed to take cattle from the north, west, and south.
“There’s about 60,000 head capacity in them.
“And then we’ve got a food facility in Brisbane, where we produce about 1.3 billion beef meals per year.
“It’s about enough to feed every Australian every week.”
While feeding the nation is largely the meat processor’s primary purpose, Mr Lee said the company has diversified to help human kind in differing ways – even saving lives.
“We also produce heart valves and we’ve saved or extended the life of 7 million people,” he revealed.
“It’s the pericardium, it’s the sac off the heart that we cut out, we put it into an ice slurry every day and we fly it to Edward Lifesciences in the US, where they receive it and then turn it into a stent for a heart valve.
“We also produce biofuels for powering vehicles and planes, leather for car parts and a lot of products for pharmaceuticals and medical research.
“So we’re more than just a beef company.”
Mr Lee lives and breathes the agricultural aspects of the company, but there is one aspect of it that he believes is crucial to the operation above all else.
“There’s a lot of things I like about the agri business, but it’s the people first and foremost,” he said.
“They’re wonderful people, very honest and hard working.
“They live it, it’s their whole life, their kids live it, they grow up on the stations, and they’re just really, genuinely wonderful people.”
Recognising the importance of giving back and how tough life in the country can be, the ACC Group have made lots of donations; one of the biggest – sponsoring an entire hangar for LifeFlight at Roma.
The Lee family and Australian Country Choice LifeFlight Centre is a state-of-the-art base that helps meet the growing demand for emergency services in Queensland’s southwest and features a hangar large enough to house two AW139 aircraft, improved crew and maintenance facilities, as well as ambulance access to the hangar and apron.
‘LONG WAY FROM QUEEN ST’
The North Australian Pastoral Company (NAPCo), one of Australia’s oldest and largest cattle companies, offers a unique view into Australia’s cattle industry from its Brisbane headquarters, under the leadership of chief executive Allan Cooney.
Founded in 1877, NAPCo began with the acquisition of vast leases on the Barkly Tableland in the Northern Territory, later expanding into Queensland as the company grew.
Today, NAPCo stands as the third-largest landholder in Australia, overseeing a herd of 200,000 cattle across 14 stations and six million hectares in Queensland and the Northern Territory — an area comparable in size to Belgium.
In 2016, the Queensland Government’s investment arm, the Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC), acquired an 78 per cent interest in NAPCo, bringing the company firmly into the fold of Queensland’s economic landscape.
NAPCo chief executive Allan Cooney has offered an insight into his role at the helm of the modern day organisation, which remains a major player in Australia’s cattle industry 147 years after its establishment.
“It’s a privilege to manage a reputable pastoral company with such a rich history,” he remarked.
“We are unique in that we own all of our land so that we can manage the land in accordance with our values and sustainability.
“We manage 200,000 head of cattle, we’ve got our own unique breed of cattle bred for the northern Australian conditions.
“We take an enormous amount of pride in doing what we do.”
Mr Cooney said it was a delicate balancing act managing the organisation from an office in Queen St, while ensuring he and fellow senior management get their boots in the dust of the various properties.
“The executive team that works with me are all very committed to what they do but it’s also very important to all of us to really make sure we know what’s happening on the ground, and get out where the magic happens on a pretty regular basis, and actually understand the nuances of managing a vast estate.
“We are part of a team that is very widely distributed, but we all work together as a team.
“We steward 6.1 million hectares, which is an area the size of Belgium, and it’s a long way from Queen St to the Barkly Tableland or the Channel Country.”
Mr Cooney said the success of the company is attributed to three key principles that the agricultural company operates on.
“We’ve got three principles that we work on and that’s land, cattle and people,” he said.
“When we say land, we’re talking about the whole landscape from being world leaders in land and sustainability management to the rare and endangered species that we protect.
“We’ve got a unique breed of cattle, which is probably one of the best and one of the largest cattle breeds in the world all under our management.
“And then we’ve got great people who do a great job, and we work really hard at making sure that they get rewarded for their time with us in a business where everyone’s proud of what they do.”
‘IT’S NOT LIKE THE TERRITORY’
While life can be tough on the country, the Speed family at Brigodoon Cattle Company wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.
Brigodoon Cattle Company is a family-owned and operated breeding, backgrounding and finishing operation, which includes a feedlot, located across Queensland.
Operated by Bill, Gretchen, sons Bob and Thomas, with respective wife’s Andrea and Bri, the company has significant holdings of more than 840,000 hectares across 12 properties.
Bob, Andrea, and their two-year-old son Michael live at Retreat Station, which is 280km southwest of Longreach, and the base for the western division of the company.
Ms Speed said life on the land has its fair share of challenges but it is incredibly rewarding.
“There’s plenty of challenges in it, but with that comes reward, if you’re prepared to work hard,” she said.
“We enjoy working with animals and we love the freedom that you have out here.
“We’re not surrounded by city walls, we’re living in a beautiful part of the world.”
One of the challenges currently facing the operators is finding staff, particularly young men.
“Staffing is the biggest issue for anyone in these areas. Attracting staff is hard because we are remote and it can be hard work,” she said.
“Finding good staff and skilled staff is really hard, but some of the best people we’ve got have come from Brisbane.
“We really struggle to attract young men. We get a lot of girls that apply for jobs, which is great and we employ a lot of females, but it is very hard to attract a young bloke out to these areas.
“We certainly work hard, but there’s a lot of fun to be had in it and we really want to encourage people to come out here and have a go, and experience the lifestyle.”
Ms Speed is worried about the impact that the Australian outback drama show Territory, which is currently taking the world by storm on Netflix, might have in attracting workers, which are desperately needed, to outback Queensland.
“The Territory show on Netflix is really popular at the moment, and I feel it’s not a true representation of our industry, and that really worries me. What people are seeing on the screen is not actually how we do things out here,” she said.
“Put it this way, there’s not 20 of us standing around riding horses under cover all day. We actually have to go to work.
“If our staff are riding a motorbike, they always wear a helmet. It’s not negotiable. Our industry doesn’t need or want the image of people racing around or mustering on bikes without a helmet on. There’s been to many bike fatalities in our industry, and as an industry we’ve worked to hard to change people’s attitudes and the culture towards helmets and safety. We don’t need a negative image broadcasted to the world.
“It’s not like the Territory.”
‘340KM FOR UBER EATS’
While not among the largest landholders in the state, the owners of Argyle Pastoral Company have offered an insight into what country life is like in modern day Queensland.
Owned and operated by Patrick and Edwina Hick, the Argyle Pastoral Company co-operates five properties in north west Queensland totalling 200,000 hectares.
Their operation currently runs 18,000 Brahman cross cattle, aiming to produce beef cattle for the feedlot sector.
Currently employing six full-time staff, Mr Hick said the company’s biggest asset has always been the people involved, who have made working in the industry so enjoyable.
“The people we work with in our company and in the industry generally are a large part of what makes agriculture and the northern cattle industry in particular such a great industry to work in,” he said.
“There is a long list of people who have worked for Argyle Pastoral Company as young people and gone onto all different walks of life, some in agriculture, some not who remain good friends of ours.”
Mr Hick said life in the country is different compared to the city, with his work crew treated to a unique style of “Uber Eats” while out on a mustering camp.
“We were camped on our Cooradine property at a mustering camp and we had been there for a couple of weeks, so my wife Edwina decided she was going to surprise us and bring us dinner like Uber Eats,” he said.
“She got us some cooked chooks for roast dinner, chocolate pudding, put it in the car, and drove it 170km to us.
“It was a nice surprise, we’d been living on beef, so chicken was a nice change.”
Mr Hick also talked about recent efforts to battle bushfires that threatened the edges of his property.
“We’ve got a few fires around us at the moment, the Bunda Bunda fire has been going for about a week,” he said.
“We also have a fire burning at Woodstock which is threatening the northern boundary of one of our properties, and another one threatening the southern and eastern boundary.”
“We have a fixed-wing aircraft, so I’ve been flying around observing where the fire is going, what it was doing, and talking to people on the ground who had machines and fire fighting equipment, and just letting them know where they should go.
“The fires are being fought by property owners, staff, and neighbours are assisting where they can.
“There is no fire brigade out here, it’s just us and our own property equipment.”
While farming is a tough game, Mr Hick said it is hard to beat life in the country.
“I love a good horse on a cool morning, riding out early to go mustering, the sound of thunder and rain on a tin roof and standing around a campfire at dusk washing the dust down with a cold beer and laughing about the day’s adventures.”
SCROLL DOWN FOR THE FULL LIST OF QLD’S BIGGEST LAND HOLDERS AND FARMERS
AAAW GROUP (AUSTRALIA AULONG AUNIU WANG) — CHINA
Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Sydney, AAAW Group is an independent division of Dashang Group – the largest retailer in northeast China. Pinnacle Foods Australia is the Australian division of the Dashang Group.
Pinnacle Fine Foods is an integrated Australian agribusiness firm involved in the production of premium food with landholdings in New South Wales, Tasmania, and Queensland.
In Queensland, the company operates Oak Park, one of the state’s leading producers of premium Angus cattle and operates under AAAW Group’s Hunter Beef portfolio.
Located on the Ward River, 50km northwest of Charleville, Oak Park plays a prominent role in AAAW Group’s cattle production and paddock-to-plate domestic and global supply network.
- Oak Park, Charleville QLD – 78,000ha
AAM INVESTMENT GROUP
AAM is a large-scale, wholly Australian-owned operator and provider of strategic investment, asset management and operational management services to Australia’s agricultural industry.
AAM’s vision is to promote investment that leads change in the agricultural industry to create a positive and sustainable legacy.
The company has invested $1 billion in beef, lamb and wool, cropping, poultry, and timber supply chains across 32 sites in four states and territories.
- Mt Harden, Blackall QLD – 34,005ha
- Terrick Terrick, Blackall QLD – 55,000ha
- Thornleigh and Moorlands, Blackall QLD – 35,000ha
- Wooralah, Blackall QLD – 8992ha
ALDERLEY PASTORAL COMPANY
The Alderley Pastoral Company consists of a north west Queensland beef cattle station run by Frank and Rada Blackett.
- Alderley Station, Boulia QLD — 526,091ha
AMINYA PASTORAL
A joint venture of TVF Pastoral, JHF and Son and Strathbogie Pastoral, Aminya Pastoral’s main enterprises are breeding cattle, merino sheep, and broadacre farming.
Operates across rural properties spanning 153,000 hectares running 24,000 cattle, 10,000 sheep and cropping 4000 hectares of cereals, legumes and summer crops.
- Albro, Laglan QLD – 26,471ha
- Caledonia, Aramac QLD- 30,100ha
- Evora, Blackall QLD – 24,362ha
- Glenbar, Theodore QLD- 8529ha
- Kioma, Toobeah QLD – 14,972ha
- Minnie Downs, Tambo QLD – 22,177ha
- Orana Park/Spottswood Park, Moura QLD – 10,802ha
- Thalmera, Moura QLD – 8676ha
ANGUS PASTORAL COMPANY (SIGNATURE BEEF)
Angus Pastoral Company is a rapidly growing, family owned and operated beef business.
Operated by Blair and Josie Angus across 160,000 hectares running 35,000 cattle, the company runs four stations in central and northern Queensland with breeding, backgrounding and feedlot operations.
The company also has a $37 million accredited abattoir located alongside the feedlot operation at Sondella Station, that exports high quality beef around the globe.
- Carpentaria Downs Station, Einasleigh QLD – 120,000ha
- Chesterfield Station, Clermont QLD
- Kimberley Station, Clermont QLD
- Sondella Feedlot, Clermont QLD
APPLETON CATTLE COMPANY
Appleton Cattle Company is a family-owned beef cattle enterprise with properties throughout Queensland.
Established in 2005, Appleton Cattle Company specialises in breeding pure Brahman, Charolais, and Simmental cattle.
Dale Appleton and his family have massively expanded their Appleton Cattle Company in recent years, acquiring the Durrie and Glengyle properties near Birdsville and the Tibooburra-based Naryilco property – collectively totalling almost two million hectares – from Gina Rinehart’s S Kidman and Co last year.
The Appleton Cattle Company has significant land holdings throughout the Belyando River and Hughenden regions of central Queensland.
- Bullwallah, Hughenden QLD
- Durrie, Birdsville QLD – 660,000ha
- Fairlight, Hughenden QLD
- Glengyle, Birdsville QLD- 554,000ha
- Islay Plains, Hughenden QLD
- Naryilco, Tibooburra QLD – 751,000ha
- Yarmina, Clermont QLD- 195,000ha
ARGYLE CAPITAL PARTNERS
Private investment management company founded by former Blue Sky boss Kim Morison. Argyle enjoys longstanding relationships with Australia’s leading irrigation farm enterprises and water brokers. The company aims to “mitigate risks by diversifying across regions, commodities, industry sectors, asset operators and supply chain integration.
- Evergreen Farms, Emerald QLD – 3793ha
ARGYLE PASTORAL COMPANY QLD PTY LTD
Argyle Pastoral Company is a family owned and operated pastoral company with five properties around Julia Creek in Queensland.
The company co-operates five properties in north west qld totalling 200,000 hectares.
It currently runs 18,000 Brahman cross cattle, aiming to produce beef cattle for the feedlot sector.
It is owned and operated by Patrick and Edwina Hick and employs six full-time staff and uses a mix of horses, motorbikes and aircraft to muster cattle.
- Argyle Station, Julia Creek QLD
- Dah Station, Julia Creek QLD
ARRABURY PASTORAL COMPANY
The family-owned business consists of three cattle stations in Queensland’s Channel Country and a mixed-farming and cattle finishing property on the Western Darling Downs. Operates across more than 1.3 million hectares.
Arrabury Pastoral Company is a family-owned business that comprises of three cattle properties all located in Queensland, two in Channel Country and one on the Western Downs.
The company is predominantly an organic certified cattle breeding and fattening enterprise with Western Downs property Binda a mixed farming and cattle finishing operation.
- Arrabury Station, Betoota QLD – 418,000ha
- Binda, Condamine QLD
- Cluny Station, Bedourie QLD – 546,000ha
- Mt Leonard Station, Betoota QLD – 337,000ha
AUSTRALIAN AGRICULTURAL COMPANY (ASX LISTED)
Established in 1824, the Australian Agricultural Company (AACo) is Australia’s largest integrated cattle and beef producer, and is the oldest continuously operating company in Australia.
Specialising in grain fed beef and Wagyu beef production, the company owns and operates Australia’s largest cattle herds with about 455,000 head spread across 6.5 million hectares of Queensland and the Northern Territory, which equates to approximately one per cent of Australia’s land mass.
The company is the seventh largest landowner in the world, with its Headingly Station the fourth largest station in Queensland at 1.003 million hectares.
The company owns and operates a strategic balance of properties, feedlots, and farms and has assets valued at $1.4 billion.
- Aronui Feedlot, Dalby QLD
- Avon and Austral Downs, Camooweal QLD – 863,100ha
- Canobie and Wondoola Stations, Cloncurry QLD- 492,100ha
- Carrum Station, Julia Creek QLD- 50,613ha
- Dalgonally Station, Julia Creek QLD – 128,000ha
- Glentana Station, Springsure QLD
- Goonoo Farm and Station, Emerald QLD
- Headingly Station, Urandangie QLD – 1,003,200ha
- South Galway Station, Channel Country QLD – 487,600ha
- Wondoola Station, Normanton QLD – 252,500ha
- Wylarah Station, Surat QLD – 40,468ha
AUSTRALIAN COUNTRY CHOICE
Australia’s largest vertically integrated beef supply chain, Australian Country Choice is 100 per cent Australian owned and operated by the Lee family, with the modern day business headed by Anthony Lee, son of founder Trevor Lee.
Valued at $1.8 billion, the business runs 300,000 cattle on 42 properties spanning 1.75 million hectares of pastoral, grazing, and farming land in Queensland, producing 75,000 tonnes of beef annually and employing 1500 workers.
The ACC property portfolio comprises eight main aggregations including the 942,500ha Barkly Downs property west of Mt Isa in far northwest Queensland.
In addition to Barkly Downs, there is also the Wellclose Group of eight stations spanning 225,000ha at Adavale, near Charleville, and the Babbiloora Group spread across 144,000 hectares of country near Augathella.
A further 7700ha of farming country on the Western Downs is used to grow feed to supply the company’s three feedlots, Opal Creek at Dunmore, Brindley Park and Brisbane Valley at Esk.
- Babbiloora Group, Augathella QLD – 237,325ha
- Barkly Downs, Barkly QLD – 942,500ha
- Brindley Park Feedlot, Darling Downs QLD – 120ha
- Brindley Park Group, Darling Downs QLD – 19,316ha
- Brisbane Valley Feedlot, Brisbane Valley QLD – 123ha
- Dooloogarah, Injune QLD – 42,300ha
- Dungowan, Dungowan QLD – 22,293ha
- Gladys Downs, Augathella QLD – 20,060ha
- Hay Roma, Roma QLD – 859ha
- MB9+, Darling Downs QLD – 1335ha
- Moray Downs, Clermont QLD – 117,000ha
- Opal Creek, Cecil Plains QLD – 3016ha
- Redford, Mungallala QLD – 48,400ha
- Toarki and Rosewood, Roma QLD – 8120ha
- Tungamah, Darling Downs QLD – 14,221ha
- Wellclose Group, Adavale QLD – 159,832ha
BALDY BAY PASTORAL (STERLING BUNTINE)
Kimberley-based pastoralist with significant holdings in northern Australia. Was part of a consortium of buyers who launched a last-minute bid for the S Kidman and Co assets in 2016.
In 2019, Buntine rapidly expanded his property portfolio, buying 80,000ha cattle property Mimong Station in North West Queensland in March for a reported $20 million, before snapping up Consolidated Pastoral Company’s Central Queensland holding Comely Station for a reported $50 million in April.
The Buntines, who live on a cattle station in the Northern Territory, own assets estimated to be worth around $350 million.
- Comely and Mapala Stations, Bauhinia QLD – 23,000ha
- Mimong Station, Kyuna QLD – 79,970ha
- Tulmur, Tranby and Owens Creek, Winton QLD – 74,620ha
BASS LAND AND CATTLE
Operated by David and Suzanne Bassingthwaite and family, Bass Land and Cattle are large-scale Santa Gertrudis breeders in central Queensland.
- Muldoon Station, Augathella QLD
BRIGODOON CATTLE COMPANY
Brigodoon Cattle Company is a family owned and operated breeding, backgrounding and finishing operation, which includes a feedlot, located across Queensland and the Northern Territory.
Operated by Bill, Gretchen, Bob, and Andrea Speed with significant holdings of more than 720,000 hectares in western Queensland and the Northern Territory.
- Brigodoon, Wandoan QLD
- Linda Downs Station, Boulia QLD – 202,343ha
- Mount Marlow Station, Blackall QLD – 73,100ha
- Retreat Station, Jundah QLD – 142,600ha
BROOK PASTORAL COMPANY
A family owned company that began in 1939 with the purchase of the Adria Downs pastoral lease by William Brook.
Run in the present day by David and Nell Brook, the family run about 3.5 million hectares in Queensland including properties Adria Downs, Gilling Station, and Kamaran Downs.
- Adria Downs, Birdsville QLD – 780,000ha
- Gilling Station, Birdsville QLD
- Kamaran Downs, Bedourie QLD
BUNDERRA CATTLE COMPANY
A family-owned Australian beef operation, Bunderra Cattle Company is a certified organic beef business operated by the Pickersgill family over half a million hectares of some of the best grazing country in Queensland and the Northern Territory.
The Pickersgill family have been in the beef industry for more than 40 years – with three generations now living and working for Bunderra.
Livestock production is more than just a business for the family, it’s a way of life.
- Aldinga Park, Rolleston QLD – 35,390ha
- Bandana, Rewan QLD – 17,443ha
- Brooklee, Rolleston QLD – 4342ha
- Crescent, Rolleston QLD – 3101ha
- Deepdale, Rolleston QLD – 41,820ha
- Maryvale, Alpha QLD – 11,772ha
- Mt Inglis, Rolleston QLD – 13,840ha
- Mt Ogg, Rolleston QLD – 9043ha
- Peawaddy, Rolleston QLD – 12,552ha
- Shauna Hills, Bauhinia QLD – 6014ha
- Washpool, Humbolt QLD – 9378ha
CAMM AGRICULTURAL GROUP
Founded in 1972 by David and Judith Camm, operates across the beef cattle production supply chain of breeding, backgrounding and feeding. The operation is spread over 450,000-plus hectares of owned and leased country.
Camm Agricultural Group has grown into one of the major beef producing businesses in Australia, operating a rural land portfolio of high-grade assets covering in excess of 450,000ha and turning off around 40,000 head per annum. The business has systematically scaled turnover to in excess of $70m a year via three continuously growing business capability areas of cropping, cattle production, and feedlotting.
The group’s extensive feedlot operation, based in southern Queensland, is one of the oldest continual feeding operations in Australia, dating back to its establishment by the Camm family in 1972.
- Marracoonda, Clermont QLD
- Melrose, Kingaroy QLD
- Morocco, Surat QLD
- Natal Downs, Longton and Narellan (leased), Charters Towers QLD – 390,600 hectares
- Nungaroo, Clermont QLD
- Picardy, Moranbah QLD
- Wonga Plains, Dalby QLD
CHRIS SKELTON
A large-scale grazier from Roma in western Queensland, Chis Skelton has several operations, collectively spanning more than 280,000 hectares.
Mr Skelton works with a number of beef cattle aggregations with his Kintilloch property the base of the operation.
Mr Skelton knows first hand how tough life in the country can be, after his wife Heidi Ross was crushed by a 400kg steer while on a routine walk through the pens of the couple’s rural property, fracturing several bones in her lower spine.
She was saved by the efforts of the Roma-based LifeFlight Surat Gas Aeromedical Service (SGAS) helicopter crew, who treated her before flying her to Roma Hospital where she underwent further rehabilitation.
- Eildon Park, Winton QLD – 249,800ha
- Kintilloch and Sunnybrea, Roma QLD – 7200ha
- Strilling and Isoroy, Tambo QLD – 18,200ha
- Wanganui, St George QLD – 12,500ha
CK LIFE SCIENCES (HONG KONG)
The family of Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-Shing owns a large stake in parent company CK Hutchinson Holdings. Operations are spread across Victoria, South Australia, NSW, Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Australian ag assets estimated at more than $2 billion.
- Abbotsleigh Citrus, Bundaberg QLD – 190ha
- Boongargil Cotton, Border Rivers QLD – 3400ha
- Diamond Pack Farm, Mutchilba QLD – 35ha
- Home Farm (mango and avocado), Mutchilba QLD – 36ha
- Laudham Park Farm (mango), Pinnacles QLD – 21ha
- Mountain View Farm (mango and avocado), Mutchilba QLD – 26ha
CLEVELAND AGRICULTURE
Malcolm Harris has stamped his business on the Australian pastoral mapping, amassing about 2.5 million hectares of farming and pastoral land worth upwards of $1.2 billion. Sold the 450,000ha Benmara Station at Elliott NT in 2023 to Wealthcheck.
- Nockatunga Station, Thargomindah QLD – 852,000ha
CONSOLIDATED PASTORAL COMPANY
Founded in 1879, the Consolidated Pastoral Company is one of Australia’s largest pastoral players.
The 13th largest landholder in the world, the company owns and operates a portfolio of station aggregations in Australia with assets valued at more than $1 billion.
Operating across 3.2 million hectares of land, the CPC team can care for more than 300,000 head of cattle and produce a diverse range of crops.
Concentration on the vast grazing areas across northern Australia has enabled successful drought management, easy access to export markets and low-cost production of high-quality grass-fed, lot-fed and export cattle and beef.
Major shareholder is UK-based private equity guru Guy Hands.
- Allawah, Biloela QLD – 3069ha
- Bunda, QLD – 178,800ha
- Isis Downs, Isisford QLD – 246,057ha
- Jimarndy Aggregation, May Downs QLD – 17,600ha
- Langley Station, Middlemount QLD – 4882ha
- Wrotham Park, Cairns QLD – 596,880ha
ESCOTT CATTLE COMPANY
Escott Cattle Company is run by the Daniels family – one of the biggest private cattle producers in northern Queensland with significant pastoral holdings.
Sam Daniels is the managing director of Cloncurry’s Brodie and Co stock and station agency.
- Escott Station, Burketown QLD
- Nardoo Station, Cloncurry QLD – 97,500ha
- Toolebuc Station, Burketown QLD
FIERA COMOX – CANADA
Canadian investment fund Fiera Comox is a global agricultural fund with a growing footprint in Australia, the US and New Zealand. Paid more than $100 million for Cherylton Farms in Western Australia in 2023 and has about $1.1 billion worth of assets in Australia.
Fiera Comox own Kia Ora and Clyde in conjunction with Eastern Australia Agriculture.
Founded by former energy minister Angus Taylor in 2007, Eastern Australia Agriculture is a farming company that operates two large scale irrigation properties, with Kia Ora at St George and Clyde at Dirranbandi in Queensland.
- Kia Ora and Clyde, Dirrinbandi QLD – 36,422ha (Eastern Australia Agriculture)
FINASUCRE GROUP
The Finasucre Group is a Belgian family holding company which is primarily active in the sugar industry.
The Brussels-based sugar producer, controlled by the Lippens family, with significant sugar cane and horticultural interests in Australia.
Bundaberg Sugar Group Ltd, which owns and operates sugar mills in Bundaberg, is a subsidiary of the Finasucre Group.
- Bundaberg Sugar Aggregation, Bundaberg QLD – 8000ha
- Winfield Rd macadamia aggregation, Bundaberg QLD – 1018ha
FOLIUM CAPITAL (UNITED STATES)
Folium Capital has investments in forest and agriculture assets across four continents, including Australia.
In Queensland it has the Little Jalisco Avocado Orchard in Arriga, near Mareeba.
- Little Jalisco Avocado Orchard, QLD – 300ha
GIBSON GRAZING
Gibson Grazing is a privately owned and operated cattle producing business with family involvement in the industry for over 60 years.
Owned by Mick Gibson and family, Gibson Grazing operates over a reported 2m hectares of cattle country in Queensland.
Gibson Grazing’s Bulloo Downs property, located 125km from Thargomindah, is the third largest station in Queensland at 1.070m hectares, an area larger than Lebanon.
It is understood that the Bulloo Downs property was acquired for $20 million in 2004 following the split up of the Stanbroke Pastoral Company.
Historically, the Gibson family as a whole operated mainly in south west Queensland, running a wool production and beef breeding and finishing operation over a number of places.
Its properties in Queensland have been certified as organic beef cattle producing country.
- Brookdale Aggregation, St George QLD – 12,095ha
- Binda, Bollon QLD
- Bulloo Downs Station, Thargomindah QLD – 1,070,000ha
- Dynover Downs Station, Cunnamulla QLD – 162,050ha
- Olinda Park Feedlot, Dalby QLD – 4000ha
- Sandringham Station, Boulia QLD – 450,000ha
GRIMWADE AND GORDON
A partnership between rich lister Michael Gordon and Victorians George and Will Grimwade, Grimwade and Gordon operates across vast areas of Queensland and NSW.
Grimwade and Gordon have steadily built their agricultural portfolio since beginning in 2017, with the partnership now owning more than 261,000ha across the two states.
In 2020, the partnership purchased one of Queensland’s historic pastoral properties, the 15,990ha Terrica Aggregation at Stanthorpe, in a deal worth $14 million.
- Barrygowan Aggregation, Cunnamulla QLD – 40,468ha
- Cashmere West, St George QLD – 19,381ha
- Melrose, Cunnamulla QLD – 1364ha
- Noorama Station, Cunnamulla QLD – 105,000ha
- Oinmurra, Balonne QLD – 12,000ha
- Terrica Aggregation, Stanthorpe QLD – 15,990ha
GUNN AGRI PARTNERS
Gunn Agri Partners was established in 2013 and is managed by a highly credentialed team of agricultural and investment industry professionals.
The company has more than 1m hectares worth $750 million-plus under management, running 65,000 cattle, and growing 25,000ha of crops, 15,000 avocado trees, 1m macadamia trees and 75,000 Queen Garnet trees.
Gunn Agri Partners current investment strategy include row crops, horticulture, mixed farming, and livestock.
- Abingdon Downs, Georgetown QLD – 484,000ha
- Ballaroo, Roma QLD – 11,463ha
- Ekari Park, Roma QLD – 13,239ha
- Esmeralda Station, Richmond QLD – 406,000ha
- Fairview, Roma QLD – 11,393ha
- Goodar Station, Goondiwindi QLD – 18,400ha
- Katandra and Illalong, Hughenden QLD – 51,620ha
HANCOCK AGRICULTURE (GINA RINEHART)
Hancock Agriculture is owned by billionaire Gina Rinehart, the fourth largest landholder in the world and once Australia’s biggest landholder through Hancock Agriculture and the S Kidman and Co joint venture.
She spent her childhood between the Pilbara, in northwest Australia, where she lived with her parents on large sheep and cattle properties in the remote and rugged region
Hancock Agriculture has significantly grown its portfolio with strategic investment in pastoral stations and agribusinesses.
Mrs Rinehart’s vision to grow and value-add Australian food has been the basis for significant investments, including the acquisition of the iconic S.Kidman and Co pastoral company.
The Hancock Group’s pastoral properties stretch across most states in Australia, plus the Northern Territory.
Hancock’s agricultural business is now the second-largest producer of cattle in Australia and remains one of Australia’s largest landowners.
- Forestvale, Roma QLD – 2082ha
- Holyrood, Roma QLD – 4844ha
- Maffra South, Roma QLD – 14,567ha
- Maydan Feedlot, Warwick QLD – 451ha
- South Burnett Aggregation, South Burnett QLD – 3682ha
- Warra Warra, Dalby QLD – 3069ha
HARVEY BLACK
Queensland businessman Harvey Black purchased Mt Enniskillen Station at Blackall in Queensland from Clark and Tait.
Mr Black is a Toowoomba-based farming and trucking identity and is the current dealer principal of Black Truck Sales and Black Truck and Ag.
He purchased the business in 1995 and Black Truck and AG has since developed, expanding facilities in Toowoomba and Brisbane.
Black Truck and AG operates seven truck ad equipment dealerships servicing southern and central Queensland, as well as northern New South Wales.
- Mt Enniskillen Station, Blackall QLD – 135,200ha
HEWITT CATTLE COMPANY
The Hewitt Cattle Company operates huge pastoral interests across NSW, Queensland and the Northern Territory, with the family business owning over 5.6 million acres while running over 200,000 livestock.
Their portfolio includes several former Webster Limited properties.
- Alpha Station, Alpha QLD – 21,000ha
- Coolreagh, Julia Creek QLD – 25,000ha
- Oakleigh, Maryborough QLD – 19,200ha
- Oakwood, Augathella QLD – 28,300ha
- Pegunny Aggregation, Moura QLD – 26,100ha
- Pony Hills Aggregation, Roma QLD – 58,700ha
- Yorkshire, Julia Creek QLD – 25,000ha
HUGHES PASTORAL GROUP/GEORGINA PASTORAL COMPANY
Peter and Jane Hughes run the mammoth Hughes Pastoral Group, which consists of the Hughes Pastoral and Georgina Pastoral companies.
The group operates over 3 million hectares of Queensland, NSW and the Northern Territory, running 180,000 head of Wagyu as well as organic Angus infused cattle on their properties.
The Hughes Pastoral Group paid Gina Rinehart $100 million for Riveren and Inverway stations in the Northern Territory in 2022, a year after shelling out $215 million for Miranda Downs Station at Normanton in Queensland.
The Hughes family has the world’s largest privately held Wagyu herd.
- Caldervale, Carwell and Mt Lindsay, Tambo QLD – 160,000ha
- Cardowan, Doreen and Main Camp, Nebo QLD – 133,000ha
- Cawnpore Station, Boulia QLD – 121,400ha
- Keeroongooloo and Yeppera, Cooper Creek QLD – 700,000ha
- Lake Nash, Georgina and Argadargada, Barkly Tablelands QLD – 1,600,000ha
- Miranda Downs Station, QLD – 438,000ha
- Sirram, Main Ridge and Joe Lodges, Nebo QLD
- Tierawoomba, Mt Scott, Atinla and Snake Creek, Nebo QLD – 140,000ha
- Tumbar and Marsden, Jericho QLD – 80,000ha
- Waitara, New Yard, Mt Whyte and Urani, Nebo QLD
INGLEBY FARMS
Backed by the wealthy Swedish Rausing family, Ingleby Farms own and manage 43 farms and forests across nine countries and four continents, spanning 100,000ha. The Australian business comprises 22,050ha running beef and dairy cattle and sheep, as well as growing row crops.
In Queensland, the group runs emerging macadamia operation Farm Vella, which is located in close to its macadamia orchards McKenzies and Maranos.
KEATS FAMILY PASTORAL
Family-owned and operated beef company located in northwest Queensland.
- Belford Station, Richmond QLD – 48,562ha
- Gleeson and White Hills, Cloncurry QLD – 75,676ha
- Kiama, Mackay QLD – 324ha
- Pialah, Richmond QLD
LAGUNA BAY
Established in 2010 and one of Australia’s longstanding ag fund managers, Laguna Bay is an investment firm specialising in food and agriculture in Australia.
The fund manager provides investment partners with exposure to three key themes: rising food demand, decarbonisation and inflation.
In Queensland it runs Allied Beef, which is one of Australia’s largest producers and marketers of cattle and a specialist beef cattle operation that has been operating since 2007.
It also runs Carpendale Agri, a fifth generation farming enterprise which traces its roots back to the rich heritage of horticulture in the Lockyer Valley during the 1890s.
In 2000, the Carpendale Agri transitioned into broadacre grain farming.
- Allied Beef, NSW/QLD
- Carpendale Agri, Goondiwindi QLD – 20,000ha
LORD CATTLE
Lord Cattle is a family-based business that has been operating in the land and grazing industry for more than 40 years.
The operation has cattle stations situated across northwestern Australia and runs a herd of 12,000 Brahman-composite cattle across western Queensland in locations such as Tambo, Mt Isa, Hughenden,
The cattle are bred on a strict temperament and fertility business program.
- Bayrick, Tambo QLD – 14,574ha
- May Downs, Mt Isa QLD – 234,000ha. Purchased in 1986.
- Nottingham Downs and Wick, Hughenden QLD
- Woolthorpe, Aramac QLD – 45,730ha
LORD PASTORAL
Lord Pastoral is owned and operated by Jade and Nikko Lord, with Nikko’s parents founders Ardie and Kacie Lord still involved in the business.
The family business specialises in Brahman-cross beef cattle and hay production.
- Camroo Downs, Tambo QLD
- Kialla, Sutherland and Runnymede stations, Richmond QLD
- Woodstock, East Creek and New Water stations, Richmond QLD
MACQUARIE AGRICULTURE
Australia’s second-biggest investor in agriculture manages more than 4.7 million hectares of farmland, with 4.06 million hectares understood to be in Queensland (as of March this year), and has more than $4 billion worth of assets under management across sheep, cattle, mixed farming, cropping and horticulture.
PARAWAY PASTORAL COMPANY (MACQUARIE AGRICULTURE)
Paraway Pastoral Company has grown to become one of the largest pastoral land owner/operators in Australia, with a total combined land holding of over 4.4 million hectares.
The company has purchased in excess of 35 properties and has aggregated these into 27 pastoral businesses, resulting in it becoming the 12th largest landholder in the world.
Consisting of the namesake station as well as Springvale Station, Davenport Downs is Paraway Pastoral Company’s biggest property and the largest cattle station in Queensland at 1.510 million hectares.
Overall, the Paraway Pastoral Company has the capacity to run over 220,000 cattle and 250,000 sheep, as well as a mixture of dryland and irrigated cropping.
- Armraynald Station, Burketown QLD – 214,090ha
- Clonagh Station, Cloncurry QLD – 120,000ha
- Davenport Downs, Winton QLD – 1,510,000ha
- Gregory Downs, Mt Isa QLD – 266,425ha
- Kalmeta, Julia Creek QLD – 87,000ha
- Malvern Hills Station, Blackall QLD – 50,070ha
- Moira Runda, Glenmorgan QLD – 12,510ha
- Rocklands, Camooweal QLD – 677,964ha
- Tanbar Station, Windorah QLD – 1,021,904ha
COWAL AGRICULTURE (MACQUARIE AGRICULTURE)
Cowal Agriculture manages 5000ha of cropland along the scenic Nogoa River in Central Queensland.
With irrigation sourced from the Fairbairn Dam, located 20km upstream, the properties have the capacity to yield a diverse range of summer and winter crops from cotton to mungbean, sorghum to chickpeas, and wheat.
It was purchased from the US-based Global Endowment Management investment fund in 2022 for about $120 million.
- Cowal Agriculture Aggregation (eight farms), Emerald QLD – 5976ha
CUBBIE STATION (MACQUARIE AGRICULTURE)
Cubbie Station is a large-scale cotton operation, with properties located near Dirranbandi and St George in South West Queensland.
Cubbie Station was a grazing business before being acquired in 1983 by the late Des Stevenson whose vision unheralded the property development to cotton production
The total holding of the station is 93,000ha with 22,000ha of irrigated cropping fields which is supported by on-farm irrigation infrastructure.
Cubbie Station acquired the remaining 51 per cent stake in Australia’s biggest cotton farm, and associated ginning facilities, in 2022.
- Cubbie Station, Dirrinbandi QLD – 90,000ha
MANULIFE – CANADA
Formerly Hancock Agricultural Investment Group, Manulife owns about $1.2 billion in farming assets in Queensland, NSW, and South Australia.
- Ambrosia Farms
- Brooklyn Farms Australia
- Gemfields, Emerald QLD – 779ha
- Ironbark Farming
- Lachlan Valley Farms
- Langhorne Creek Vineyards
- Norman Farming, Toobeah QLD
- Old Goodnight Farms
- Sustainable Farmland
- White Road Orchards
McDONALD HOLDINGS (MDH PTY LTD)
McDonald Holdings is one of Australia’s largest beef cattle operations, unique in the fact that the company is both family owned and operated.
Family owned and operated since 1827, McDonald Holdings runs 150,000 cattle over 14 properties spanning 3.36 million hectares, a land mass close to the size of Belgium.
The McDonald family presence in Australia goes back nearly two centuries and boasts the likes of Don McDonald, who served as state and federal president of the National Party during the 1990s, as well as his daughter Senator Susan McDonald, who is a former chief executive of Super Butcher.
Senator McDonald helped build up the hugely successful small business after taking responsibility for over 100 staff across five stores after the death of the former CEO, her brother Zanda, in 2013.
Harking back her family’s agricultural history in her sit-down interview for High Steaks with Michael Madigan, Senator McDonald said agriculture is one of Australia’s key industries.
“Food production is simply the most important thing that happens in this world,’’ she says.
“Everything else may be important, but without food we don’t survive.
“We need good quality food, food that is nutritious and allows the brain and the body to grow.’’
- Brightlands Station, Cloncurry QLD
- Chatsworth Station, Cloncurry QLD
- Clearwater, St George QLD – 1215ha
- Devoncourt Station, Cloncurry QLD
- Dunbar Station, Normanton QLD
- Iffley Station, Normanton QLD
- Kierawonga and Leitrim, Rockhampton QLD
- Mt Windsor Station, Charters Towers QLD
- Nangram, Toowoomba QLD
- Rutland Plains, Normanton QLD
- Stradbroke Station, Cloncurry QLD
- Verdun Valley Station, Boulia QLD
- Wallumba Feedlot, Toowoomba QLD
McMILLAN PASTORAL COMPANY
McMillan Pastoral Company is a large family-owned cattle business with properties across Queensland and Northern Territory.
Based out of Cloncurry, the company runs cattle across eight stations covering two million hectares across the two states.
The McMillan Pastoral Company sells its cattle throughout the country and exports to an international market.
The McMillan Pastoral Company paid about $53 million for the 705,000ha Wollogorang and Wentworth stations in Queensland in 2020.
- Carsland Station, Quamby QLD
- Corella Park Station, Cloncurry QLD
- Inorunie Station, Cloncurry QLD
- Jessievale Station, Cloncurry QLD
- Mt Roseby Station, Cloncurry QLD
- Roxborough Downs and Mudgerebar Station, Boulia QLD – 423,494ha
- Wollogorang and Wentworth Station, Burketown QLD – 705,198ha
MH PREMIUM FARMS
Established in 2007 by Australian-born UK businessman Lord Michael Hintze, MH Premium Farms operates 16 properties across 60,000ha in Queensland, NSW and Victoria.
The properties offer a diverse portfolio producing prime lambs, wool, and beef, broad acre cropping of cereals and oil-seeds, as well as irrigated cotton and sugar.
Three of the properties are in Queensland including Boolarwell at Talwood, South Callandoon at Goondiwindi, and Haughton at Giru, with all three featuring irrigated crop.
- Boolarwell, Talwood QLD – 7706ha
- Delta, Ayr QLD – 500ha
- Haughton, Giru QLD – 827ha
- South Callandoon, Goondiwindi QLD – 12,168ha
MORELLA AGRICULTURE
Morella Agriculture is a large-scale livestock and cropping business run by the Boggabilla-based Coulton family.
The Coulton family, led by David and Kim Coulton and their three sons, Andrew, Thomas and Sam have several properties in their portfolio which includes 809,371ha spread from Thargomindah to Goondiwindi, Bungunya, and Toobeah in Queensland.
In early 2022 the family paid about $80 million to secure the 12,840ha Kalanga cotton aggregation, buying it from the Boston-based Hancock Agricultural Investment Group.
In 2024, the Coulton family purchased the 10,842ha Welltown Station at Toobeah in 2024 for about $80 million.
- Alcheringa, Goondiwindi QLD
- Kalanga Aggregation, Goondiwindi QLD – 12,840ha
- Morella, Boggabilla NSW
- Nappa Merrie Station, Thargomindah QLD – 720,000ha
- Neilo, Toobeah QLD
- Tandawanna North, Bungunya QLD
- Welltown, Toobeah QLD
NO. 27 PASTORAL COMPANY
The No 27 Pastoral Company was founded by the Propsting Family with cattle properties covering 105,450ha across northwest Queensland running Brahman-Droughtmaster females.
The Propsting Family settled in the Richmond district of North West Queensland after Amelia Mabel Propsting, wife of Henry Hadley Melville Propsting, drew the block in a ballot in 1921.
The fourth generation sons are now running the properties and are committed to seeing the land and enterprise remain sustainable for the next generation and generations to come.
The No 27 Pastoral Company prides themselves on producing quality grass fed beef on natural pasture.
- Acton, Richmond QLD
- Cabanda, Julia Creek QLD
- Kalda, Richmond QLD
- Villadale, Richmond QLD
NORTH AUSTRALIAN PASTORAL COMPANY
One of Australia’s oldest and largest cattle companies, the North Australian Pastoral Company remains a major player in Australia’s cattle industry.
NAPCo began in 1877 when its original partners took up leases over a vast area of the Barkly Tableland in the Northern Territory, with Queensland properties added over time as the company grew and developed.
They laid the foundation for more than 145 years of sustainable beef farming, with the North Australian Pastoral Company now managing a herd of 200,000 cattle, across six million hectares of land across Queensland and the Northern Territory.
The North Australian Pastoral Company is the third largest landholder in Australia and the eighth largest landholder in the world, with its Queensland property Marion Downs the second largest station in the state at 1.287 million hectares.
Family-based ownership was predominant within the company, until 2016 when the Queensland Investment Corporation acquired a 80 per cent interest, with the Foster farming family owning the remaining share.
Today, NAPCo has moved from being a cattle-only company to become one of Australia’s biggest producers of prime-quality branded beef.
The company employs around 220 people with a strong focus on safety and career development.
- Boomara, Cloncurry QLD – 108,000ha
- Coolullah, Cloncurry QLD – 214,000ha
- Coorabulka, Boulia QLD – 637,000ha
- Cungelella, Springsure QLD – 21,870ha
- Glenormiston, Boulia QLD – 692,000ha
- Goldsborough, Roma QLD – 11,600ha
- Kynuna, Julia Creek QLD – 140,563ha
- Mantuan Downs, Springsure QLD – 135,000ha
- Marion Downs, Boulia QLD – 1,287,000ha
- Monkira, Boulia QLD – 373,000ha
- Portland Downs, Isisford QLD – 99,957ha
- Wainui Feedlot and Farm, Bowenville QLD – 5000ha
NORTH STAR PASTORAL COMPANY
Founded with the purchase of Venture Downs in 2004, North Star now has operations spread across the Northern Territory and Queensland over 2 million acres of land.
With two neighbouring properties in the Central Highlands Region of Queensland, a set of spelling yards in Mt Isa, North Star Pastoral has a property profile that enables the production of quality export grade cattle year round.
The company’s growth has allowed North Star Pastoral to supply export cattle to the Asian market for over 15 years.
North Star Pastoral Company sold the Maryfield and Limbunya stations in 2022 to Wealthcheck.
- Venture and Kui Downs, Gordonstone QLD – 3440ha
ORIENTAL AGRICULTURE (CHINA)
Owned by a group of Chinese agricultural investors, Oriental Agriculture holds two properties in south west Queensland.
The Chinese-owned group has held the Undabri and Yambocully properties for close to a decade, with both properties hosting summer and winter crops.
Oriental Agriculture secured Undabri for $30 million in 2015 and Yambocully for $20 million the following year, with both properties managed by Customised Farm Management.
In 2023, the company listed both properties for sale with expectations of $100 million.
- Undabri, Goondiwindi QLD – 10,444ha
- Yambocully, Goondiwindi QLD – 3475ha
PJ HARRIS AND SONS
Operated by Peter and Jane Harris, Moree NSW-based PJ Harris and Sons ranks among Australia’s biggest privately owned cotton operations.
The family-owned and operated agricultural enterprise is a large-scale, integrated cotton and mixed agricultural enterprise.
The company operates sustainable beef, grain, lamb and wool farms and produces some of the world’s highest quality cotton ginned out of the Collymongle and Clyde facilities.
In Queensland, it owns several properties including Dorunda Station, Inkerman Station, Stirling Lotus Vale Station, and Van Rook Station, all located in the Gulf of Carpenteria.
In December 2022, PJ Harris and Sons paid the Menegazzo family a whopping $380 million for the 1.1 million hectare Gulf Coast Agricultural Company in far North Queensland.
- Dorunda Station, Gulf of Carpentaria QLD – 110,010ha
- Inkerman Station, Gulf of Carpentaria QLD – 280,000ha
- Stirling Lotus Vale Station, Gulf of Carpentaria QLD – 125,000ha
- Van Rook Station, Gulf of Carpentaria QLD – 590,500ha
PALGROVE
Palgrove is a commercial beef producer that has focused on delivering superior quality genetics within Australia and for overseas markets for over 40 years.
The company’s livestock and properties are now spread across Queensland and NSW, while the stud currently runs around 6500 head of registered cattle.
The owner of the largest registered Charolais herd in Australia, Palgrove have adapted their Charolais genetics through a commitment to research, education, new technologies and a common sense ‘cattleman’s eye’ to suit clients’ environmental and management conditions.
More recently, Palgrove pioneered the development of the Ultrablack breed in Australia.
The development of the Ultrablack was a direct response to client requests to develop a suitable third breed for use in Charolais/Brahman crossbreeding programs in northern Australia
In 2009, Palgrove started breeding Ultrablack, an Angus/Brangus fixed composite that retained the meat quality and fertility of the Angus breed but had the heat tolerance and survivability built in from the Brangus genetics.
Palgrove is now owned by the New Zealand Superannuation Fund.
- Glen Wilga, Chinchilla QLD
- Killaloo, Drillham QLD – 2025ha
- Palgrove, Dalveen QLD
PANIRI AGRICULTURAL COMPANY (CORPORATE CARBON)
Paniri Agricultural Co is a natural asset manager dedicated to delivering 100 per cent sustainable agricultural production.
The company is part of the Corporate Carbon Group with 1.3 million hectares under management.
It has an environmentally-driven approach to agricultural production with three properties in Queensland: Holyroyd Aggregation at Coen, Quilpie Aggregation at Charleville, and Watson River Station at Weipa.
- Holroyd Aggregation, Coen QLD – 242,000ha
- Quilpie Aggregation, Charleville QLD – 166,000ha
- Watson River Station, Weipa QLD – 89,000ha
PROTERRA INVESTMENT PARTNERS (UNITED STATES)
Proterra Investment Partners is an US private equity firm focused on natural resource investing.
It has two holdings in Queensland: One Tree Aggregation, which consists of two separate properties at Umbercollie (7934ha) and Jandowae (9996ha) acquired in 2014, and Racecourse at Mackay.
Umbercollie is a dryland property, while Jandowae had several hundred hectares set out for irrigation purposes.
A significant portion of the land across the properties is arable and made up of predominantly self-mulching black brigalow soils, with climate characteristics ideal for the production of high-yielding wheat, barley, chickpeas, canola, mung beans, cotton, and sorghum.
The Racecourse property near Mackay is predominantly for sugarcane.
In December 2021, the company sold the Corinella Group of properties in Victoria and South Australia for $370 million and in November 2022 offloaded the 4448ha Vaucluse Estate Aggregation for more than $100 million.
In 2024, the company listed its One Tree Aggregation portfolio for sale, with expectations it will attract in excess of $250 million.
- One Tree Aggregation, Goondiwindi QLD – 23,595ha
- Racecourse, Mackay QLD – 14,425ha
SIMPSON FARMS
Simpson Farms is one of Australia’s largest avocado growers specialising in fresh avocado and food products.
The Childers-based farm is the largest supplier of quality fresh and prepared avocado products in Australia, and has been doing so for over 50 years.
The farm was started by Ron and Fay Simpson in 1969, with the original tomato and sugar cane farm near Bundaberg providing the space for the family and business to grow.
Since the 1990s, following massive consolidation and development of the original 120ha orchard, Simpson Farms has emerged as one of Australia’s largest avocado growers and food product producers.
In the present day, Simpson Farms manages more than 850ha of farming operations, including 770ha of avocados and 80ha of mangoes.
- Avocado Orchards, Childers QLD – 840ha
STAHMANN WEBSTER
One of Australia’s most established agribusiness companies, Stahmann Webster operates a macadamia aggregation consisting of farms and orchards in Queensland.
Stahmann Webster has a longstanding history in Australia, with one of the founding entities Webster Limited the fourth oldest company in Australia dating back to 1831.
In its history, the company has been involved in many aspects of agriculture from broad acre farming to forestry and fresh vegetables, rural supplies, transport and machinery and most recently tree nut farming.
In the present day it specialises in growing walnuts, pecans, macadamias and almonds across large swathes of Queensland and NSW.
In Queensland, Stahmann Webster grows macadamia over 2051ha with the primary aggregation at Elliott River, just 15km south of Bundaberg.
The orchard near Bucca is slated to be able to accommodate 300,000 trees, while mature macadamia orchards at Welcome Creek, just north of Bundaberg, and on the western bank of the Burnett River on the city fringe.
The cluster of orchards near Farnsfield boasts a mix of mature and younger orchards, with the Gregory River running through them, making for a picturesque and fertile environment.
Ideal weather conditions coupled with summer rains, and the dry harvest season of Bundaberg, could see these properties produce a crop of at least 10,000 tonnes of macadamia nuts by 2030.
- Bundaberg Macadamia Aggregation, Bundaberg QLD – 2051ha
REARDON FARMS
Reardon Farms is a family farming business comprising 11 properties in the Goondiwindi, Mungindi, and Moree districts of southern Queensland and northern NSW.
Originally dryland farmers and graziers, Robert and Jennie Reardon went onto operate one of Australia’s largest cotton farms, the 26,855ha Worral Creek property near Talwood.
Since acquiring the property in 1990, the Reardons grew it to become one of Australia’s most successful cotton operations.
Reardon Farms also run properties where they graze cattle, as well as grow dryland wheat, sorghum, barley, and chickpeas.
- Delina Downs, Bungunyah QLD
- Mirreyah, Talwood QLD
- Riverside, Talwood QLD
- Tandawanna, Talwood QLD
- Willarie, Talwood QLD
- Wolonga, Talwood QLD
- Yarramildi, Talwood QLD
RMI PTY LTD (CARRINGTON COTTON GROUP)
The Carrington Cotton Group is a privately owned family agribusiness with farming operations in northern NSW and southern Queensland.
Farming ventures include cotton, wheat, barley, faba beans, and chickpeas as well as fodder crops.
The Carrington Cotton Group also owns and operates its own cotton gin and warehousing facilities.
- Kildonan, Goondiwindi QLD
- Lagoona, Goondiwindi QLD
- Murragoran, Goondiwindi QLD
- Oonavale, Goondiwindi QLD
RURAL FUNDS GROUP – ASX-LISTED
Rural Funds Group is one of Australia’s most experienced agricultural fund managers, with over two decades of experience managing farmland and agricultural assets.
The ASX-listed company owns a diversified portfolio of agricultural assets with 67 properties located across five states, including cattle, almonds, macadamias, cropping, and vineyard operations.
It has about $2.4 billion worth of assets under management and 250 staff across the country.
The Rural Funds Group acquired two cattle feed lots in Queensland in October 2018, located at Mungindi and Toowoomba.
Both feedlots are leased to JBS Foods Australia, which is the country’s largest meat and food processing company.
In 2021, the company acquired the Beerwah macadamia orchard in December 2021.
It also purchased the 14,000-hectare Wyseby property at Rolleston in Queensland in June 2023.
- Baamba Plains, Rolleston QLD – 4130ha (valued December 2023: $43.8 million)
- Bauple (macadamia), Maryborough QLD – 135ha (valued December 2023: $19.4 million)
- Beef City Feedlot, Toowoomba QLD – 760ha (valued December 2023: $15.8 million)
- Beerwah (macadamia), Beerwah QLD – 340ha (valued December 2023: $37.7 million)
- Bonmac (macadamia), Bundaberg QLD – 27ha (valued December 2023: $4.6 million)
- Cerebus, Rockhampton QLD – 8280ha (valued December 2023: $24.9 million)
- Comanche, Rockhampton QLD – 7600ha (valued December 2023: $35.1 million)
- Coolibah, Rockhampton QLD – 724ha (valued December 2023: $5.7 million)
- Cygnet (macadamia), Bundaberg QLD – 37ha (valued December 2023: $3.9 million)
- Homehill, Rockhampton QLD – 4925ha (valued December 2023: $20.2 million)
- Kaiuroo Aggregation, Rockhampton QLD – 27,879ha (valued December 2023: $73.5 million)
- Lynora Downs, Rolleston QLD – 4963ha (valued December 2023: $45.5 million)
- Maryborough cropping aggregation, Maryborough QLD – 2460ha (valued December 2023: $39 million)
- Maryborough macadamia aggregation (10 properties), Wide Bay QLD – 1503ha (valued December 2023: $106.5 million)
- Mayneland, Rolleston QLD – 2942ha (valued December 2023: $29.8 million)
- Moore Park (macadamia), Bundaberg QLD – 104ha (valued December 2023: $17.9 million)
- Mungindi Feedlot, Mungindi QLD – 409ha (valued December 2023: $2.5 million)
- Mutton Hole, Carpentaria QLD – 140,300ha (valued December 2023: $19 million)
- Natal Aggregation, Charters Towers QLD – 390,600ha (valued December 2023: $184 million)
- Nursery Farm (macadamia), Bundaberg QLD – 41ha (valued December 2023: $5.3 million)
- Oakland Park, Croydon QLD – 85,500ha (valued December 2023: $10 million)
- Rewan, Rolleston QLD – 17,479ha (valued December 2023: $72.5 million)
- Riverton (macadamia), Rockhampton QLD – 426ha (valued December 2023: $40.1 million)
- Rookwood Farms (macadamia), Rockhampton QLD – 1036ha (valued December 2023: $44.4 million)
- Swan Ridge (macadamia), Bundaberg QLD – 130ha (valued December 2023: $23.6 million)
- Swan Ridge South (macadamia), Bundaberg QLD – 123ha (valued December 2023: $2 million)
- Thirsty Creek, Rockhampton QLD – 503ha (valued December 2023: $3.9 million)
- Yarra, Rockhampton QLD – 4090ha (valued December 2023: $27.5 million)
S KIDMAN AND CO – AUSTRALIA-CHINA
One of Australia’s largest landholders, S Kidman and Co is a respected and renowned beef producer, with the company having been an integral part of the country’s pastoral and beef industries for over 120 years.
One of Australia’s largest beef producers, an average herd owned by S Kidman and Co contains a carrying capacity of 185,000 cattle, which are raised on the company’s Queensland and Northern Territory properties.
The company has significantly reduced its footprint to just two million hectares in recent years, with its Queensland operations consisting of Morney Plains at Windorah and Rockybank at Roma.
- Morney Plains, Windorah QLD – 623,000ha
- Rockybank, Roma QLD – 14,600ha
SCOTT CATTLE COMPANY
The Scott Cattle Company is operated by George Scott, who previously managed Georgina Pastoral Company’s Lake Nash Station.
Mr Scott acquired renowned sheep station Thylungra from the Clyde Agricultural Company for $10.5 million in a private sale agreement that was reached in 2008.
Spread over 282,000ha near Quilpie, the property hosts 45,000 sheep and close to 2000 cattle.
- Thylungera Station, Quilpie QLD – 282,000ha
SCOTT HARRIS (HARRIS OPERATIONS PTY LTD)
Harris Operations is owned by Scott Harris, a Queensland beef producer who was victim to one of the state’s biggest cattleduffing operations.
Holding a big outlook for the future of agriculture, Mr Harris owns a significant footprint in the Gulf of Carpentaria region, running two stations in the region, Kingvale Station and Strathmore Station.
At 931,000ha, the vast Strathmore Station near Croydon is the largest single pastoral lease in Queensland and is a mixed farming enterprise.
In 2012, Mr Harris reported running 50,000 head of Droughtmaster-Braham-cross cattle on the property, which is bordered by the Staaten and Einasleigh rivers.
That same year, Mr Harris had 860 head of prime bullocks stolen from his fattening blocks near Tambo in one of the state’s biggest cattleduffing operations.
At the time, the station owner posted a $100,000 reward to help solve the riddle of how nearly $1 million of stock vanished in a theft that would have required a handful of stockmen, dogs, and at least four road trains.
In a cruel blow, Mr Harris was robbed while he and his station managers were away for a week at his Palm Cove wedding in April.
- Kingvale, Cape York QLD
- Strathmore, Croydon QLD – 931,000ha
SLM PARTNERS
SLM Partners is a real assets manager investing in regenerative agriculture and forestry.
Established in 2009, SLM Partners at its peak had more than 450,000ha of land under management, with its current portfolio consisting of 306,066ha of land.
SLM Partners has assets worth $610 million under management and holds 35 partnerships with farmers and foresters.
In Australia, SLM Partners operates grazing land in Australia with a focus on grass-fed beef cattle production.
The company has investments across Queensland, with all three of its properties located near Cunnamulla.
- Amenda, Cunnamulla QLD – 48,000ha
- Garrawin, Cunnamulla QLD – 79,000ha
- Padua Park, Cunnamulla QLD – 43,000ha
STANBROKE
Owned by the Menegazzo family, runs 200,000 cattle on seven stations totalling 1.2 million hectares in Queensland’s Gulf Country as well as backgrounding operations in the south of the state.
The Menegazzo family established themselves as a premium supplier of Australian beef with cattle feeding on stations in the Gulf region, before being taken to a processing plant in the Lockyer Valley.
Stanbroke beef is exported to more than 35 countries.
- Augustus, Cloncurry QLD
- Chinchilla feedlot and backgrounding, Chinchilla QLD
- Dalby backgrounding, Dalby QLD
- Donors Hill, Cloncurry QLD
- Fort Constantine, Cloncurry QLD
- Glenore, Normanton QLD
- Kamilaroi, Cloncurry QLD
- McAllister, Normanton QLD
- Wandoan backgrounding, Wandoan QLD
- Warren Vale, Normanton QLD
SUNDOWN PASTORAL COMPANY
The Sundown Pastoral Company is a privately owned Australian agricultural and pastoral enterprise known for their innovative farming techniques, sustainable production methods and environmental stewardship.
Following its establishment in 1964, the Sundown Pastoral Company grew to hold an agricultural property portfolio consisting of 105,220ha of highly fertile and productive land across seven separate holdings over two states.
The company’s cattle properties ran 54,000 head of cattle on 30,350ha of prime agricultural land.
Between 2016 and 2018, the Sundown Pastoral Company made a decision to divest away from large scale cattle enterprises to focus on cropping, cotton production, and cotton supply chain integration.
In 2016, their Paradise and Newstead properties were sold to the Paraway Pastoral Company, while the original Sundown Valley property and the Gunnee feedlot was sold in 2018, to Hancock Agriculture owned by Gina Rinehart.
In Queensland, its holdings consist of the Miirimavale Plantation near Gladstone and St Ronans near Mt Garnet.
- Mirrimavale Plantation, Gladstone QLD – 759ha
- St Ronans, Mt Garnet QLD – 43,706ha
SWISS AUSTRALIA FARM HOLDING (SWITZERLAND)
Swiss Australian Farm Holding grows purebred Angus and Brahman cattle and Merino sheep across operations in Queensland, South Australia, and western NSW.
In Queensland, Swiss Australian Farm Holdings breeds and fattens high quality purebred Brahman cattle for the local and export market.
The company has two properties in the Gulf country, is an ideal location for extensive cattle breeding and is best suited to the Brahman breed.
The properties are Elrose near Cloncurry and Neumayer Valley at Normanton.
Elrose near Cloncurry is a 30,000ha property and is run as a fattening unit for 4000-5000 steers in conjunction with Neumayer Valley Station
Neumayer Valley at Normanton is 14,000ha and carries a herd of 20,000 Brahman cattle.
- Elrose, Cloncurry QLD – 30,000ha
- Neumayer Valley Station, Normanton QLD – 143,000ha
TIAA – CREF AND NUVEEN NATURAL CAPITAL (UNITED STATES)
New York-based superannuation company Nuveen Natural Capital has about $2.2 billion worth of prime cropping country in Queensland, NSW, Victoria, and Western Australia.
Worldwide, the company has assets valued at $US13.7 billion, with 3 million acres under management, more than 600 properties, while employing more than 220 people.
In Queensland, the company has several properties including Brandon Farms near Ayr, Brookstead Farm on the Condamine Plains, Gardner Farms in Cecil Plains, Glenwood near Dalby, Herbert Valley Sugar at Ingham, Lindley Downs at Springsure, Macintyre Downs at Toobeah, Me Farms at Bundaberg, Warra at Jandowae, Woodlands at Condamine, and Yattlewondi at Mungindi.
- Brandon Farms, Ayr QLD – 440ha
- Brookstead Farm, Condamine Plains QLD – 703ha
- Gardner Farms, Cecil Plains QLD – 3985ha
- Glenwood, Dalby QLD – 785ha
- Herbert Valley Sugar, Ingham QLD – 1707ha
- Lindley Downs, Springsure QLD – 3935ha
- Macintyre Downs, Toobeah QLD – 6315ha
- ME Farms, Bundaberg QLD – 343ha
- Warra, Jandowae QLD – 3851ha
- Woodlands, Condamine QLD – 3055ha
- Yattlewondi, Mungindi QLD – 3052ha
USHER PASTORAL COMPANY
Usher Pastoral Company operates large cattle stations throughout south western Queensland.
Owned by Gold Coast-based property developer Philip Usher, Usher Pastoral Company has significant beef holdings totalling more than 1 million ha across Queensland.
The substantial pastoral business encompasses about 1.2 million ha of cattle properties across five Queensland stations.
Mr Usher started his property business Philip Usher Constructions in 1987, going onto build units, high-rises, and CBD apartments.
In 2023, Mr Usher had an estimated wealth of $692 million.
- Kyee Station, Eromanga QLD – 164,255ha
- Mount Margaret and Berellem, Eromanga QLD – 470,504ha
- Orient and Norley, Channel Country QLD
WARAKIRRI CROPPING
Warakirri Cropping owns and operates cropping farms across Australia.
The company has the production capacity of about 400,000 tonnes of grain annually and. operates across 11 aggregations in Queensland, NSW, Victoria and Western Australia totalling about 155,000ha.
In Queensland, it operates Myobie near Dalby, which is a combination of two previous farms known as Myola and Wyobie.
Myobie contains land around 40km north of Dalby on the Cooranga Creek and 20 km south of Dalby along the Moonie Hwy.
Myobie consists of 8951ha and grows summer crops of cotton, sorghum, and mung beans with winter crops of chickpeas and barley.
The property sees an average annual rainfall between 650 and 700mm with two thirds falling during the summer crop growing season between October and March.
- Myobie, Dalby QLD – 8951ha
WESTERN GRAZING
Western Grazing is a well-known and respected beef producer with several properties spread across Queensland.
Established in 1992, Western Grazing started out as a family run dairy business on the Gold Coast.
The Oxenford family’s operation evolved into a beef behemoth, after purchasing a vast portfolio of Vestey Properties, with its modern day operation comprising seven properties in Queensland covering more than 800,000ha.
In late 1999, Western Grazing purchased another large breeding property, Magowra Station, located near Normanton in the Gulf of Queensland followed by the addition of Allendale Station located in the Augathella region in 2008.
Camel Creek Station situated 110km west of Ingham was purchased in September 2022 for a large-scale breeding and fattening purpose, with the latest acquisition being Slogan Downs Station situated 80km south of Charters Towers which is a premium property also used for breeding and fattening purpose.
Western Grazing owns a quality herd of Brahman Cross Cattle and will continue with the cross breeding program to broaden their appeal.
The company also provides employment opportunities for approximately 60 people across its operations.
Previously owned the famous Wave Hill Station in the Northern Territory’s Victoria River District.
- Allendale Station, Augathella QLD – 21,000ha
- Camel Creek Station, Greenvale QLD – 26,100ha
- Eurella Station, Muckadilla QLD – 22,000ha
- Magowra Station, Normanton QLD – 294,000ha
- Morstone Downs Station, Camooweal QLD – 176,000ha
- Oban Station, Mt Isa QLD – 261,000ha Slogan Downs, Seventy Mile QLD – 15,604ha
WYADRIGAH PASTORAL COMPANY
The Wyadrigah Pastoral Company is operated by Fred Barlow and family with significant cropping and grazing interests in northern NSW and Queensland.
The company made a switch to breeding Santa Gertrudis cattle due to the breed’s ability to thrive in tough conditions.
- Grazing and cropping farms, NSW and Queensland – 110,000ha
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