Meet the cattle farmers buying into Mackay, Isaac, Whitsunday
From fledgling families to cattle kings expanding their kingdom, see the biggest cattle property sales of the last 12 months, meet the people who bought them and for how much.
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From a steak sanga at the pub to the snags on your barbie, there is nothing more North Queensland than beef.
But who is farming the beef we love so much?
Our region is home to many big beef producers ranging from families working their first property to established dynasties and globe spanning conglomerates.
We have researched and ranked the biggest sales of the past 12 months from the Mackay, Isaac and Whitsunday regions from least to most expensive.
10. $4.9m: 174 Habana Wharf Road Habana QLD 4740
This property was bought for just under $4.9m in November, 2024. The relatively small cattle farm was bought by Neal and Nicole Green through their company Kyarra Grazing.
Previously running a vet in the Central Queensland town of Rolleston, the Green’s have moved into grazing.
Their registered place of business for companies Kyarra Grazing and Kyarra Farming is Kungurri Springs, a 413ha Mount Charlton property that was bought for an undisclosed figure in March last year.
9. $5+m: 40 O’Sullivans Road Mia Mia QLD 4754
Sold for slightly more than $5m, 40 O’Sullivans Road Mia Mia was bought by McDermott Investments on July 2, 2024.
The 270ha property is located west of Kinchant Dam in the rural suburb of Mia Mia.
McDermott Investments is owned by Scott Corey McDermott and the land will be used for cattle breeding and fattening.
8. $5.8m: 876 Maraju-Yakapari Road Dumbleton QLD 4740
The property at 876 Maraju-Yakapari Rd, Dumleton sold for $5.6m on Jun 12, 2024, giving the new owners a 48ha property and single-storey bedroom house to live in.
Gardian property facilitated the sale of the four bedroom, two bathroom home and land to D & D Futures, run by Kerry Maree Darlington of Grasstree Beach.
The house comes with a wine fridge, walk in pantry, wrap around wardrobe and airconditioning all throughout.
Outside is a BBQ area with 180 degree views of the property, as well as three large sheds, 100,000l rainwater tanks and a workshop.
When combined with the property’s existing cattle yards, chicken run and underground irrigation system, the property is perfect for a cattle farming self-starter.
7. $6m: 142 Argents Road Mount Charlton QLD 4741
The Green’s made their first cattle farming purchase of the year in March 28, 2024, when they bought a property at Mount Charlton.
The 413ha property at 142 Argents Road, Mount Charlton was bought for $6m by the Green’s second company Kyarra Farming Company.
It’s located 65km north of Mackay in the hills of Mount Charlton and is close to the Kungurri Springs property they bought, also in March.
Kungurri Springs holds a five bedroom, two bathroom home, two cottages, several machinery sheds and a workshop with a car hoist.
6. $8m: Exmoor Road Mentmore QLD 4798
Exmoor Station was sold in 2024 as a nationwide seafood company passed it to a family run cattle operation.
Exmoor Station on Exmoor Rd Mentmore, was once the proposed site of a massive seafood farming operation but on December 9, 2024 the property was sold for $8,000,000.
Tasmanian company Tassal, who own De Costi Seafoods and the Proserpine Prawn Farm and worked with the state government to bring a new Prawn Farm to Exmoor Rd near Collinsville.
The planned aquaculture project would have seen a $172m investment and create 1000ha of production ponds, hatcheries, nurseries, workforce accommodation and an on site quarry.
Construction was slated to begin in 2021 and would have brought 100 full time jobs during construction to the area and supported a 620 full time jobs once completed.
The plan was axed by the state government in 2021 and since then De Costi seafood sold the property and now the Exmoor Cattle Company run the 1000ha property.
The new owners, Clive and Diane Watts of Exmoor Grazing are Whitsunday beef farmers hailing from Umina Station near Collinsville.
5. $8m: 6259 Clermont Alpha Road Clermont QLD 4721
The largest property on this list so far at Clermont Alpha Rd, Clermont 4721 was transferred for $8m.
Cattle farmer Brendon Finger acquired part of a more than 20,000ha property, approximately the size of the Cook Islands, from Ross Martyn on July 9, 2024.
Brendan and Rhiannon Finger run their own operation at Telerah, west of Clermont and Mr Finger played for the Clermont Bears Rugby League team, as well as acted as a commercial beef judge at the Clermont show in 2013.
It’s unclear how much of the property they acquired in this sale.
4. $8.7m: 3871 Collinsville Elphinstone Road Glenden QLD 4743
Another part sale, the 14,400ha property at Hillalong Station, Collinsville Elphinstone Rd was sold in part from parents to their son.
Parents Peter and Leigh Fordyce sold part of the property to son William Fordyce for $8.7m on May 20, 2024.
3. $11.5m: 685 May Downs Road Clarke Creek QLD 4705
Yatton, also known as 685 May Downs Rd, Clarke Creek, is a 2,823ha property and was bought for $11.5m by a farmer from the south west.
Western Downs farmer Sam Phelps said he wanted to “try it up in central” when asked why he bought the property and it’s three-bedroom homestead.
“I want to call it home,” Mr Phelps said.
A backgrounding farmer, Mr Phelps said the area has opened up more buying opportunity and said “it’s probably a good spot to source our cattle from comparing to where we were down in the south”.
When asked for comment on the price he paid for the land Mr Phelps said “property’s too expensive”.
“The challenge for me personally is coming to an area I didn’t know … the people here have really helped me, been really obliging to me,” Mr Phelps said.
“Really good community.”
The plot of land includes a 30 sqm dam, solar pump irrigation system and steel cattle yards.
2. $33m: 4370 May Downs Road May Downs QLD 4746
The runner up for the biggest cattle property sales of the last 12 months is the sale of more than 9,500ha of land at 4370 May Downs Rd.
The property was bought by the Consolidated Pastoral Company for $33m on November 27, 2024.
The Consolidated Pastoral Company are a United Kingdom owned multinational agricultural company which operates nine stations across Australia and two feedlots in Indonesia.
In total the company manages more than 3.2mha of land, an area larger than the country of Belgium and almost the size of Moldova, running more than 300,000 head of cattle.
Consolidated Pastoral Company have been contacted for comment.
1. $77.5m: 822 Emu Plains Road Newlands QLD 4804
The largest cattle property sale of the last 12 months is the whopping purchase of almost 30,000ha by a Clermont based husband-wife cattle operation.
Richard and Robyn Simmons, the operators of the Simmons Cattle Company bought 822 Emu Plains Rd, Newlands for $77.5m in July 18, 2024.
The two have been running a large grazing operation at Avon Downs, north of Clermont since the early 2000s.
Since buying their first property they’ve bought neighbouring plots of land, slowly expanding their burgeoning beef barony with the 300sqkm property, roughly the size of the Maldives, as their latest addition.
Robyn Simmons was contacted and declined to participate in an interview.
Mackay sale and auction results, week ending April 5
Moranbah proved to be a hot market last week with five properties selling for a total value of $1.9 million. See the latest auction and sales results.
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