Davenport Downs, Cubbie Station among Queensland’s biggest farms
Queensland is home to some of the biggest farming operations in the country in an industry worth more than $23 billion to the state’s economy. See where the mega farms are and who owns them.
Property
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Queensland boasts some of the biggest farming operations in the country with the state’s agricultural sector worth a whopping $23.11 billion and an export value of more than $10 billion.
Queensland’s agricultural industries directly and indirectly employ 371,000 people which makes up about 14 per cent of the state’s workforce.
About one in 10 people are employed in farming in places like Wide Bay, Darling Downs-Maranoa and Outback Queensland.
The state’s primary industries are now exporting to more than 130 destinations around the globe.
So who owns the biggest farms and where are they? Take a look at our interactive below, full list of the mega properties and some of the biggest sales of 2022.
One of Queensland’s biggest cattle stations is Davenport Downs, which is about 1.5 million hectares in size.
The property is bigger than the amount of arable land in countries such as Sri Lanka (1.4m ha), Austria (1.3m ha), Chile (1.3m ha) and New Zealand (546,000 ha) and can run more than 29,000 head of cattle at capacity.
Davenport Downs is owned and operated by Paraway Pastoral Company, which owns and operates 27 stations across Queensland and New South Wales.
The company works in both cattle and sheep production.
DAVENPORT DOWNS
Size: 1.5 million ha
Location: Winton
Owned by: Paraway Pastoral Co
Operation: Cattle fattening
Size comparison: Davenport Downs is Paraway Pastoral Co’s largest property, and also the biggest cattle station in Queensland.
Spanning across a herculean 1.5m ha, the property as a whole is larger than countries including Northern Ireland, The Bahamas and Vanuatu. Davenport Downs also has more arable land than countries including Sri Lanka, Chile and New Zealand.
MARION DOWNS
Size: 1.287 million ha
Location: Boulia
Owned by: North Australian Pastoral Company
Operation: Grass finishing cattle property
Size comparison: Marion Downs in Queensland’s second largest cattle station in Queensland and also the second largest owned and operated property for NAPCo. A whopping 1.287m ha in size, the property as a whole is bigger than Vanuatu, Qatar and Jamaica. Marion Downs also has more arable land than countries including The Netherlands, Portugal, Norway and New Zealand.
BULLOO DOWNS STATION
Size: 1.07 million ha
Location: Thargomindah
Owned by: Gibson Grazing
Operation: Cattle
Size comparison: Bulloo Downs was first established in 1894, before it was purchased by Sir Sidney Kidman in 1903. It was purchased by current owners Mick and Marie Gibson in 2004. A massive 1.07 million hectares in size, Bulloo Station is bigger than countries including Lebanon, Cyprus and Samoa. The station also has more arable land than countries including Switzerland, Israel and Fiji.
TANBAR STATION
Size: 1.021 million ha
Location: Windorah
Owned by: Paraway Pastoral Co
Operation: Cattle growing
Size comparison: Tanbar Station is another important part of the Paraway Pastoral Co’s cattle operation in Queensland. Just over one million hectares in size, Tanbar is bigger than countries including Cyprus, Puerto Rico and Palestine. The station has more arable land than countries including Switzerland, Israel and Fiji.
HEADINGLY STATION
Size: 1.003 million ha
Location: Urandangi
Owned by: Australian Agricultural Company
Operation: Cattle breeding
Size comparison: Headingly Station is a breeding station which produces cattle for AACo’s Wagyu brands. Coming in at just over one million hectares, the property as a whole is bigger than countries including Cyprus, Puerto Rico and Palestine. The station has more arable land than countries including Switzerland, Israel and Fiji.
DURRIE STATION
Size: 660,000 ha
Location: Birdsville
Owned by: S Kidman and Co
Operation: Cattle
Size comparison: Durrie Station has been owned by one of Australia’s biggest beef producers S Kidman and Co for more than 100 years. S Kidman and Co has been a big name in Australia’s beef production industry for 124 years, and was sold by the Kidman family in 2016.
The company was purchased by Outback Beef, of which two thirds is owned by mining magnate Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting. The minority of Outback Beef is owned by China’s Shanghai CRED.
The station is said to have some of the best grazing country in the state and is used as a bullock depot. While it may be under a million hectares, the large property is bigger than countries including Brunei, Trinidad and Tobago and French Polynesia.
WROTHAN PARK
Size: 596,880 ha
Location: Cairns
Owned by: Consolidated Pastoral Company
Operation: Breeding
Size comparison: Wrotham Park has been owned by CPC since 2009. The property can run 25,000 breeders or more than 47,000 head. Spanning across more than 590,ooo ha of land, the property as a whole is bigger than a number of countries including Brunei, Trinidad and Tobago and French Polynesia. It also has more arable land than Panama, New Zealand, Ireland and Papua New Guinea.
NATAL DOWNS, LONGTON AND NARELLAN
Size: 390,600 ha
Location: Charters Towers
Owned by: Rural Funds Group, leased by Camm Agricultural Group
Operation: Cattle
Size comparison: Natal Downs, Longton and Narellan is the “grass raised cattle powerhouse” of Camm Agricultural Group. The property can carry up to 45,000 head of cattle. At more than 390,000 hectares the property is bigger than countries including Samoa, Hong Kong and Luxembourg. The property as a whole also has more arable land than Israel, Papua New Guinea and Fiji.
TIERAWOOMBA, Mt Scott, Atinla and Snake Creek
Size: 140,000 ha
Location: Nebo
Owned by: Hughes Pastoral Group/Georgina Pastoral Company
Operation: Wagyu-cross cattle
Size comparison: Tierawoomba, Mt Scott, Atinla and Snake Creek are just one aspect of the operation run by Hughes Pastoral Group/Georgina Pastoral Company, which operates more than 3.9 million hectares across stations in Queensland, NSW and the Northern Territory. The Nebo property runs about 25,000 head of Wagyu-cross cattle. The 140,000 ha patch of Central Queensland is bigger than countries including Faroe Islands, Bahrain, Tonga and Singapore. It also has more arable land than Lebanon, Iceland and Jamaica.
MT ENNISKILLEN STATION
Size: 135,200 ha
Location: Blackall
Owned by: Harvey Black
Operation: Cattle breeding and finishing
Size comparison: Businessman Harvey Black purchased Mt Enniskillen Station in 2020 from Clark and Tait for more than $40 million. When it was owned by Clark and Tait is was used for cattle breeding and finishing. The property as a whole is bigger than countries including Bahrain, Tonga and Singapore. It has more arable land than Lebanon, Iceland and Jamaica.
MANTUAN DOWNS
Size: 135,000 ha
Location: Springsure
Owned by: North Australian Pastoral Company
Operation: Cattle growing
Size comparison: Another NAPCo property, Mantuan Downs is another station that was once owned by Clark and Tait. NAPCo confirmed in 2020 they would purchase the station, which the company uses to grow cattle received from its breeder properties and prepare them for entry into Wainui Feedlot. The property is bigger than countries including Bahrain, Tonga and Singapore. It has more arable land than Lebanon, Iceland and Jamaica.
MORAY DOWNS
Size: 117,000 ha
Location: Clermont
Owned by: Australian Country Choice
Operation: Cattle breeding and backgrounding
Size comparison: Spanning just under 100,ooo hectares, Moray Downs is owned and operated by Australian Country Choice. The property is used by ACC to breed and background cattle and has a capacity of 12,000 head. The property is bigger than a number of countries including Tonga, Singapore and Barbados. It also has more arable land than the United Arab Emirates, Puerto Rico and New Caledonia.
CUBBIE STATION
Size: 90,000 ha
Location: Dirranbandi
Owned by: Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets
Operation: Cotton
Size comparison: While it might not be as big as some properties in Queensland, the 90,000 ha Cubbie Station does boast quite the title. The Dirranbandi block is the largest irrigation property in the Southern Hemisphere, but it hasn’t always been that way.
Cubbie Station started life as a grazing property before it was converted to cotton production in 1983. The property is bigger than countries including Tonga, Singapore and Barbados. It has more arable land than Belize, Palestine and Samoa.
CROYDON STATION
Size: 59,669 ha
Location: Marlborough
Owned by: Redrock Trading Company
Operation: Cattle
Size comparison: Nestled in Central Queensland, just north of the Beef Capital Rockhampton, is the 59,000 hectare Croydon Station. The station has a history in the region being previously owned by late cattle baron Graeme Acton and his family.
The property sold in 2021 and is now owned by Redrock Trading Company. The company has beef breeding and fattening operations across Queensland and the Northern Territory. Just under 60,000 hectares in size, the property as a whole is bigger than countries including Guam, Barbados and Malta. The station also has more arable land than Puerto Rico, Samoa and Vanuatu.
BARCALDINE DOWNS STATION
Size: 46,375 ha
Location: Barcaldine
Owned by: Rob McGavin
Operation: Sheep
Size comparison: Barcaldine Downs is another station that was once owned by Clark and Tait before it was put up for sale in 2019. It was snapped up by Chief executive officer and executive chairman of Boundary Bend Limited Rob McGavin for $21 million. The sale included more than 15,000 sheep and 700 head of cattle.
The property itself is bigger than a number of small countries including Palau, Barbados, Malta and the Maldives. It also has more arable land than Samoa, Vanuatu, Tonga and Qatar.
MARYBOROUGH AGGREGATION
Size: 5,500 ha
Location: Maryborough
Owned by: MSF Sugar
Operation: Sugar
Size comparison: MSF Sugar’s farming operations cover a total over 9,700 ha across the Fraser Coast, Cassowary Coast and Atherton Tableland regions, growing around 650,000 tonnes of cane at the company owned farms. As a total the company has a land and water portfolio of $170m.
While it may be smaller compared to some of the properties listed above, the Maryborough aggregation is bigger than smaller countries including Bermuda, Norfolk Island and Monaco. It has more arable land than countries including Hong Kong, Singapore and Guam.
SOUTH BURNETT AGGREGATION
Size: 3,682 ha
Location: South Burnett
Owned by: Hancock Agriculture (Gina Rinehart)
Operation: Beef
Size comparison: South Burnett Aggregation is just one part of the 9.2 million hectares of Australian land controlled by mining magnate Gina Rinehart.While it may be smaller compared to some of the properties listed above, the South Burnett aggregation is bigger than smaller countries including Bermuda, Norfolk Island and Monaco. It has more arable land than countries including Hong Kong, Singapore and Guam.
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