Aussie family snaps up major Queensland cropping farm

A 3400ha farm near Emerald is back in Australian hands after it and a huge water portfolio were sold to separate buyers for more than $44 million. See the details.

Foreign owners have offloaded a Central Queensland irrigated and dryland cropping operation and associated water entitlements via separate sales worth more than $44m in total.

Queensland Cotton, backed by Singaporean-based parent Olam International, has sold Codenwarra West, a 3403ha mixed cropping property at Donohoe Rd, 9km northeast of Emerald.

State property records show Central Queensland cropping farmers, the Galea family, acquired the property for about $22.748m.

The transaction occurred in November last year, after Queensland Cotton listed Codenwarra West for sale in August.

Queensland Cotton purchased Codenwarra West in 2019 for about $18m from the McCullagh family, however, elected to sell the property in line with a new strategic direction.

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund owns 35 per cent of Olam Agri.

The Galea family have various agricultural interests throughout Central Queensland where they grow grain and irrigated cotton.

Codenwarra West, located 9km northeast of Emerald, has been sold by the Queensland Cotton Company.

Comprising heavy river flats at the junction of the Nogoa River and Theresa Creek, Codenwarra West offered 560ha of pivots and 500.5ha of flood irrigation, plus 1305ha of dryland cultivation.

Also offered for sale with Codenwarra West was a portfolio of Nagoa Mackenzie River Water, comprising six separate allocations, totalling a combined 4319 megalitres.

State property records show Cowal Agriculture Holdings, a subsidiary of Macquarie Asset Management, purchased the water portfolio for a sum of $21.6m, or the equivalent of about $5000 a megalitre.

The transaction for the water portfolio was completed in December last year and will bolster Macquarie’s 5976ha Central Queensland irrigation portfolio, Cowal Agriculture, bought in August 2022 for about $120m from US-based Global Endowment Management.

A key feature of the Cowal Ag portfolio was its extensive water entitlements with 27,157ML of medium-priority water and 4648ML of unsupplemented water, plus 12km frontage to the Nogoa River.

Macquarie Asset Management global chair of agriculture and natural assets Liz O’Leary. Picture: David Roma

Ray White Rural Queensland agents Jez McNamara and Bruce Douglas handled the sale of the Codenwarra West and its water portfolio, but did not comment on the transactions.

Meanwhile in the south of the state, three local farming families have secured parts of the 1016ha Ascot and Arundel aggregation, located 20km east of Cecil Plains in the Darling Downs district.

In August last year, a private investor listed the aggregation for sale as a whole or as four separate freehold properties.

It is understood Arundal (259ha) and Glengyle (244ha) were sold together to a local farming family, while Ascot (324ha) and Hoedown (189ha) were sold to separate buyers.

The aggregation was also offered with a total licenced volume of 187ML, an unsupplemented water allocation from the Upper Condamine Zone with a nominal volume of 40ML and a volumetric limit of 300ML.

It is also understood the aggregation plus its water entitlements were sold for more than $21m combined.

JLL Agribusiness agents Clayton Smith, Chris Holgar and Geoff Warriner handled the sales, but did not comment on the transactions.

Originally published as Aussie family snaps up major Queensland cropping farm