$200 million-plus offers tipped for Queensland family’s farms

A renowned family have listed their 5100ha portfolio of farms for sale, including properties in Victoria’s Gippsland region. See the details.

The Emerick family are selling their Mulgowie Farming Company portfolio, including the Glen Innes Aggregation in northern NSW (pictured). Picture: Supplied.

More than 5000 hectares of farmland spread across three of Australia’s eastern states have hit the market, as a renowned farming family calls time on their major vegetable growing company.

Queensland’s Emerick family have listed their Mulgowie Farming Company Portfolio for sale, offering a 5100ha portfolio of irrigated farms in southeast Queensland, North Queensland, northern NSW and Victoria which grows and packages about 90,000 tonnes of fresh produce annually.

Offers in excess of $200 million are expected for the portfolio, which is being offered to the market as a whole.

LAWD senior director Danny Thomas and director Elizabeth Doyle are handling the sale of the blue-ribbon assets in a “truly rare and unique offering”.

“Mulgowie Farming Company is an icon in Australian horticulture and operates under a commercial trading structure with a professional management team of more than 500 people and an external, scaleable network of 50 growers in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria,” Mr Thomas said.

“The Mulgowie logo of ‘Natural Perfection’ is one of the most recognised brands in the country and the portfolio’s current land and water resources exceed the existing processing footprint, meaning there are opportunities to expand into other key categories for year-round production.”

Mulgowie Farming Company’s Rodney Emerick. Picture: Nigel Hallett.

Family patriarch John Emerick began farming in 1949 in Queensland’s Lockyer Valley, before he and wife Dell then purchased a farm at Thornton in 1962.

Three years later they switched from dairy farming to growing cabbages, cauliflowers and tomatoes, while son Rodney, daughter Leisa and son-in-law Fabian Carniel joined the company.

The Mulgowie brand was officially launched in 1989 when the Emericks teamed up with the first of their contract growers. In an effort to supply sweet corn and green beans year round farming and packing operations were established in northern Queensland at Bowen in 1998 and at Home Hill five years later.

Across the portfolio Mulgowie Farming produces baby corn, broccoli, capsicum and pumpkin as well as potatoes, onions, tomatoes, cucurbits, brassicas, leafy greens, sugarcane, cotton, cereals, fodder crops, legumes and tree crops, supplying retailers or grocery outlets.

Operating 52 weeks of the year, the diversified portfolio includes the Boisdale Aggregation at Maffra in Victoria’s Gippsland region, featuring a state- of-the-art processing facility and 2271ML of water licences.

Beans grow at the Mugowie’s Bowen Aggregation (pictured). Picture: Supplied.

In northern NSW the family also owns the Glen Innes Aggregation, which covers 245ha across three properties, including grading and processing facilities and 757ML of water licences.

Meanwhile in the Emerick family’s home state of Queensland the family owns the Mulgowie Aggregation of four non-contiguous properties within a three-kilometre radius. This aggregation includes 280ha with 163ha developed for irrigation and state-of-the-art processing facilities. An additional 474ha of irrigation land is leased.

Former Mulgowie Farming Company CEO Fabian Carniel. Picture: Ali Kuchel.

In North Queensland the family owns the Bowen Aggregation of 13 properties within an 11km radius, including 3100ha with 1600ha developed to sub-surface drip line, processing facilities, substantial water entitlements and plans including 4000ML in additional water harvesting licenses.

Their Home Hill Aggregation comprising two properties referred to as Kirknie Home Farm Aggregation and Ted Walsh Farm Aggregation, are also for sale, offering 1200ha, with 424ha developed to irrigation, 3514ML of water allocations from the Burdekin Basin and 150ha planned for additional irrigation expansion.

Meanwhile, a US fund manager with an extensive global forestry and agricultural portfolio is selling three Australian almond and avocado orchards with expectations of $150m payday.