Cherylton Farms, Gundaline Station, Plumthorpe Station: Australia’s top 100 farm sales of the 2022-23 financial year

Billions of dollars’ worth of premier Australian farmland changed hands during the 2022-23 financial year. See the full list of the top 100 sales.

The 8554ha Cherylton Farms operation near Kojonup in WA was purchased by prominent Victorian farming family the Patersons and Canadian investor Fiera Comox, via their Excel Farming partnership.

While frenzied buying of Australian farmland did not continue at the same pace in the 2022-23 financial year, record-high prices remained, resulting in some extraordinary results.

Despite a mix of commodity prices softening from record highs, interest rates rising from historical lows and widespread flooding across the country, strong demand for rural property remained.

Most notably, Australia’s richest person, Gina Rinehart, has significantly restructured her agricultural portfolio in the past 12 months, selling four S. Kidman and Co cattle stations, which spanned more than 2.4 million hectares in Queensland and the Northern Territory.

In the past year, Ms Rinehart’s Hancock Agriculture has shifted towards cropping and Wagyu production, purchasing the Findley family’s 6860ha Wee Waa aggregation in northern NSW for $150 million while also paying about $80 million for two of Packhorse Pastoral’s cattle stations.

JLL agribusiness director Geoff Warriner, who handled Ms Rinehart’s sale of the four S. Kidman and Co cattle stations, said a gap was beginning to form in the rural property market.

“I see the A-grade assets still holding value, but with the current buyer pool, transactions are taking longer,” he said.

“Prices still remain strong across all assets, but with those B and C-grade assets, there could be some change if interest rates continue to rise.

“Buyers are completing a few more checks and balances and the fear of missing out has passed.

“Buyers think there is more time to do a deal and they are being more diligent.”

Mr Warriner said the changed buying conditions were more favourable for the most wealthy of the buyer pool.

“I think the high net-worth individuals and the corporate families are still very strong,” he said.

Hancock Agriculture owner and Australia’s richest person Gina Rinehart.

“And with some of the funds that require time to raise money, it also plays in their favour.”

Established Australian farming families were also key players in the rural property market in 2022-23, including Viv Oldfield and Donny Costello’s Crown Point Pastoral, which increased their standing as Australia’s largest private landholder, purchasing the 730,000ha Mt Doreen Station, north of Alice Springs, for about $70 million (including cattle), from the Braitling family.

In the Riverina a number of high profile properties were sold to corporate buyers including the Macneil family’s Green Park Aggregation, which was purchased by Canada’s Lawson Grains for $35 million-plus, and the Scott family’s Aratula, which was sold to Kilter Rural for about $40 million.

The late Rossander principal Andrew Anderson with Rossander Angus bull Rossander Zulu in 2021.

Meanwhile, most notably in Victoria the Anderson family’s mixed cattle and dairy aggregation, the Rossander portfolio, was sold in 12 parcels to a variety of local and intrastate buyers for a combined $35 million-plus.

In the state’s North East, Roger Shore’s Moyhu Wagyu aggregation was sold walk-in walk-out to Western Australia’s Stone Axe Pastoral Company for a reported $25 million.

There was also a flurry of activity in southeast South Australia late last year with more than $200 million of farmland changing hands.

Most notably the Handbury family sold their six-farm Saltbush Agriculture portfolio between various local buyers for $33 million-plus, while also deciding to pay a record breaking $22 million through auction for a 660ha farm at Lucindale.