Day family to sell renowned Riverina farms, Quamby aggregation

A massive 2555ha cropping aggregation in the NSW Riverina has been listed for sale, with a local family set to end their almost 100-year tenure.

A renowned 2555ha cropping aggregation, listed for sale for the first time in almost 100 years, is set to test the higher end of the spring NSW Riverina rural property market at a time when buyer demand remains uncertain.

The Day family’s Quamby aggregation, which spans 2556ha across six parcels near Lockhart, has hit the market with their longstanding tenure, which dates back to the 1920s, set to conclude.

For sale privately via expressions of interest, the property is offered as one aggregation or in separate parcels.

No price guide has been offered, but it is expected to meet or exceed district values thanks to its size, scale and infrastructure.

Sandy Day, along with his family, has managed and owned the Quamby aggregation, expanding the property extensively from 1300ha to its current size during the past 20 years.

Mr Day said he and his family had decided to sell the property as part of “sea-change” plans.

“We definitely aren’t sick of agriculture, but we want to seek different opportunities in a different area,” he said.

The Day family are set to end their almost 100-year tenure, selling the 2555ha Quamby aggregation near Lockhart in the NSW Riverina.

“We are still young and we want to try something new in a new place while we have the energy. We also have family down south, so it’ll be nice to be closer to them.”

In the late 1990s the Day family converted the property from a typical Riverina mixed farm, to a 100 per cent dryland cropping enterprise.

In recent seasons the Quamby aggregation has cropped a mix of about 50 per cent barley and wheat, with the remaining 50 per cent a mix of legumes and canola, across a four-year cycle.

The six parcels – Quamby (673ha), Glenroy (387ha), Drummonds (129ha), Yirri (844ha), Glen Ivy (250ha), and Kurrajong (269ha) – comprise the non-contingent aggregation, with all lots located in a close vicinity. There is also 5000t of existing grain storage with the property.

Mr Day said the aggregation has received interest from interstate buyers, with local buyers, local syndicates and corporate buyers expected to be interested.

The Quamby aggregation offers about 5000t of storage for crop yields.

Herron Todd White valuer Andrew Garnsey said rural property values in the Riverina this spring were likely to be affected by softening commodity prices and higher interest rates.

“How the season plays out will have a big impact on farming incomes as growers chase yields and weight gain to counteract the reduction in farm gate prices for commodities,” he said in Herron Todd White’s August property update.

“Property sales are still occurring, however the depth of buyers in the market, particularly for small to medium-scale mixed farming properties, has notably decreased. Some properties are staying on the market longer with vendors having to reduce expectations to get a deal done.”

Earlier this year Canadian-backed Lawson Grains paid almost $40 million to secure the Macneil family’s 2860ha Green Park aggregation, located about 50km south of Lockhart at Rand, in the NSW Riverina.