Handbury family to sell South Australian Booborowie Aggregation portfolio

A renowned name in South Australian farming circles is selling a 2850ha, six-farm portfolio in the state’s Mid North Region.

One of South Australia’s major landholders has listed their 2852ha Booborowie Aggregation for sale after almost three decades of ownership.

Comprising six separate farms, Paddy Handbury and the Handbury family via Saltbush Agriculture are selling their Mid North South Australian mixed cropping and livestock portfolio.

Based on other sales in the district over the past 12 months it is understood the aggregation could fetch about $35-$40 million as a whole.

The Handbury family acquired the first pieces of the portfolio 27 years ago as they developed a selection of farms capable of producing cereals, oilseeds, legumes, hay production, prime lamb and wool production.

Ray White’s Rural SA selling agents Geoff and Daniel Schell are managing the sale of the portfolio, which is open to expressions of interest closing at 10am, Thursday December 15.

The Booborowie Aggregation comprises six farms and 2852ha.

“The aggregation is located in a really good, reliable and productive area. South Australia’s Mid North offers good mixed farming country for cropping and livestock, particularly sheep,” Geoff Schell said.

“The aggregation is for sale as one or in individual lots so it offers rare scale and scope in a tightly-held region.”

Mr Schell said potential buyers could range from farming enterprises looking for significant expansion in the area to local producers wanting to acquire individual additional blocks.

The six-farm Booborowie Aggregation comprises Macks’ (253ha), Feedlot Block (583.9ha), North Booborowie (333.8ha), Greenacres (661ha), Dolphins (141ha) and Braefoot Block (879.5ha).

Located 40km northeast of Clare and 25km northwest of Burra, existing infrastructure across the portfolio includes two main homesteads, four additional homes, hay and implement sheds, a 5000-head sheep feedlot, and two shearing sheds.

Water is also supplied to the properties via equipped bores, irrigation bores and long-term average annual rainfall of 438mm.

A mixture of cropping and sheep production takes place at the Booborowie Aggregation.

Alongside the Booborowie Aggregation, the Handbury Group own the 343,000ha Arcoona Station at Woomera in SA, which they purchased in 2008.

They also own the Swinging Shovel farm at Lucindale, SA and The Rises at Balmoral in Victoria’s west.

The Handbury’s also revived the famous Australian Collinsville Merino Stud, northeast of Burra in South Australia after it went into receivership in 1995.

In 2014 they sold the property and the stud to South Australian pastoralists George and Sophie Millington.