Major farm sales of the 2021-22 financial year

An analysis of major farming sales during 2021-22 show record demand for Australian farmland. See the biggest sales – and the buyers and sellers behind them.

Domestic families fuelled by unprecedented balance sheets have created a gold rush for prime Australian farmland assets over the past 12 months — but there are concerns the market may be reaching a plateau.

An analysis by The Weekly Times of major farming sales during 2021-22 show record demand for Australian farmland, with local families buoyed by strong commodity prices, a good season and access to cheap loans, competing strongly against domestic and international interests to expand their operations.

This demand has resulted in a more than doubling of land values in some areas over the past two years.

The analysis found the biggest farmland deal of the financial year was worth a whopping $600 million with several others topping the magical $100 million mark. At a more local level, demand for smaller holdings has skyrocketed with per-hectare price records being broken across most parts of the nation in the past 12 months.

National Farmers’ Federation vice-president and Wimmera farmer David Jochinke said rural property prices in his district had more than doubled in the past two years.

“You used to be able to buy for a bit over $3000 an acre ($7413 a hectare) and now it’s pushing $7000 ($17,300 a hectare),” Mr Jochinke said.

The sale of the 22,500ha Corinella Group cropping portfolio was one of the biggest in the past financial year.

“The primary driver of demand is still the neighbours shooting it out for the block. We are not seeing corporates coming in because prices are so high and we don’t have the large parcels coming up. Usually it is just one allotment at a time.”

At the top end of the market, the biggest deal of the financial year was Macquarie Group’s sale of its 103,000ha Lawson Grains cropping portfolio in NSW and Western Australia, which was snapped up by Canada’s Alberta Management Investment Corporation for about $600 million.

It was one of the biggest deals ever involving Australian farming land.

Other major transactions of 2021-22 included the $370 million sale of the Corinella Group cropping portfolio in Victoria and South Australia, offered by the US-based Proterra Investment Partners, to various buyers and Macquarie Group’s purchase, for an unknown price, of the remaining stake in cotton-production powerhouse Cubbie Station at Dirranbandi in Queensland.

Other nine-figure deals included the $215 million sale of Stanbroke Pastoral Company’s 438,000ha Miranda Downs Station at Normanton in Queensland’s Gulf country to Hughes Pastoral Company. It was a big 12 months for Hughes Pastoral, which also paid more than $100 million for billionaire mining magnate Gina Rinehart’s Riveren and Inverway stations, covering 550,000ha of the Northern Territory’s famed Victoria River District.

In March the Macquarie Group’s purchased the remaining stake in cotton-production powerhouse Cubbie Station.

Elders Real Estate executive general manager Tom Russo said average rural land prices across Australia increased by about 20 per cent in the past 12 months.

Mr Russo said strong commodity prices for Australian produce should ensure demand for property remains strong across 2022-23.

“At this stage we do not consider that increased interest rates coming off record lows will materially impact farmland prices,” he said.

“Both interest rates and input costs are factors with the potential to cut into margins should commodity prices ease, or supply is reduced through the event of unfavourable seasonal conditions.

“The big question is whether buying opportunities will increase as high input costs and rising interest rates motivate some potential sellers to bring their assets to market after holding them through a very favourable cycle.

“Even if this does occur, we maintain the view that overwhelming demand will continue to outstrip any increase in supply.”

CBRE agribusiness Australia director Shane McIntyre said he expected interest rate rises would simmer what was a boiling property market.

“Rarely has the market had all the planets aligning as we have seen in the last half decade, and, as a consequence, the unprecedented increases in land values may now moderate, remaining at around current levels,” he said.

“But the appetite for purchasing productive rural properties will remain healthy, whether it be for add-on or broadscale stand alone opportunities.

“The anticipated levels for interest rates are still modest by past standards, but the likely effect will be to lengthen the time on market for some property transactions.”

Last year the Macquarie Group’s sold its 103,000ha Lawson Grains cropping portfolio for about $600m.

The 2021-22 financial year also saw a changing of the guard among Australia’s top landholders. Central Australia’s Viv Oldfield and Donny Costello, from Crown Point Pastoral Company, snatched the coveted No. 1 landholder position from billionaire mining magnate Gina Rinehart after purchasing 3.2 million hectares from her Hancock Agriculture and S Kidman and Co businesses in a landmark four-station, multimillion-dollar deal.

Crown Point’s purchase of Rinehart’s Ruby Downs and Sturt Creek stations (796,000ha) in the Northern Territory and the Innamincka (1.36 million hectares) and Macumba stations (1.1 million hectares) in South Australia takes its farmland investments to more than 7.2 million hectares – greater than the size of Ireland.

Rinehart’s well-publicised divestment of more than four million hectares from her portfolios in the past 12 months saw her holdings slip to 5.9 million hectares.

THE BIGGEST FARM SALES OF THE LAST 12 MONTHS

VICTORIA RIVER, NT

$100 MILLION-PLUS

Riverin and Inverway Stations (550,000ha)

Buyer: Hughes Pastoral Co.

GIPPSLAND, VIC

$70 MILLION

Ace Dairy Holdings Gippsland portfolio

Buyer: Aurora Dairies (PSP Investments) and three separate families.

BERRIGAN, NSW

$33 MILLION-PLUS
Withers Aggregation
Buyer: Local buyer

BLACKALL, QUEENSLAND

$24.8 MILLION
Mt Harden Aggregation (34,000 hectares)
Seller: Tony Haggarty
Buyer: AAM (AUSTRALIA)

CHILLAGOE, QUEENSLAND

$40 MILLION
Bellevue Aggregation
Seller: Hillgrove Pastoral
Buyer: US family

COOPER CREEK, SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Innamincka Station (1.36 million hectares)
Seller: S Kidman and Co
Buyer: Crown Point Pastoral Company

DERBY, WESTERN AUSTRALIA

$30 MILLION
Nerrima Station (203,142 hectares)
Seller: Gina Rinehart
Buyer: Emmanuel family

Magnate Gina Rinehart recently sold a WA station for $30 million. Picture: Richard Walker

HILLSTON, NSW

$53.9 MILLION
Moora Almond Orchard (524 hectares)
Seller: Harvard University Endowment Fund (US)
Buyer: PrimeWest

KATHERINE, NORTHERN TERRITORY

$40 MILLION
Willeroo Station (171,000 hectares)
Seller: Gina Rinehart
Buyer: Brett Cattle Company

KATHERINE, NORTHERN TERRITORY

$22.7 MILLION
Aroona Station (147,510 hectares)
Seller: Gina Rinehart
Buyer: Di Giorgio family

KIMBERLEY, WESTERN AUSTRALIA

$70 MILLION
Ruby Downs and Sturt Creek (796,000 hectares)
Seller: Gina Rinehart
Buyer: Crown Point Pastoral Company

KIMBERLEY, WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Springvale Aggregation (604,000 hectares)
Seller: Yeeda Pastoral Company
Buyer: Andrew Forrest/Tattarang

Dr. Andrew Forrest. Picture: Luke Dray/Getty Images

MACUMBA, SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Macumba Station (1.1 million hectares)
Seller: S Kidman and Co
Buyer: Crown Point Pastoral Company

MARLBOROUGH, QUEENSLAND

$80 MILLION
Croydon Station (59,669 hectares)
Seller: Acton Land and Cattle
Buyer: Redrock Trading

MORUNDAH, NSW

$60 MILLION-PLUS
Yarrabee Park (11,260 hectares)
Seller: goFARM Australia
Buyer: PSP Investments (Canada)

MUDGEE, NSW

$25 MILLION
Warragundi Aggregation
Seller: Hanwha Group (South Korea)
Buyer: Borg Group

NEWMAN, WESTERN AUSTRALIA

$32 MILLION-PLUS
Balfour Downs Station (634,000 hectares)
Seller: Xingfa Ma (China)
Buyer: Andrew Forrest/Tattarang

NEW NORCIA, WESTERN AUSTRALIA

$40 MILLION
New Norcia Aggregation (8000 hectares)
Seller: Benedectine Monks
Buyer: Andrew Forrest/Tattarang

NORMANTON, QUEENSLAND

$215 MILLION
Miranda Downs Station (438,000 hectares)
Seller: Stanbroke Pastoral Company
Buyer: Hughes Pastoral Company

NSW AND WESTERN AUSTRALIA

$600 MILLION
Lawson Grains portfolio (103,000 hectares)
Seller: Macquarie Group
Buyer: Alberta Management Investment Corporation (Canada)

TOOBEAH, QUEENSLAND

$80 MILLION
Kalanga Aggregation (12,840 hectares)
Seller: Hancock Agricultural Investment Group (US)
Buyer: Morella Agriculture

HAY, NSW

$63 MILLION
South Farm, Glenmea, Pevensey and Yang Yang
Seller: KoobaCo
Buyer: JHW Paterson and Son

LAKE BOLAC, VICTORIA

$70 MILLION
Woorndoo Aggregation (3353 hectares)
Seller: Laguna Bay Agricultural Fund
Buyer:

DIRRINBANDI, QUEENSLAND

Cubbie Station majority share
Seller: Shandong Ruyi (China)
Buyer: Macquarie Group

Cubbie Station — Australia's biggest cotton farm — was acquired by Macquarie Bank from its Chinese owners. Picture: James Wagstaff

WALGETT, NSW

$25 MILLION
Marshmead Aggregation (12,548 hectares)
Seller: Michael Hintze Premium Farms (UK)

HILLSTON, NSW

$45 MILLION-PLUS
Sunland Agriculture Aggregation (1747 hectares)
Seller: Watson family
Buyer: MRA Merrowie Pty Ltd

ULUPNA, VIC

$120 MILLION-PLUS
Murray River Land-Ulupna Pastoral Co majority stake
Buyer: ROC Partners

CIRCULAR HEAD, TASMANIA

$62.5 MILLION
Dairy farm aggregation
Seller: Van Dairy (China)
Buyer: Prime Value Asset Management

VICTORIA AND SOUTH AUSTRALIA

$370 MILLION
Corinella Group portfolio (22,500 hectares)
Seller: Proterra Investment Partners (US)
Buyer: Various

ALICE SPRINGS, NORTHERN TERRITORY

$100 MILLION
Narwietooma, Glen Helen, Derwent and Napperby (1.1 million hectares)
Seller: Hale River Holdings
Buyer: PSP Investments (Canada)

DARLINGTON POINT, NSW

$40 MILLION-PLUS
Tubbo Station (14,876 hectares)
Seller: Pritchard-Gordon family (UK)
Buyer: PSP Investments (Canada)

Rob Stein, manager of Tubbo Station pictured last year. Picture: Michael Frogley

NARRANDERA, NSW

$22 MILLION
Brewarrana (3236 hectares)
Buyer: PSP Investments (Canada)

SALE, VIC

$20 MILLION
Clydebank Aggregation (1273 hectares)
Seller: Gray Wigg Gault
Buyer: PSP Investments (Canada)

GLOUCESTER, NSW

$35 MILLION
Cooplacurrilpa Station (24,000 hectares)
Seller: Rifa Salutary (China)
Buyer: Bell family

MACKENZIE RIVER, QLD

$68.8 MILLION
Kaiuroo Aggregation (27,879 hectares)
Seller: The Rohatyn Group (US)
Buyer: Rural Funds Group

GUNNEDAH, NSW

$120 MILLION
Shenhua Aggregation (16,500 hectares)
Seller: Shenhua Group (China)
Buyer: Various

MOURA, QUEENSLAND

$100 MILLION
THF Finance portfolio (21,900 hectares)
Seller: THF Finance (Germany)
Buyer: Various

WOOLNORTH, TASMANIA

$120 MILLION-PLUS
Woolnorth Aggregation (6000 hectares)
Seller: Van Dairy (China)
Buyer: TRT Pastoral

SPRINGSURE, QUEENSLAND

$32 MILLION
Baamba Plains (4130 hectares)
Buyer: Rural Funds Group

NOWENDOC, NSW

$70-$80 MILLION
Upton Farms Aggregation (2668 hectares)
Seller: Greg Upton
Buyer:

INVERELL, NSW

$22 MILLION-PLUS
Paradise Creek Station (2575 hectares)
Buyer: Wilmot Cattle Company