John and Kerry Stone sell Shooters Hill aggregation for $35 million

A tightly held four-farm aggregation in the Great Southern region of WA has been sold, ending 115 years of family ownership.

A four-farm aggregation in the Great Southern Region of Western Australia has been sold in a $35 million deal, ending a family farming tenure of more than a century.

John and Kerry Stone and their families have sold the 4387ha Shooters Hill aggregation, located at Borden, ending their family’s ownership, which dates back 115 years.

It is understood a Western Australian farming family has secured the aggregation as a whole, adding it to their existing agricultural holdings based elsewhere in the state.

LAWD director Simon Wilkinson handled the sale of the aggregation and said the transaction was indicative of demand for high quality assets in the market.

“The Shooters Hill Aggregation was highly sought after, receiving multiple expressions of interest – varying from proposals for the acquisition of individual assets to the entire aggregation,” he said.

“Twenty-two inspections were conducted, with the successful purchaser securing the aggregation for $35 million, equating to $10,720 per arable hectare including infrastructure.

The Shooters Hill aggregation, at Borden in WA, has been sold in a $35 million deal.

“There is quality capital in the Western Australian market, evident in the existing balancing sheets of Western Australian farmers and new capital coming into the Western Australian market.”

Operating entirely as a dryland cropping enterprise since 1996, the aggregation comprises four semi-contiguous holdings known as Madgedup (2210ha), Shooters Hill (1163ha), Tin Hut (527ha) and Block (486ha), where it has grown wheat, barley, oats, canola, faba beans, lupins and field peas.

Generations of the Stone family have owned Shooters Hill for 115 years.

During the 2021 and 2022 seasons there were average yields of 3.83 tonnes per hectare of wheat, 3.56 tonnes per hectare of barley, 3.11 tonnes per hectare of oats, 1.75 tonnes per hectare of canola, 2.05 tonnes per hectare of faba beans and 1.64 tonnes per hectare of lupins.

Located 5km from Borden and 30km from Gnowangerup, the Shooters Hill aggregation was listed for sale in October and was expected to receive offers worth $33-$36 million.

Earlier in December two major Western Australian rural properties hit the market where they could be worth up to $350 million combined.

The Saudi Arabian public investment fund and Perth-based investors are selling almost 78,000ha of Western Australian farmland known as Merredin Farms, while a consortium of Western Australian families are selling the biggest vineyard in Western Australia and more than 5000ha of mixed farmland in a nine-figure offering.