Massive NSW Riverina farms hit the market with $200m price tag

An American investor is selling more than 34,500ha of mixed farmland and almost 36,000ML of water entitlements.

In the 2023-24 financial year, the Merrowie and Sunland Aggregation produced more than 33,000 bales of cotton.

A whopping, institutional-scale irrigated and dryland cropping aggregation with grazing in the NSW western Riverina has hit the market in a landmark listing ahead of the autumn selling season.

US-based MERS Global Investments LLC has opted to divest its Merrowie and Sunland Aggregation, spanning 34,523ha across two contiguous aggregations and a grain handling facility near Hillston NSW.

Underpinned by 35,938ML of groundwater and the Lachlan River (both high security and general security) water entitlements, the Merrowie and Sunland Aggregation comprises properties Merrowie (32,778ha), Sunland (1738ha) and the Merrowie Grain Facility (7ha).

The North American-based investment group first acquired part of the now aggregated portfolio in 2019 when the Kahlbetzer family’s Twynam Agricultural Group sold three properties, Jemalong Station and Jemalong Citrus at Forbes and Merrowie at Hillston, for a combined $115m.

A 450ha almond orchard will see commercial almond production commence this year.

Jemalong Station and Jemalong Citrus were sold to Dutch agricultural investor Optifarm.

Then in 2022 MERS Global Investments paid $45m-plus for the Sunland Aggregation, acquired from former Namoi Cotton chairman Tim Watson and family, including 15,000ML of Lachlan General and High Security water entitlements and Lower Lachlan groundwater entitlements.

Across the aggregation significant investment has been made such as the conversion of dryland areas to irrigation, with the current operation comprising 195ha of precision GPS-levelled bankless channel irrigation, 5244ha of laser-levelled flood irrigation, 2966ha of lateral move and centre pivot (overhead) irrigation and 3323ha of dryland cropping.

In the last financial year, the aggregation produced more than 33,000 bales of cotton, 25,000 tonnes of winter crops, 18,000 tonnes of beetroot and sweet corn, and 290 bales of wool.

A 450ha almond orchard has also been recently developed with an additional 335ha earmarked for future almond and pistachio production, of which 250ha is already significantly developed in preparation for almond tree planting in 2025.

Significant investment has been made to develop the productive capacity of the aggregation, including the conversion from dryland areas to irrigation.

The aggregation’s livestock enterprise runs across 18,949ha of grazing land on Merrowie and includes a self-replacing Merino flock and Angus herd.

Cropping on Merrowie and Sunland is complemented by the Merrowie Grain Facility, with capacity for up to 32,100 tonnes of grain (cereals and pulse), including 5400 tonnes of grain silo storage and 26,700 tonnes of bunker storage, as well as 260 tonnes of fertiliser storage.

LAWD senior directors Danny Thomas and Jaclyn Hope are handling the sale of the Merrowie and Sunland Aggregation, offered for sale by expressions of interest closing April 17.

“The Lachlan Valley is renowned for being a highly productive agricultural region with water security and access to major commodity processing centres, which is exemplified by the significant institutional investor footprint in the immediate surrounds,” Mr Thomas said.

“The current vendors determine the crop mix across the aggregation by seasonal water availability, contracted volumes, commodity prices and agronomic benefits.

“This means the vast range of commodities produced each year provide diverse income streams, mitigating single commodity risk.”