NSW family offload irrigated farm for $30 million-plus

A tightly held 3250ha mixed irrigated farm in central NSW has been sold to a local buyer after it was initially passed in through auction.

A tightly held family property in the NSW Macquarie Valley irrigation district has been sold, after a deal was struck post-auction.

Prime cotton, cereal cropping and grazing property, the 3250ha Bowen Park, located near Trangie in central NSW has changed hands after it was offered for auction by the Miller family last week.

Initially passed in through auction for $29 million, it is understood a local farming family have purchased the property for an undisclosed sum, post-auction.

It is understood Bowen Park was sold for a figure in excess of $30 million, including the mixed farmland, fixed improvements and more than 4000ML of water entitlements.

Owned by the Miller family for more than 70 years, brothers Anthony, Mark and Stephen listed the property for sale to dissolve a family partnership.

At least 95 per cent of the property is arable with 457ha laid out to flood irrigation, growing mainly cotton and wheat rotation, while 972ha are used for dryland cropping.

The Miller family have sold their 3250ha property Bowen Park after a deal was struck post-auction.

The balance is currently conservatively rated to carry up to 330 breeding cows or 6000 sheep.

Meares and Associates principal Chris Meares handled the sale and said the transaction reflected current market values, which were slightly discounted from the market peaks of 2022.

“The sale of Bowen Park represents one of the few major holdings in the Macquarie Valley region to be offered for sale in recent years,” Mr Meares said.

“Apart from its versatility, its size and scale it is well developed – being both highly productive and well managed farming and grazing country with excellent farm improvements, making it naturally a highly sought after asset.

“The cotton crop at Bowen Park has also just been picked at about 14-15 bales per hectare, which underlines the quality of the assets.”

The McLean family have sold their 9573ha Woorilla Aggregation, located near Hillston in the northern NSW Riverina.

Meanwhile the McLean family have sold more than 9500ha of sprawling northern NSW Riverina pastoral farmland with three parcels sold under the hammer through auction.

The 4577ha Woorilla, 2904ha Tarrawonga and 2092ha Walkers were offered for sale with Woorilla sold for $5.175 million, Walkers for $2.05 million and Tarrawonga for $2 million.

Across the aggregation the overall sale price equated to $964 a hectare, for what is low-input pastoral land used for the grazing of sheep, goats, and cattle, with an estimated carrying capacity of 3500-4000 Merino ewes and followers.

Ian and Linda McLean offered their 9573ha Woorilla Aggregation for sale earlier this year, ending a 105-year family tenure of the aggregation, located 38km from Hillston, offering frontage to both the Lachlan River and the Merrowie Creek.