Skermer family sell Western District farm Lime Creek

In a deal understood to be worth more than $16 million, a 711ha first class farm has been sold for the first time in 100 years.

A Western District family has parted with their heavily developed cropping gem, Lime Creek, with a Melbourne family acquiring the property.

John and Jess Skermer have sold their 711ha farm near Chatsworth, in Victoria’s southwest after it was offered to the market for the first time in about 100 years in September.

When the farm hit the market, offers of more than $16 million were expected and is understood the holding sold in deal in line with initial expectations.

CBRE Agribusiness agents David Goodfellow, Matt Childs and Shane McIntyre managed the sale after Lime Creek generated significant buyer interest.

“Buyer demand is still very strong for well-developed properties and interest is evident from both the corporate and family farming sectors,” Mr Goodfellow said.

The Skermer family have held Lime Creek for about 100 years.

“In the case of Lime Creek, the property’s size, scale and location were major drawcards, with the Western Districts recognised as Victoria’s premium cropping and livestock region given it’s reliable rainfall.”

The Skermer family have operated Lime Creek since 1988, with Mr Skermer taking the reins of the farm from his parents Michael and Sally about 10 years ago.

A hallmark of the Skermer’s farm are 626ha worth of row crops, of which 500ha has been developed to raised-bed formations in the past five years.

Lime Creek has undergone significant development to create raised-bed row crops.

This year 253ha of canola, 194ha of wheat and 179ha of faba beans were planted across the property.

While Lime Creek has predominantly been used for cropping since its development, with the capacity for perennial pastures, the property can also support grazing and livestock production.

If Lime Creek was to be only used for livestock grazing it is estimated to have a carrying capacity of about 12,800 dry sheep equivalent.

There is also a five-bedroom brick homestead with underground cellar and an expansive garden, which has Lime Creek frontages on the property.

This spring three other first class Western District farms have hit the market with the Dooley family looking to offload the 818ha farm, Brolga, at Warncoort while a 793ha Willaura cropping aggregation is also for sale.

Both holdings could field offers more than $18 million.

At Barunah Plains, the Spittle family are selling their 751ha farm, Mingay, near Barunah Park which is priced at about $17 million (including long-term revenue entitlements from wind farm turbine infrastructure).