Two families list major Wimmera farms for sale

Almost 2500 hectares of tightly held Wimmera farmland has been listed for sale, which could be worth about $20 million combined.

Two separate families are selling almost 2500 hectares of tightly held Wimmera farmland, calling time on multiple generations of farming in the region.

Three generations of the May family have worked their home property on the

Wimmera plains for decades, but that chapter is about to close with the sale of the May

farm at Boyeo.

Located 19km from Nhill, the property will be offered in three contingent lots

carrying five titles across the total area of 1435ha.

Dennis May bought his first piece of the holding in 1974, though his grandparents

took up the land well before that.

“Pa was a former war veteran when he and Nana moved to Boyeo in 1938 to find

somewhere between 1200 and 1500 acres (485-607ha) of virgin scrub, but Pa, Dad

and I cleared it all and expanded the farm to what it is now,” Dennis said.

“My wife Pam and I worked it for 15 years running a mix of enterprises, but

eventually Dad and I leased it all out in the late 1990s.

“It’s Mallee country with a blend of loam, Mallee, sandy and clay soil types boosted

by super and gypsum, so it’s a mixed farm for the area.

“The leaseholder currently runs around 600 wethers whereas Dad and I used to run

about 2500 Merino ewes and lambs, ranging up to 2800 at times.

“He’s gone more into cropping than livestock of late, focusing on canola, lupins,

wheat, barley and oats.

“Much of the internal fencing has been taken out for that purpose, so a lot of paddocks

would be 200-250 acres (80-100ha) in size now.”

BOYEO via NHILL

MAY’S

Property: mixed farming

Size: Lot 1, 1061ha; Lot 2, 262ha; Lot 3, 112ha

Sale: expressions of interest close February 16, 2024

Price: Lot 1, $6177 to $7413 a hectare; Lots 2 and 3, $9884 to $12,355 a hectare

Agent: DMD Agents, Nhill

Contact: Andrew McIllree, 0419 595 983

The May family are selling 1435ha of mixed farmland near Nhill, in Western Victoria.

Lot 1, Mallee Block (1061ha), offers all-weather access and a mix of heavy Mallee

flats, lighter rising loam and sandy loam soils, watered by three bores supplying stock

water to dams using a solar pump.

Lot 2, Home Block (262ha), has both bitumen and limestone road frontage and sits on

mostly heavy Mallee soil to rising red ground.

It includes a modest 1950s home with garage, six rainwater tanks, three-stand shearing

shed with skillion, sheep yards, machinery shed, grain shed, hay shed and workshop.

A submersible bore and pump jack caters to stock needs.

Lot 3, Ruby’s Block (112ha), has similar soils, with one small area which has been

clayed.

“When you’ve been on a farm for three generations that’s the place you call home, so

it will be sad to see it go,” Dennis said.

Meanwhile, the legacy of a passionate farmer is on full display on Pfeiffers, an aggregation of

four well established cropping properties near Jeparit.

Selling agent Brock Quick said his vendors had owned the land for more than 15

years.

The Pfeiffer family are selling their 1001ha property located at Jeparit.

“Raelene Pfeiffer and her late husband Ken were founding members in 2001 of NRI

(National Rural Independents, an Australia-wide network of rural retail distributors),”

Mr Quick said.

“Ken was an agronomist who also owned a store in town, selling merchandise and

fuel, and from there bought a couple of farms.

“He was a passionate farmer who loved the area, cropping dryland cereals and

legumes and running sheep and lambs through their stubbles.

“The land has been leased for the past three years, sown to a mixture of wheat, barley,

lentils and canola, with the grain terminal at Jeparit right on your doorstep.

“The current lease is scheduled to end in March next year, with the crops basically

taken off now.”

JEPARIT

PFEIFFERS

Property: mixed farming

Size: 1001ha (2475 acres)

Sale: expressions of interest close February 2, 2024, at 4pm

Price: $8648 to $11,119 per hectare

Agent: DMD Agents, Nhill

Contact: Brock Quick, 0488 913 313

Pfeiffers comprises four lots which are expected to receive offers worth $8648 to $11,119 per hectare.

The adjoining Lots 1, 2 and 3 are located 4km north of Jeparit, while Lot 4 is 5km

south of the town nearer Tarranyurk – all with good access via mainly bitumen roads.

Lot 1, Schorbach’s (243ha), offers soft red rising Mallee country with a house yard

and shedding, the GWM pipeline connected for metered stock and domestic water

supply and excellent all-weather access.

Lot 2, Aldos East (156ha), is the same red Mallee country with a small patch of timber

on the eastern flank. A new boundary fence on the northern side adds to the lot’s

usefulness.

Lot 3, Aldos (376ha), includes a small shearing shed with sheep yards, a modest

machinery shed and silos. Soils are heavy grey flats with loamy rises, while the

GWM pipeline provides water security.

Lot 4, Millers (226ha), a few kilometres away towards Tarranyurk, sits on gently

undulating red ground and river flats, with water assured thanks to GWM pipeline

connection.

“The sale of Pfeiffers represents an opportunity to add reliable cropping land in a

desirable location to an existing farming operation,” Mr Quick said.

Last month a third-generation farmer also listed his 789ha Wimmera property for sale, where it is expected to command offers worth nearly $25,000 a hectare.