THE expansion of major New South Wales wool grower T.A. Field Estates features in this week’s property review of recent sales.

 T.A. Field Estates expands into Victoria with Banongill South

 NSW’s Rocky Creek Aggregation makes $18m

T.A. Field Estates expands into Victoria with Banongill South

The Banongill shed, sheep yard and feedlot complex.

Well-known agribusiness family T.A. Field Estates has expanded into Victoria, purchasing Banongill South in the state’s south-west.

The 4551ha specialised, intensive sheep and cattle enterprise lies in the Vite Vite North/Carranballac region, 20 minutes south of Skipton.

Ballarat-based farmers Chris and Tanya Mulcahy listed the property in June, but no price guide was offered by Elders agent Rob Rickard.

The property once formed part of the 8200ha Banongill Station, a flagship Western District cropping and livestock holding sold by agricultural fund manager Laguna Bay in 2020 for $80 million.

Link to https://www.sheepcentral.com/movement-at-the-station-recent-property-listings-5/

Until the Banongill South acquisition, T.A. Field Estates’ rural property portfolio was concentrated in New South Wales.

Its holdings include the 1770ha Aberfeldy at Holbrook, 3000ha Benangaroo Station at Jugiong, 10,000ha Congi at Walcha, 6200ha Mobinbry at North Star and 50,000ha Wyvern at Carrathool.

The business operates across 71,000ha, plus 1300ha of long-term lease country, producing Merino sheep, beef cattle, prime lambs and dryland crops. It also holds substantial water rights, which are traded annually.

In May, T.A. Field Estates sold the 1891ha Doughboy Mountain grazing property in northern New South Wales for close to $30 million to the South African Langenhoven and Ramazotti families, trading as Rallen Australia.

The premium, high-rainfall holding, described as one of the district’s finest properties, sits on top of the Doughboy Mountain Range, 56km east of Guyra and 68km north-east of Armidale.

Link to https://www.beefcentral.com/property/weekly-property-review-recently-completed-sales-144/

At Banongill South, the winter cropping program has been scaled back over the past five years and now occupies 15 percent of the total land area. The balance has been converted to a predominantly pasture-based system focused on livestock breeding and backgrounding.

This year, the property was running 1300 sheep and 1430 cattle, compared with 2200 sheep and 1545 cattle last year.

During their eight-year ownership, the Mulcahys invested heavily in pasture improvement, fencing upgrades, expanded water infrastructure, subdivision into smaller paddocks and high-quality farm facilities.

Mr Rickard said the improvements have significantly enhanced productivity, operational efficiency and carrying capacity.

Water is supplied by the historically reliable Banongill Spring, supplemented by numerous bores and dams.

Infrastructure includes a renovated four-bedroom home, a three-bedroom staff home, a six-stand shearing shed, undercover sheep yards, steel cattle yards, numerous sheds and 15 grain silos with a total capacity of 1239 tonnes.

Meanwhile, the Mulcahys’ other property, the 792ha Brenleys, remains on the market.

Brenleys is located north of Willaura, 20 minutes from Ararat, and has served as the principal grain production base for the broader livestock business at Banongill South.

Brenleys runs a full winter cropping program on free-draining loam soils across three clear, open paddocks. Sheep graze the stubbles during summer after harvest. Dams and bores supply the property’s water.

NSW’s Rocky Creek Aggregation makes $18m

Brisbane-based investment firm InfraAg Management has paid $18 million for Gunn Agri’s Rocky Creek Aggregation in northern New South Wales.

The 4246ha mixed farming and grazing property in the New England region is 21km north-east of Ashford and 61km north-west of Glen Innes and offers potential value-add opportunities.

Rocky Creek was the first acquisition for Gunn Agri Partner’s Transforming Farming Platform, established in 2021 and backed by the Van Lanschot Kempen SDG Farmland Fund.

During its five-year ownership, the Australian-based agriculture and natural capital asset manager carried out a significant capital expenditure program.

Works include expanding the cropping area and improving carrying capacity through exclusion fencing, water infrastructure and the regeneration of degraded soils and pastures.

The undulating, open timbered grazing land features a mix of self-mulching red and black basalt, granite and New England trap soils.

Under Gunn Agri’s stewardship, Rocky Creek operated as a breeding and backgrounding platform for high-quality beef cattle.

Its estimated carrying capacity is 17,527 Dry Sheep Equivalents or 2337 Adult Equivalents.

Water supplies include a bore, two wells, 49 dams and numerous creek and river systems.

Infrastructure includes a three-bedroom home, a three-bedroom cottage, two-bedroom workers’ quarters, two steel cattle yards, a shearing shed and sheep yards.

There are also numerous sheds and silos providing 160 tonnes of grain storage.

JLL Agribusiness agents Chris Holgar, Clayton Smith and Bart Norris handled the sale.