Chinese group selling farm near Snowy Mountains
Chinese company Union Agriculture is offloading one of its smaller Australian farms, worth about $15 million, after making a spate of land acquisitions across NSW in recent years.
Mount Falcon Station, which comprises 2800 hectares of productive country near the Snowy Mountains in south-east NSW, will go to auction in September and is expected to sell for between $13.5 million and $15 million.
The cattle property is 150 kilometres east of Albury-Wodonga and one of the few large-scale properties available in the tightly held area.
Mount Falcon is currently run as a commercial beef operation with an approximate carrying capacity of 20,000 to 23,000 dry sheep equivalents.
The farm breeds F1 wagyu and the herd will be offered for sale to the potential buyer separately.
Alongside the original homestead built in 1932 is a modern five-bedroom manager’s residence and a three-bedroom renovated cottage.
The property is being sold by Inglis Rural Property and Colliers Agribusiness.
“This dynamic asset offers multiple opportunities to add to an already exceptional enterprise through a combination of prime lambs, wool, dairy, silage and hay production,” Inglis Rural Property sales manager Sam Triggs said.
“As seen during these dryer seasons, higher rainfall regions such as the Upper Murray prove their worth,” he said.
The farm gets an average rainfall of 750 millimetres each year and also boasts 14 spring-fed dams and three permanent creeks.
The property used to belong to entrepreneur Sean Howard, one of the founders of Ozemail, before selling it to Union Agriculture in 2011 for $7 million.
The Chinese group, a subsidiary of Hebei-based Jiahe Brewery, has bought several farms since 2011, including a highly developed irrigated and dryland farming property near Gunnedah in NSW for $38 million in 2016.
Earlier in 2016 the company snapped up Kyabra Station, a 5259-hectare prime sheep and cattle-breeding property north of Tamworth, for $11 million.
Colliers Agribusiness’ Angus Macleod said the owners had invested in significant pasture improvement at the Mount Falcon farm, including extensive weed control, fencing and a full refurbishment of the cattle yards.
