Cattle station sells for $40m
RECORD beef prices are driving unprecedented demand for agricultural assets with Bellevue Station near Chillagoe selling to an American buyer for a reported $40m.
Land Agribusiness Water Development senior director Col Medway, who conducted the sale, said it was subject to Foreign Investment Review Board approval.
“The appetite for agricultural assets is as strong as I have ever seen it,” Mr Medway said.
“The Far North is a proven cattle breeding region.
“Bellevue is a quality large sale station, it is a solid result and a just reward for a really well-managed and developed property, and that credit goes to the owner Nick BurtonTaylor and his manager Mark Neilson, who will stay on for the incoming owner.”
It is 211,664ha. Prices paid for prime grazing and cropping country have surged 32.8 per cent over the past year, according to the Australian Farmland Index.
The Eastern Young Cattle Indicator is the national beef price benchmark and it has just risen to $11.11c/kg – compared with $4.82/kg at the end of 2019.
Mr Medway said property sales were “overwhelmingly farmer to farmer sales”.
“They are existing industry participants looking for expansion opportunities,” he said.
Bellevue was owned by Mr Burton-Taylor for about 20 years.
Mr Medway said the buyer was seeking “an intergenerational property that doubled as
a commercial cattle and recreational enterprise”.
The property has stunning landscapes with frontage to the Mitchell River, waterfalls, gorges and more than 174 bird species, and has been managed with conservation in mind, Mr Medway said.
Elders Real Estate – Tablelands agent Shellie Nightingale said the buoyant market was translating to strong farm prices in the region.
“Prices of rural properties have almost doubled in some areas of the Tablelands,” Mrs Nightingale said.