Outstanding opportunity to acquire a trio of regeneratively farmed cattle stations

Packhorse Pastoral Company (Australia) has listed a portfolio of three large stations for sale following the tragic passing of co-founder and “chief storyteller” Tom Strachan.

Strategically acquired over the past three years, the Queensland and New South Wales pastoral properties are utilised as “grass motels” and carbon sequestration farms in line with Mr Strachan’s passion for regenerative agriculture.

Packhorse Pastoral Company Chairman Tim Samway said, “The directors of Packhorse Pastoral will consider Expressions of Interest to continue the successful regenerative work the company has been undertaking on its properties. That could be with a new partner who could inject substantial new capital but equally the company would welcome interest from local landowners who may wish to acquire one property or a line of three outstanding properties and so benefit from the economies of scale.”

The properties are being offered through CBRE’s David Goodfellow and James Auty, with registered carbon baselines in place and strategies to maximise carbon sequestration and natural capital development over the next 25 years.

Spanning a total of 27,124ha (67,025 acres), the Packhorse portfolio comprises two southern Queensland properties - the 8,344ha Stuart’s Creek Station, situated 50km north-west of Roma in the Maranoa region, and the 10,029ha Moolan Downs Station, located 200km south-east of Roma in the Western Downs region. Rounding out the portfolio is the 8,371ha Ottley Station, situated 50km west of Inverell in northern New South Wales.

The cleared and semi-cleared lands on all three properties are currently used for cattle grazing under a “grass motel” agistment agreement with one of Australia’s largest cattle producers.

Collectively, the three properties have been rated to carry approximately 13,600 Animal Equivalents (AE’s) and are mostly used for growing-out cattle owned by the agistor, which are bred elsewhere but moved to these stations to capitalise on their suitability for cattle fattening. 

In addition, all the cleared and semi-cleared grazing lands and all the naturally timbered lands are subscribed to profitable carbon sequestration projects, instigated by the Packhorse management team and designed to provide both responsible environmental outcomes and substantial additional income.

“This is a strategic portfolio of properties with very responsible and experienced management in place, which is designed to maximise the use of the expansive grasslands in a reliable rainfall area while capitalising on numerous opportunities for improved carbon sequestration,” CBRE’s Mr Goodfellow said. 

“Packhorse is a recognised leader in carbon farming initiatives and the environmental initiatives at these stations are well ahead of industry norms, with clearly established carbon baselines and management practices.”

The currently registered projects are set to produce approximately 28,000 ACCU’s per annum within five years. At current ACCU prices of $30 to $40, the continuation of these projects is expected to provide combined additional revenue of about $840,000 to $1,120,000 per annum to the successful purchaser/s.

Each property features appropriate improvements, including generous staff accommodation, cattle handling facilities, reticulated livestock watering systems, various shedding and grain storage facilities, excellent access and subdivisional fencing to optimise both grazing and soil carbon management efficiencies across the pastoral areas.

CBREs Mr Auty noted that the sale process, through which the properties could be acquired individually or collectively, meant that corporations, large private investors and local farmers would all have an opportunity to participate in the process to ensure that the best and fairest outcome was achieved.

A similar process was instigated for CBRE’s recent sale of the extensive Shenhua portfolio near Gunnedah, which was ultimately sold to a mixture of corporate farmers backed by financial institutions and local farmers looking to expand existing family operations. 

“We are delighted that Packhorse is willing to give both the corporate and family farming sectors equal opportunity to purchase these assets,” Mr Auty said.

Expressions of Interest are invited by December 15