Speculation Victorian farm could sell for close to $100 million
A massive property in Victoria's Western District is set to become the state's most expensive farm.
The Mount Fyans Aggregation went on the market this week, with speculation it could sell for close to $100 million.
The 7,545-hectare property is north-east of Mortlake, in highly productive, high-rainfall livestock and cropping country.
The current Victorian farm price benchmark is the $70 million the McBride family paid for the 46,677-hectare low-rainfall Telopea Downs holding in 2018.
Several properties adjoining Mount Fyans, totalling another 5,000 hectares, are also on the market, and it is estimated the total package could sell for more than $150 million.
A historic nine-bedroom homestead is included as part of the sale. (Supplied: Elders)
One-off scale
Elders Real Estate and its Western District-based agent Rob Rickard are selling Mount Fyans.
Mr Rickard said the scale of the property was unprecedented.
"It's the largest holding I've ever been involved in, and probably the largest holding to be offered in south-west Victoria by a long shot," he said.
"It's capable of running 100,000 DSE — I don't think you'd find too many places capable of that."
DSE, or dry sheep equivalent, measures the maximum number of adult sheep a property can sustainably carry.
The property is capable of running up to 100,000 sheep. (Supplied: Elders)
Mr Rickard said sustainable improvements had been made at Mount Fyans in recent years.
"What the vendors have done is invest hundreds of thousands of dollars into fencing and water and also converting the shearing shed from a four-stand to a 14-stand," he said.
"They've really done an amazing job with the property."
The Mount Fyans aggregation incorporates a historic nine-bedroom bluestone homestead, four staff residences and shearers' quarters.
The opulent Mount Fyans homestead was built in the 1880s. (Supplied: Elders)
Along with the 14-stand shearing shed, there are multiple livestock handling yards, substantial shedding and more than 9,000 tonnes of grain storage.
Divestment funds investment
Leading Riverina wool producers Ian and Camilla Shippen paid $37 million for Mount Fyans in 2018 and have since expanded the aggregation from 5,900 hectares to its current size.
The decision to sell comes after the Shippens spent a reported $300 million earlier this year to purchase the 122,935-hectare Deniliquin Aggregation from Australian Food and Agriculture.
That purchase included the historic Wanganella and Boonoke Merino properties, along with Warriston, Peppinella, Zara and Barratta.
The Shippens are also selling a 4,805-hectare livestock property east of Wagga Wagga.
Record price tag?
The ABC asked Mr Rickard whether the sale price for Mount Fyans could exceed $100 million, or $13,254 a hectare.
Rob Rickard says the sale is largest he has been involved in. (Supplied: Elders)
He said while he expected an excellent price, he did not believe it would top $100 million.
"I hope for the Shippen family's sake it will be more than that, but what we're expecting is less than that," he said.
According to Bendigo Bank's latest farmland values report, the median farmland price in south-west Victoria fell 7.8 per cent last year to $16,968 a hectare, after peaking in 2022.
"Prices have come off, and I think everybody knows that — it might be off 20 to 25 per cent from the peak, so there are some pretty good buying opportunities," Mr Rickard said.
"I think it's probably the cheapest DSE country you'll buy in Australia."
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