IAN Cruickshank just wishes he was 20 years younger – if he were he wouldn’t be selling his productive Tooraweenah properties, “Clearvale” and “Youlbung”.
Yet retirement beckons and so Mr Cruickshank and wife Jeanette plan to scale down and have listed their properties for sale, but they will retain some other country in the district.
The decision is set to wind up a multi-generation ownership of “Clearvale”, which has been in the family since the 1900s.
Ian and Jeanette took over ownership of the property 30 years ago.
The adjoining property, “Youlbung”, was then purchased in 2005 and is currently owned by son Troy.
Both properties are listed for sale with Peter Milling, Danny Tink and Graham Anderson of Peter Milling and Company, Dubbo, and will be offered separately at auction on August 15.
Mr Cruickshank cited about 560ha (about 1400ac) of creek flats across the two properties, ideal for finishing, as among the top selling points; it is country he describes as beautiful and among some of the best land in the district.
“It is high yielding and high production country,” he said.
This year, all of “Clearvale” has been sown to Sunzell wheat – a 270 hectare crop to be given-in with the sale of the property – but in the past has also grown canola, chickpeas, barley and lucerne.
“Youlbung” is currently growing 134ha of Spitfire wheat, 110ha of barley, 55ha of oats and 6ha of winter wheat, also to be given in with the sale.
The properties have witnessed particularly high crop yields since 2010, Mr Cruickshank said, with nothing less than three tonnes a hectare for wheat in the past few years.
Specifically, across both “Clearvale” and “Youlbung” wheat yields were more than three tonnes a hectare last year, more than four tonnes a hectare in 2012 and between three tonnes a hectare to four tonnes a hectare in 2011.
Canola yielded 0.7t/ha in 2013 and 0.8t/ha the year before.
And from 2010 to 2012, “Clearvale” yielded three-and-a-half tonnes a hectare of lucerne hay square bales.
Up until about five years ago there was a stronger emphasis on sheep on the properties but now the focus is more on cropping.
There are still, however, about 400 Merino ewes and lambs – some enjoying the oats on “Youlbung” – as well as about 40 head of heifers.
Mr Cruickshank has carried out a considerable amount of fencing work on “Clearvale” since the early 1990s, comprising new boundary fencing on both the northern side of the property and along the Tooraweenah Creek.
Internal fences are of good condition.
The property’s two-bedroom weatherboard homestead was constructed in the 1950s.
The smaller of the two properties, at 280ha (691ac), “Clearvale” has a range of structural improvements including the homestead, machinery and hay sheds, a two stand electric shearing shed, steel sheep yards, and three silos.
“Clearvale” has two bores, including one installed in 2009.
Country on “Clearvale” is mostly level with red soils, while on the larger “Youlbung” (at 501ha/1238ac), country is level to slightly undulating with red and grey soils.
Infrastructure includes a set of sheep yards, machinery and hay shed, a silo and a bore.
Average annual rainfall is estimated at about 660 millimetres.
The properties are situated about 15 kilometres west of “Tooraweenah”.
Contact Peter Milling, 0428 823 544.
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