Grain farm could bring up to $200m

The 50,000 hectares of black soil country, of which 90 per cent has been cultivated, is likely to attract the ­attention of United States financial services giant TIAA-CREF, which has already purchased close to $1 billion worth of farmland in Australia.

Mr Greentree and Mr Harris are finalising a long-held partnership.

"There have been a lot of fund ­managers come to us and asked to buy it but I have said no," Mr Greentree said.

"But now I think it's the right time. This is succession planning.

"If the fund managers say they want to get into agriculture, let's just see how serious they are."

After buying the ­properties more than six years ago for about $70 million, Mr Greentree and Mr Harris have since developed them further.

They have added 300 kilometres of roads on the properties, built new workshops and ­accommodation and increased both the area of plantation and the productivity of the farms.

Wheat prices have strengthened and the global outlook for food production is good.Option to buy in blocks

Ray White Rural's Bruce Gunning is marketing the properties and has been instructed to offer the assets either as a whole or in parcels.

"It's very good to be able to have them sold as 10 separate blocks because it gives local farmers an opportunity to invest in first-class land and not be ­disadvantaged because of the size," Mr Gunning said.

Mr Greentree said it was important to allow local farmers the chance to buy into the prized farming country.

"I really want to make sure that young farmers get a chance to get hold of these properties," he said.

"I am a first-generation farmer myself," he said. "We are now the biggest wheat farmers by planted area."

Boolcarrol and Milton Downs have had numerous prominent owners including the Kahlbetzer family's Twynam Group.

Dick Honan's Manildra Group once owned and developed Milton Downs.