A decision by Macquarie Bank to rationalise its pastoral portfolios has flushed onto the market a highly regarded aggregation of prime Central West grazing country.
As reported in The Land two weeks ago, MacBank is selling off some key components of the 100,000-plus hectares of farmland it acquired last year in a package deal from Qatar’s Hassad Agriculture.
And one of the undoubted jewels in its NSW crown of properties is Canomodine, the 3651-hectare Canowindra district property with an illustrious ownership line going back to Thomas Icely in the 1830s.
Now held by the Viridis Ag division of the Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Asset (MIRA) portfolio, Canomodine is being offered for sale together with the nearby 536ha Elonera as Canowindra Aggregation.
Comprising in total 4187ha (10,342ac), the aggregation has been listed by CBRE for sale either as a whole or as separate components, by expressions of interest closing on March 14.
Canomodine is situated 15 kilometres north-east of Canowindra where it fronts the Belubula River and rises from alluvial flats to slopes and hills of red and brown clay loams.
Notable former owners of Canomodine included the Atkinson family, the Fagan family of Sunnyridge, Mandurama, and the France-based Flipo woolbuying family’s Prevost Trading.
Prevost held Canomodine for 26 years before selling in 2005 to the Sydney-based Agostino family of fruiterers, who five years later sold the property to Hassad as the main component of a five-part aggregation put together by Elders’ Ian Robertson (now with CBRE).
For many years a woolgrowing powerhouse, Canomodine today is managed in tandem with Elonera as a prime lamb breeding and trading enterprise in conjunction with cattle breeding and fattening.
As a whole, the aggregation has a suggested carrying capacity (winter basis) of 28,300 DSE. It is now lightly stocked with 6000 first-cross and composite ewes and 130 Angus breeders.
Just over 400ha of Canomodine is considered arable, and most of the property has been aerially sown to a phalaris/cocksfoot/clover pasture mix, augmenting the productive native pasture base.
Elonera for its part is described as 70pc arable and is used to grow supplementary crops for forage or fodder conservation. Most is now fallowed for winter crop sowing.
Average rainfall ranges from 740mm to 600mm across the two properties, and a recently installed reticulation system delivers river and bore water to troughs in all paddocks.
An area of 78ha of Canomodine flanking the river is developed for irrigation – principally lucerne for grazing and hay – and offers scope for expansion.
Working improvements on Canomodine include a 10-stand (Shear Safe) timber and iron shearing shed, two sets of sheep yards, steel cattle yards, six-bay machinery shed, workshop, hayshed and silos.
The six-bedroom weatherboard homestead features an open-plan kitchen and living area, verandahs on four sides, entertaining area and established garden setting with tennis court. It is complemented by a three-bedroom cottage, while Elonera comes with an unequipped woolshed and sheep yards, hayshed and silos.
Both properties are currently understocked and carrying a good body of feed. Offers are expected on the high side of $17 million for Canomodine and $3.8m for Elonera.