More than 40 years of one-family ownership and 31 years of unbroken sharefarming agreement are testament to the productivity of the western NSW mixed farming property, Taralga.
Owned by Gavin Green and his wife Jenny, Taralga (sometimes spelt Teralga) has been listed for sale next month by Brian McAneney and Frank Power of Ray White Rural Dubbo.
Gavin Green is a fifth-generation member of a well-known western NSW pastoral family.
Two years ago he and Jenny sold their outstation block, Belarbone, on the Bogan River, and now with retirement beckoning, they are selling their home property.
Comprising 2364 hectares (5819ac), Taralga is a highly regarded property with a long history of successful cropping, woolgrowing as well as prime lamb and cattle production.
The property was originally called Mumbrabah, until mail-sorting confusion with Mungeribar - another whistle-stop on the western railway line - prompted a strategic name-change.
For much of last century Taralga was owned by the Buckley family, who erected the present homestead in 1928 and were regular consignors of crossbred lambs to Homebush.
Two other families had held the property between the Buckleys and the Greens, who bought Taralga in 1978.
Situated on the Mitchell Highway midway between Nevertire and Nyngan at Mullengudgery (where it joins the eponymous Merino stud property), Taralga comprises mostly level, lightly timbered country of black self-mulching and red loam soils.
Pastures are a mix of Mitchell grass, clovers and native herbage, currently a mass of feed after nearly 500mm of rain in the past six months and destocking.
Just under 2000ha of the property has been cultivated, of which 970ha is sharefarmed under the aforementioned 31-year-old agreement.
The new owner will be entitled to a one-third share of the crops now in the ground, comprising 810ha of wheat and 162ha of chickpeas, and will have the option of continuing the sharefarming arrangement.
In addition to the cropping program the property has typically carried a Merino flock of 2000 ewes breeding replacements and crossbred lambs, utilising the cropping country for part of the year.
The property is subdivided so as to give the grazing paddocks a balance of red and black soils, while the cropping paddocks are mostly black.
Average rainfall is 462mm and the property is watered by nine dams with two equipped bores providing back-up.
Livestock handling infrastructure includes a four-stand, steel-framed shearing shed erected in 1985.
There is also two sets of sheep yards, plus a set of mostly steel cattle yards with crush and loading ramp.
Other working structures include a steel grain/machinery shed of 1000 tonnes capacity, enclosed workshop, car shed and three cone-bottom silos.
The property also boasts a 1500m airstrip.
The four-bedroom weatherboard homestead built for Arthur Buckley in 1928 has been extensively restored.
It features a modern kitchen, multiple living areas and split system reverse cycle air conditioning.
Set in expansive lawns with mature trees, the homestead is flanked by an in-ground saltwater pool with paved, under-cover entertaining area, tennis court and six-pen dog enclosure.
Taralga will go to auction in Dubbo on August 12.
This property is expected to set a new value benchmark for a district where top-bracket properties have typically been fetching around $1750/ha ($700/ac).
