Upton Farms sold for top price before auction

Upton Farms is believed to have sold between the $70-$80 million asking price to a Queensland family beef operations.

The aggregation had been put on the market for sale and leaseback in 2017.

Mr Upton's 2668 hectares are located in the heart of the New England region at Niangala and were offered as a whole or in four separate lots.

The online auction by Meares and Associates was scheduled for Thursday, April 14.

Upton Farms has been run a backgrounding and fattening operation providing premium grass-fed beef to national and international outlets.

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The portfolio dates back to 1962 with the purchase of Pindari Tops by Roy Upton, followed by Alpha, Foxdale, Billy Creek and, more recently, Brislington.

The 408ha Alpha has an estimated carrying capacity of 8976 dry sheep equivalents, the 524ha Billy Creek is put at 10,480 DSE, the 425ha Foxdale is 8500 DSE, the 675ha Pindari Tops is 13,500 DSE and 658ha Brislington is 14,476. It adds up to a total estimated carrying capacity of 55,932 DSE across the aggregation.

Alpha, Pindari Tops and Billy Creek are about five kilometres apart, while Brislington is approximately 18km away.

Benchmarking consultancy firm Agripath ranked Upton Farms number one for feed grown, conversion of feed grown, and income per hectare per 100mm of rainfall.

Perched atop the Great Divide, the average annual rainfall across the aggregation is lowest at 850mm at Brislington and highest, at 1200mm, at Alpha.

Upton Farms was sold on a walk-in, walk-out basis with more than 4000 cattle understood to be part of the sale.

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