Dunedoo thousand-acre starter or add-on block

Mount Beni, pronounced "beanie", First National Mudgee agent Peter Druitt helpfully says, is a bit of a misnomer.

The property is actually two-thirds flat, with 80ha of gently sloping arable grazing country, and about 40ha of moderately-timbered ridge country.

"It hasn't got a mountain on it, it's just a hill and not much of a hill at that," Mr Druitt said.

That said, Mt Beni offers a foot in the door. It's productive, has a freshly renovated three-bedroom home and is likely to be priced within reach of many.

Mr Druitt expects bids north of $2 million at the June 10 auction to buy 398 hectares (983 acres) only a kilometre from the village of Merrygoen, 34km north of Dunedoo or 90km north-east of Dubbo in a 615-millimetre rainfall zone.

Soils are mostly red loams, running to red sandy loams at the western end of the property, Mr Druitt said, with some red ironstone country along the ridge to the south.

In the last five years, the vendors have made extensive plantings on crop country previously sown to wheat and canola.

Lucerne sown this year and three years ago is established on 52ha and another 65ha has a healthy Nile oats crop.

Also new is 22ha of Mach One Rye and another 10ha has a rye/clover mix.

There's a 50ha two-year-old stand of sub-tropical grasses and clovers, including Premier Digit, Rhodes grass, sub-clover and Arrowleaf clover.

Mr Druitt said about 100ha of the native pastures has an excellent cover of clover.

The hay and cropping possibilities are obvious and Mt Beni has also been running sheep.

An unequipped two-stand woolshed is serviced by a new set of Atlex steel sheep yards that will work 1000 head.

The property is fenced into 19 paddocks, with 8km the fencing renewed, and the vendor estimates the carrying capacity is 2500 Dry Sheep Equivalents.

"In a conservative regime, he has been carrying 600 merino breeding ewes plus followers, and in addition has fattened 1000 trade lambs through the winter, with both bred and bought lambs taken to export weights," Mr Druitt said.

Mt Beni has 17 dams and metered access to the Merrygoen town water supply.

Plenty of work has also been done on the house, which has been freshly painted inside and out and extensively renovated.

A big kitchen opens to the living area, the bedrooms are all generously proportioned and the bathroom is brand new.

Mr Druitt said the entire house had been re-wired and re-plumbed over the last three years, and a new septic system installed.

Farm infrastructure includes two machinery sheds, a lockable chemical shed, cattle yards, 50 tonne grain silo and an old hayshed.

Contact First National Mudgee agent Peter Druitt on 0428 634 376.