August 12, 2024

By Gerelyn Terzo, Global AgInvesting Media

After doling out $A13.4 million (US$8.8 million) for New England cattle farm Dyamberin in 2018, Australia’s Rural Funds Management has listed the institutional grade property for sale. Situated in the Wongwibinda district of New South Wales, inherent with grass-fed weight gains, ample rainfall and a temperate climate, Dyamberin boasts a massive 1,728 hectares (4,270 acres) of cattle property that is currently stocked with 800 Japanese Wagyu cattle breed, per the LAWD listing.

Rural Funds initially acquired the cattle farm from the Rogers family, who had been breeding cattle for Japan’s long-fed beef market. According to Rural Funds, the Dyamberin farm had an adjusted property value of A$23.2 million (US$15.2 million) as of year-end 2023. As the biggest exporter of Wagyu beef on the planet, Australia is gearing up for a fresh wave of demand from the U.S. market.

With a beef cattle herd size of nearly 30 million as of H1 2023, up 4.6 percent year-over-year, Australia has benefited from favorable seasonal conditions in most cattle areas of late, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Last year, Queensland and New South Wales experienced increases of 4.2 percent and 6.2 percent to 13.2 million head and 5.9 million head, respectively. According to the Department of Agriculture, the total value of Australia’s ag production is predicted to be A$84 billion (US$55.1 million) in the 2024-25 period, up 17 percent year-over-year, owing largely to robust global demand and the rise of corporate farming.

Located in the New England Tableland bioregion of North South Wales, Dyamberin has an estimated peak carrying capacity of 25,000 dry sheep equivalent (DSE). At an elevation of between 1,030 meters (3,379 feet) and 1,200 meters (3,937 feet), Dyamberin also benefits from fertile soils that are conducive to “high-performing improved pasture, fodder cropping and hay production,” according to the LAWD listing.

The cattle farm benefits from features such as high rainfall of 909 millimeters annually coupled with an extensive reticulated trough system and more than four-dozen earth dams and seasonal creeks. LAWD Director Simon Cudmore pointed to the combination of high rainfall and secure water for assured pasture growth, stating, “The Wongwibinda District is renowned as some of the highest-performing grazing land in New South Wales, and Dyamberin will suit an institutional investor or a discerning private buyer looking to secure a high rainfall asset with excellent soils and fodder cropping options to produce premium beef.”

At the time of acquisition, Rural Funds secured a 10-year lease with Wagyu supplier Stone Axe Pastoral Company. In addition to Dyamberin, Rural Funds also leases its Woodburn (NSW) and Cobungra (Victoria) as well as Western Australia’s Petro, High Hill and Willara properties to Stone Axe.

The cattle farm was scooped up by cattleman Lock Rogers, aka the Cattle King, in 2000, who after five years handed the reins over to his son, Lock Jr., to manage the operation, which at the time comprised 500 commercial cows. Lock Sr. started his cattle operation in the 1980s with angus cattle and was an early Western adopter of the Wagyu breed in the early 1990s.

Expressions of Interest (EOI) for Dyamberin should be submitted to to LAWD by 12 p.m. (AEST) 29 August 2024.

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