February 28, 2024

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

The sale of Maryfield Station and Limbunya Station – two institutional scale, Northern Territory cattle operations – is being managed by LAWD with expectations of drawing in buyers seeking out assets able to generate significant carbon credits. 

Owned by Sam Mitchell from Sydney-based Wealthcheck, both grazing and finishing properties are currently being leased by AAM Investment Group, and are being offered through separate transactions via Expressions of Interest closing on April 11.

Setting these offers apart, Mitchell has received approval for a Human Induced Regeneration of a Permanent Ever-Aged Native Forest (HIR) for each property.

Indeed, Australia is proving to be fertile ground for the formation of such an endeavor and enterprise. 

In October 2022, Australia’s green bank – the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) signaled to investors its strategic plan to “aggressively expand” into sustainable agriculture through partnerships with the country’s top asset managers.

This agenda had been reinforced and solidified by the ratification of the Climate Change Bill, passed by both Houses on September 8, 2022, that re-addressed and strengthened carbon emissions reduction goals on the part of the Australian government, easing the risk profile of such a decarbonization investment mandate. 

Maryfield

Maryfield Station spans 147,300 hectares at the edge of the Barkly Tableland in southeast Katherine. Of this, 4,900 hectares are approved for dryland cropping and carry a groundwater extraction license for irrigation. However, the site gets an average of 857 mm of rainfall per year, which is complemented by 29 permanent bores with solar-powered submersible pumps reticulating water through header tanks, troughs, and catchment dams. 

This backgrounding and finishing operation has a carrying capacity greater than 15,000 AE, and includes a state-of-the-art finishing and distribution facility that was built in 2020 and has a capacity of 9,800 SCU and an annual throughput of more than 90,000 head, depending on weight ranges and rotation duration. 

Features of this property include:

~ Structural improvements and operations infrastructure including machinery shedding, workshops, road train maintenance shed, airstrip and hangar, cattle yards, silos, and residences comprising two main homesteads and accommodation for staff and seasonal workers. 

~ An extensive network of paddocks and laneways for efficient and timely movement of cattle, reducing helicopter mustering.

~ Thirty-six kilometers of frontage on the Stuart Highway, providing direct, year-round access to Darwin and southern Australia, with further connecting highways to Western Australia and Queensland.

Limbunya Station

As the larger of the two properties, Limbunya totals 521,883 hectares and is operating as a beef cattle breeding, backgrounding, and finishing operations with a carrying capacity of 40,000 AE.

In addition to an average yearly rainfall of 547 mm, the station has a secure water supply through 54 permanent groundwater bores equipped with solar-powered submersible pumps reticulated through header tanks and turkeys’ nests to a network of concrete troughs and 14 catchment dams. 

Adding to the water supply, spring-fed Stirling Creek traverses the central area of the station creating permanent waterholes, and is integrated with a number of smaller watercourses and tributaries across the holding that generate additional seasonal waterholes.

Situated 200km from Kununurra and 400km from Katherine, features on this property include:

~ Machinery sheds, hay shedding, workshops, a hangar, seven sets of cattle yards, two main residences, and staff and seasonal worker accommodations. 

~ Access via the Buntine Highway giving access to Katherine and Darwin via the Stuart Highway, with further major connecting highways giving access to Western Australia and Queensland. 

For more information, please contact Danny Thomas, senior director, LAWD at +61 439 349 977, Olivia Thomas, director LAWD at +61 438 845 460, or Erica Semmens, director, LAWD at +61 419 714 039.

~ Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor in chief with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, as well as HighQuest Group’s Unconventional Ag. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com.

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