Mr Gorey’s late father John established a leading Beef Shorthorn cattle stud at Yambah Station in the 1960s.
The “great” result achieved for Yambah Station (according to one rural agent) comes despite beef cattle prices halving since hitting a record of over $11 per kg in January last year.
Adding to this, the Australian Farmland Index showed prime farmland returns slumped to their lowest level in almost a decade in the March quarter.
Writing in valuation firm Herron Todd White’s June monthly report, experienced cattle station valuer Frank Peacocke said other economic drivers were coming into play when determining land values in the NT and Kimberley region alongside established benchmarks like cattle prices, inflation and interest rates.
These new drivers included the price of Australian carbon credit units, which Mr Peacocke said was perceived as being underpriced at present and “projected to rise significantly in the near future”.
“We may be seeing the first signs of real money being paid for pastoral land in the NT which harbours the perceived natural capital potential for [the] creation of carbon credits,” he said.
The sale of Yambah Station follows another Shorthorn beef breeder, Narrabri-based Manchee Agriculture paying up to $30 million in June for Christmas Creek Station near Fitzroy Crossing in Western Australia’s Kimberley region.
The 140,000ha breeding and finishing property was offered for sale with a large Brahman cattle herd as well as plant and equipment. The vendor was Lawson Klopper who had owned the property since 1989.
In May, busy fund manager WealthCheck, led by Sam Mitchell, paid $40 million for 451,200ha Benmara Station in the NT’s Barkly Tableland region while in April, mining and agricultural magnate Gina Rinehart sold over $200 million of S. Kidman & Co cattle stations in Queensland and the NT.
Looking to cash in on the strong selling conditions are beef cattle breeders Tony and Julie Harrower, who have put Dorisvale Station, about 350 km south east of Darwin on the market after more than 40 years of ownership.
The offering, which includes 12,000 head of Brahman cattle, is expected to sell for about $30 million. Olivia Thompson from LAWD is handling the sale.
Dorisvale grows about 200 hectares of Jarra grass annually to feed cattle onsite and comes with an abundance of natural surface water in a high rainfall area exceeding 1000 mm per year.
“Dorisvale is an outstanding breeding property with great dryland farming potential,” Ms Thompson said.
Dorisvale Station, including 12,000 head of cattle, is on the market for $30 million.
“There are not many families that bought almost bare properties in the Top End and have held onto them for so long,” Ms Thompson said.
“It would have been very remote and tough to make a living when they bought Dorisvale, and they have made it something special. They are a true pioneering family.”