Murdoch puts $20m prized sheep station on the market
Media magnate and part-time farmer Rupert Murdoch has put up for sale a prestige sheep breeding enterprise, part of the network of properties linked to the long-established family farm, Cavan Station, in NSW, a short drive from Canberra.
The 947.5-hectare offering in the South-West Slopes region of NSW hits the market this month and follows two years of high drama in the US for the Murdoch clan during which the long-vexed issue of succession in its global media empire was resolved in favour of son Lachlan Murdoch through a multi-billion deal.
Back on the farm in Australia and thousands of kilometres away from where high stakes corporate story played out, Murdoch and his managers have decided to put Springfield farm near Cootamundra up for grabs, along with two high-profile breeding studs associated with the property. Combined, the property and the two studs could fetch as much as $20 million.
The Stockinbingal Road farm is north of Cootamundra, almost two hours drive from the Murdoch’s long-held Cavan Station, which is itself south of Yass and less than an hour from Canberra.
The move to divest Springfield is part of an effort to consolidate farming operations around Cavan Station. That strategy is in the hands of Impact Ag, a sustainable agricultural asset management platform headed by Hugh Killen, who previously led agribusiness giant AACo, which has taken charge of the Cavan Station network.
Impact Ag is chaired by Murdoch’s son-in-law Alasdair Macleod, the husband of Prudence, Murdoch’s oldest child. Their own sustainable faming venture, Macdoch, has a significant stake in Impact Ag.
Cavan Station itself has been a fixture in the Murdoch family since the young media proprietor bought it in the mid-1960s for $196,000. In the decades since, surrounding properties have been bought up and added to an expanding aggregation. Lachlan Murdoch married Sarah O’Hare at Cavan Station in 1999.
Bought only five years ago, Springfield can support a potential flock of 11,500 sheep. It is held by the Murdoch family through a corporate entity called New Kayarem, a nod to the initials of the media magnate: Keith Rupert Murdoch.
It is also home to Bogo Genetics, the business behind both the Bogo Merino Stud and more recently Glenfinnan Prime Lamb Genetics. Purchased two years ago, Glenfinnan involves White Suffolk stock, with a focus on meat production.
“On the back of the strong ram selling season last spring, high pricing in the lamb and mutton markets and increasing wool prices, both studs are well-positioned to be taken over as a going concern, with new owners able to hit the ground running,” said Bogo Genetics general manager Matt Crozier.
LAWD’s Col Medway, who is handling the sale with colleague Tim Corcoran, said the gently undulating landscape had benefited from a strong agronomic program incorporating strategic fertiliser and lime applications to improve its mostly red-brown granite loam soils.
“The ability to acquire two renowned sheep studs that are positioned as a one-stop genetics provider to commercial sheep breeders, with a focus on quality wool and lamb, along with a fit for purpose property provides a unique opportunity for a buyer to enter the industry at scale, or for an existing enterprise to expand their operation,” Medway said.
“The studs will be offered separately to the property. However, we envisage that there will be interest to retain the going concern enterprise, including the highly regarded staff who are interested in continuing to grow the business.”
