MATHEW Walker’s major Wagyu operation Stone Axe Pastoral Company has gone to contract on John and Annette Cassidy’s premium Glen Alvie aggregation at Ebor, NSW.
While details of the contract on the 2145 hectare (5299 acre) property have been not been disclosed, Glen Alvie was passed in at a Ray White Rural auction on a vendor bid for $17.5 million three months ago. At $17.5m, the price is equal to about $8159/hectare ($3303/acre).
Stone Axe already operates Cheviot Hills at Kojonup, about 260km south east of Perth. Cheviot Hills is the location of a proposed 20,000 head feedlot and integrated abattoir. Stone Axe’s 1000-plus head fullblood Wagyu donor herd is located at the Holbrook Vet Centre, NSW,
Glen Alvie was passed in on a vendor bid of $17.5m after bids from the floor reached $16.51m in Brisbane on March 24. At that auction five parties placed a staggering 64 bids before the property was passed in a vendor bid of $17.5m. Stone Axe did not operate at that auction.
The 2145ha freehold Glen Alvie aggregation comprises of three original properties: Glen Alvie (656ha/1620 acres), Hillview (1239ha/3060 acres), and Highfields (251ha (619 acres).
Glen Alvie is located 79km east of Armidale. It adjoins the Ebor town boundary with main road frontage to Waterfall Way, the property also has Pound Road providing internal access through the middle of the property.
Mr Walker said Glen Alvie would be primarily used to run a 2000, head full-flood Wagyu herd. The property would also run bulls bred in the operation and a limited number of steers.
“We’re in a ramping up phase with the aim of producing 5000 embryos a year,” Mr Walker said.
Genetics, rather than live animals, would continue to be transported to Cheviot Hills in WA.
The country comprises of predominantly chocolate basalt soils growing a variety of pastures comprising primarily of rye, cocksfoot, fescue, phalarais, kikuyu, paspalum, chicory and red and white clovers. The recently renovated pastures comprise fescue, phalarais, plantain, chicory and rye with red and white clovers. The aggregation has a significant fertiliser history supported by an agricultural air strip is located on Hillview.
Glen Alvie is located in the 1200-1500mm rainfall belt and is exceptionally well watered with some 70 strategically placed dams. There are also two equipped wells feeding to two concrete storage tanks. Dirty Creek also has numerous water holes.
The property is subdivided into 46 main paddocks with a lane way system servicing the yards. There are also five sets of cattle yards. Four of the yards are located off Pound Road and have all-weather access. The four electric stand woolshed has an undercover race and yards, capable of shedding some 1700 woolly sheep. The main workshop is attached to the northern side of the woolshed.
Other improvements include Glen Alvie’s spacious main homestead located in well established gardens, a three bedroom on Hilliview, Fred’s House, an architecturally designed (Fred Weilpern) three bedroom double brick home circa 1980 with attractive views, and Mark’s House, a two bedroom weatherboard cottage. Located near the cottage are two steel machinery sheds and a three bay shed.
John Cassidy AO is particularly well known in the corporate world. In the late 1980s he led the remarkable turnaround of Abiegroup, transforming it from a company turning over $166 million and owing $70m and nearing collapse, to the creation of Abigroup turning over $500m a year and producing record profits.
Bruce Douglas and Andrew Starr from Ray White Rural handled the marketing of Glen Alvie.