THE Smith family's highly regarded Wallumbilla property Iona has set a record for the Maranoa, selling for $1678/acre.
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The 1543 hectare (3812 acre) property sold at an Elders auction in Roma on February 21 for $6.4 million, the equivalent of $4148/ha ($1678/acre).
The buyer was the Bates family, Bardlomey, Wallumbilla, one of six parties bidding on the property.
Marketing agent Daven Vohland, Elders, eight of the 13 parties that had inspected Iona had registered to bid.
Recognised as one of the best properties in the Maranoa, Iona has been held by three generations of the Smith family since 1930 and is noted for its Murray Grey composite cattle and productive farming operation.
The carrying capacity is regarded as 200 breeders and progeny through to heavy feeders in conjunction with the farming enterprise. Backgrounder steers are also purchased and taken to heavy feeder weights when the season is favourable.
Located 17km south west of Wallumbilla and 57km south east of Roma, the freehold property has an exclusion fence, making it also suitable for sheep.
The gently undulating country has been developed with improved pastures including buffel, medics, creeping blue grass, digiterati and bambatsi. There is also native Mitchell, Flinders and blue grass plus winter herbages in season.
About 600ha has been improved using a Yeoman plough. Iona is divided into 30 paddocks.
There is 392ha of dryland cereal farming, growing predominately wheat, barley and oats with some forage sorghum. Hay baled on the property insures a year round supply of fodder.
There are three sets of cattle yards and portable steel sheep yards at the shearing shed.
Improvements include two homes, large machinery sheds, haysheds, a three stand shearing shed, and eight silos.
About 700 tonnes of oats silage were included in the sale.
The marketing of Iona was handled by Daven Vohland from Elders Rural Real Estate, Roma.
