Australian sheep and cattle group, TA Field Estates, has acquired the Doughboy Mountain and Mirrugalee properties located in New South Wales’ Northern Tablelands for $10.3 million at auction, reports Beef Central. The two properties, which total nearly 2,000 hectares drew 17 registered bidders comprised mostly of large family operations in New South Wales, Queensland, and South Australia.

 

Sydney-based TA Field Estates, headed by fourth generation operator, Michael Field, runs one of Australia’s largest Merino sheep flocks, totaling 42,000 ewes. The group is also involved in cattle and beef production, dryland cropping, and water trading. The purchase of the two Tablelands properties comes one year after TA Field Estates paid $25 million for the blue-ribbon dryland farming properties, Mobinbry and Wilby at North Star.

 

At auction, the Field’s paid $7.65 million for the developed 1,352 hectare Doughboy Mountain property, which was offered by the Salter family of Sydney, and paid another $2.75 million for the adjoining 540 hectare Mirrugalee property, bought from the O’Connor family of Armindale. The Doughboy sale represents a per-hectare price of $5,650, and the Mirugalee sale represents a per-hectare price of $5,090.

 

The Doughboy property includes four spring-fed creeks, dams, and a reticulated water systems, a homestead, cottage, sheds, and yards. The property was bought bare of stock, but had been previously used to run grower cattle and Angus breeders. With a capacity to run 1,000 breeders, TA Field Estates will use the two newly acquired properties to grow out weaners that have been bred from its herd of 1,500 head that are run on the company’s near-by Congi Station, according to Beef Central.

 

Today, TA Field Estates’ activity focuses on livestock and crops, however the company has a history as a key Australian meat processor and wholesaler, with the company controlling approximately one third of Sydney’s wholesale meat business during World War I.