Open country on Kalyeeda

OFFERS above $30 million are likely for Western Kimberley region breeding and growing property Kalyeeda, being offered to the market after 25 years of ownership by Peter Camp and family.

The 122,000ha Pastoral Lease located 220km southeast of Derby and 140km southwest of Fitzroy Crossing will be sold in a two-stage expressions of interest process, with the first round closing 25 July. Inspections through Elders will start after the second week in August.

Around 8100 good quality mostly Droughtmaster type cattle will be included, along with extensive plant and equipment.

The Camp family has progressively developed Kalyeeda over their 25 years of ownership.

The sale is part of family sucession planning, with the Camps’ remaining holdings being located in Central Queensland.

Kalyeeda has the permanent Fitzroy River as its northern boundary.

When the Fitzroy produced its biggest flood in history at the start of last year, few if any cattle were lost on Kalyeeda because of a series of rises across the property providing protection. The same geographic feature provides billabongs, lakes and swamp areas across large parts of the holding, providing late season grazing which helps extend the growing season.

Country is a mix of open forest and some red sandplain, with around 40,000ha of blacksoil floodout country mostly along the river. While seasonal conditions are mixed across the Kimberley following last summer’s wet season, Kalyeeda is in reasonable shape, feed wise, and cattle are currently in good store condition. Average annual rainfall is 500mm.

“The Camps have dine a terrific job of developing Kalyeeda over the past 25 years – it’s an absolute credit to them,” marketing agent Greg Smith from Elders said. “Everything they have done, they have done well, especially waters and fencing.”

All the propery’s stock water sites, serviced by 20 bores as well as the river are monitored with Farmbot remote sensing systems.

A new set of yards with 2000 head capacity are a feature, designed around highly efficient handling of large numbers of cattle, with a strong animal welfare and workplace health & safety orientation. The yards include cooler paddocks, stock water and shaded work areas. The five-way draft, crush and force gates are all pneumatically controlled, with a crowd tub in the main forcing yard and extensive use of catwalks. The crush is fitted with scales and panel reader.

A second set of house yards can handle 2000 head.

Fitzroy River frontage

Recent property sales in the local area have included nearby 140,000ha Christmas Creek, sold last year to NSW bull breeder and beef producer John Manchee, Manchee Agriculture. No price was disclosed, but the deal was said at the time to represent ‘good money.’ (link)

In the late 1980s, both Christmas Creek and Kalyeeda were created when much larger large leases were broken up by the WA Government into family-scale holdings, in what was called ‘The Fitzroy Valley Restructure.’ Other properties created in the bust-up included Beefwood Park, Bolka, Cheribin and others.

Apart from the fact that they are both located on the Fitzroy River, there is no connection between Kalyeeda and the similarly-named Yeeda Station, currently subject to a sale under a receivership.

One of the advantages in being established only three decades or so ago, is that all of Kalyeeda’s infrastructure – fencing, waters, homestead and buildings – are reasonably new.

The property’s primary market outlet is live export out of Broome, with steers sold at 380-420kg to repeat buyers, based on the quality of the cattle and prior performance in Southeast Asian feedlots.

Neighbours include Nerrima on one side, and Hancock Agriculture’s Liveringa Station across the river to the north.

Potential buyers could come from a wide area, Mr Smith said.

“I think it could appeal to larger Queensland cattle producers looking to expand breeding capacity in a new region further west,” he said. “But corporates could also see it as a target for breeding, growing and fattening, as well as a stand-alone operation.”

“Kalyeeda is set-up very well, so it can be run more like a large Queensland cattle operation, rather than a low-input harvesting-style Kimberley operation. All the cattle carry NLIS tags, and weightgains on steers can easily be monitored, using a Tru-Test herd management system.”

The frontage to the Fitzroy may provide some interest in irrigation, but water access may be challenging, Beef Central was told.

Average numbers mustered on the property over the past five years has been 11,900 head, average sale cattle 4500/year, and an average let-go of 7100 head following the muster. Likely cattle numbers included in the sale will be around 3300 mature cows, 700 first calving heifers, 120 herd bulls, 2500 1-2 year old steers and 1500 spayed cows.

The sale information memorandum will be available from early next week.

Greg Smith from Elders Perth is sole agent for the sale.