AS the settling process has begun, more information has been revealed about the four properties that agricultural magnate, Andrew Forrest (Twiggy) purchased in late 2018.
It’s believed that Mr Forrest paid about $10 million for the properties, which are all in the Moora region.
It’s said Mr Forrest first bought Koojan Downs for about $5.5m, which is almost 3000 hectares, before acquiring neighbouring farms Avena Vale (1251ha), Damper Downs (1486ha) and Water Hill (1494ha).
A reliable source said that Mr Forrest paid about $5m for the later purchased three properties, of about 4500ha.
This figure suggests that Mr Forrest paid close to the value that the properties were marketed at.
Avena Vale was on the market for $1.6m and was regarded as a good sheep grazing property which could be converted into a cattle fattening and finishing property.
The property had an older three-bedroom house, four-stand shearing shed and reliable water from two bores.
Damper Downs was listed for $1.95m and had been focussed on sheep and cattle grazing, with limited cropping in recent years.
Infrastructure in the property comprised a three-bedroom, two-bathroom residence, machinery and storage sheds, a four-stand shearing shed, sheep and cattle stockyards and two bores.
Water Hill was marketed at $1.78m and was highly regarded for its strong soil types which were suitable for growing pasture and crops.
Together these three properties measure about 4231ha and have a combined value of $5.33m at the time of marketing.
The plan for Mr Forrest’s Harvest Road company is to build a first-class cattle facility to develop lines of WA premium beef for local and international markets.
The first development phase is set to accommodate 40,000 cattle at any one time, with the view to supply 60,000 100-day grain finished cattle each year to Harvest Road’s processing facility at Harvey.
A proposed second phase would double this capacity.
Harvest Road is part of the Minderoo Group, which is one of the largest private investment groups owned by the Forrest family.
The group’s agricultural portfolio encompasses more than 1.3 million hectares of pastoral land, the Harvey Beef business and a growing list of fine food brands for domestic and international markets, which export to more than 30 countries.