Brandon Hay & Cattle 162 Becker Road Brandon QLD 4808

Location:

The property is located approximately 5km Northeast of the Brandon township and approximately 10km north of Ayr.

The nearest major town is Ayr, which has population of approximately 8600 people. Ayr is located in the centre of the rich Burdekin Delta irrigation district. This district is regarded as the premier sugarcane growing area in Australia and supports the strong local communities in Home Hill, Inkerman, Brandon and Giru townships. There are many local businesses supporting any and all farming requirements.

Townsville, the largest city in North Queensland is only 1 hours’ drive away. Townsville’s fast-developing industries, the Port of Townsville, Sugar terminal, JBS Meatworks, Live Export facilities, renewable energy hub, the Army Defence Force and various new developments all support a growing population of 200,000 + people.

Area / Tenure:

Total Area - 125.96 Ha or 311.12 acres approximately

Tenure - Lot 3 & Lot 8 RP 722109 Freehold Land

Primary Land Use – Farming / Cattle breeding & fattening

Water & Irrigation:

Overall, there is 78.9 ha or approximately 194 acres under irrigated farming. The balance of the property is fenced into cattle grazing paddocks.

The farming land is divided into 3 hay blocks each with several laser levelled bays suitable for Flood irrigation.

Water supply for irrigation is pumped from three bores, which are not metered or monitored, however there is an annual water levy charge from Lower Burdekin Water dependant on usage. There are no bore drilling logs available for the large irrigation bores, however based on a recently drilled, smaller domestic bore, it is estimated that the standing water level (SWL) is at around 3.20 metres and the hole depths at approximately 18-19 metres. All three of these irrigation bores are 6-inch PVC casing. Domestic water supply is supplied by two additional domestic bores and rainwater tank.

Using the Border Check laser leveling system the irrigation bays are levelled to ensure optimum water flow rates and even water infiltration rates throughout the length of the bay. The use of plastic fluming, laser levelling and low-pressure pumping make this farm a low cost, economical and efficient farm. Irrigation water is delivered via a 12 inch poly mainline, with 14 x 10 inch risers in total, each with a geared wheel tap and a poly T-piece. From the T Piece 12 inch fluming is rolled out into each bay. There are 30 bays in total, and the bay lengths vary with the longest being 1.1km long, averaging 600 metres in length.

The farm has two main pumps for the irrigation which have been installed since 2021.

Pump details:

4-inch suction line x 5-inch delivery line powered by a Davey electric centrifugal 7.5kw pump.
4-inch suction line x 5-inch delivery line powered by a Grundfos 7.5kw pump

The two pumps combined capacity delivers average flow of approximately 75 Litres per second (270,000L/hr or 60,000 gallons/hr). Considerable expense has been undertaken in recent years, to extend and replace the mains water supply lines. A water allocation of 770 Megalitres has been granted by Lower Burdekin Water to pump water from Sheep Station Creek. Theoretically water may be accessed, however there is no agreement with the neighbouring farm to access this water through their property, which makes this allocation unusable at this point.

There are 5 stock water toughs including the one inside the yards. There is a total of three poly water tanks for stock and domestic water use.

Country, Soil, Hay Varieties & Yields:

Becker Road Hay & Cattle is located adjacent to naturally occurring wetlands. The trees consist of Pandanus, Tea Tree and native palm trees. The grasses include Hymenachne, Para grass and Rhodes grass. The soils on the property are mostly deep black soils plus some small sections of sandier loam type soils.

The current Rhodes Grass varieties on the farm are Mariner and Katambora. These varieties are specifically bred for best hay yields and crop longevity. Fertiliser usage is conservatively managed to ensure optimum crop growth and minimum wastage. Soil samples indicate Urea (Nitrogen) to be used. Applications of 250 / 300kg Ha of fertiliser per crop of hay is required for higher yields. Harvesting occurs in 6-week intervals depending on paddock access (i.e. wet) and the operators production requirements.

Hay yields have been as high as 10 tonne / Ha however the owners estimate the average achievable yields would be around approximately 6.5t/Ha.

Cattle Production:

There are four main cattle paddocks, which in total are approximately 46 Hectares or 113 acres. This land is currently used for growing and fattening dry cattle for slaughter, feedlots and live export markets. Livestock water is supplied by naturally occurring wetlands and from smaller domestic bores feeding tanks and water troughs.

House:

The property has a very comfortable, modern, 4 Bedroom house. The house is on steel stumps and is also steel framed throughout. The house is cladded on the outside with Colourbond custom-orb. Inside it has vinyl flooring, modern lighting, fans and air conditioning in the bedrooms. The layout features an open plan living area with a large lounge room, dining room and a modern kitchen. The house also has a modern bathroom which has the shower, toilet and laundry all in one.

4 Bedrooms
Modern Kitchen
Bathroom, Toilet & Laundry
A large open plan lounge & dining room
Office/ 4th bedroom
Hat & Shoe Entrance room
3 Airconditioned bedrooms

Sheds:

The property has two large sheds.

The Hay Shed is approximately 12 metres wide x 36 metres long x 7 metres high. This shed is used for hay storage and machinery. The shed is made of large RHS beams and posts, steel purlins and trim deck iron sheeting and is enclosed on three sides. It fits approximately 900 - 3ft x 4ft x 8ft large high density square bails. The hay shed has electricity and water connected. The shed has several large flood lights and a dust suppression sprinkler watering system on the entry way into the shed.

The Machinery Shed opposite the house is approximately 12.5 metres wide x 32 metres long x 3.7 metres high and is constructed of steel RHS frames, steel purlins and trim deck iron sheeting. The shed floor has one concreted bay. The shed is enclosed on three sides and on the northern end has two 20ft containers built into the shed on steel stumps.

Caretakers Quarters:

In addition to the house the property has 6 x 8 metre caretakers shed which has water and electricity connected and a pumped septic system. It has a concrete floor with a demountable shower, toilet block.

Cattle Yards:

Opposite the house is a good quality, permanent set of steel cattle yards. The yards are made with a combination of cattle rail and railway iron posts. They have a race, crush, loading ramp, 3-way draft and branding cradle. In the back yards there is a cooler/ yard up pen and two small holding paddocks, which have feed troughs for the supplementary feeding of cattle.

Services:

162 Becker Road has a weekly garbage bin collection service from the front gate by the Burdekin Shire Council.

Hay Markets:

The demand for hay is substantial and forever growing. Likely hay markets include cattle yard facilities such as the Townsville Meatworks, Julago rail & live export yards, Dingo Park Feedlot, Runway Feedlot & Live export yards, Charters Towers Sale and Export yards. Additional markets include the large racehorse and performance horse industries and the large cattle grazing industry which spans not only locally but as far as Central Qld, North & Western Qld, the gulf and into the Northern Territory.

Vendors Comments:

With the assistance of a caretaker, we run this property at an arm’s length and are only present for cattle work, baling and fertilising. It’s a very easy place to manage and a profitable low-cost operation.

DISCLAIMER: The above report on Becker Road Hay & Cattle has been prepared by Slaney & Co based on information supplied by the property owner and other credible sources. Every endeavour has been made to verify its accuracy. Whilst we trust the information to be correct, we make no warranties or guarantees, and prospective purchasers must rely on their own enquiries & research.© Copyright Slaney & Co