A UK-based investment group has bought the world’s biggest sheep farm, based in Australia, that stretches to 1,046,300ha with a carrying capacity of 87,420 sheep.
Rawlinna Station, located on the Nullarbor Plain, Western Australia, was owned by Jumbuck Pastora, which has a number of other stations throughout the country.
The sheep farm has been bought, subject to state approval, by the Consolidated Pastoral Company (CPC), which already owns several cattle stations in Australia.
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Although the sale price is not being disclosed, Rawlinna has been sold as a going concern, including all the sheep.
Current employees will be offered ongoing roles with CPC.
The farm features a 400km boundary exclusion fence, to keep out wild dogs.
History
CPC has a long history in Australian agriculture, dating back to 1879.
In October 2020, the UK-based Hands Family Office bought 100% of CPC. Since then, CPC has continued to grow its portfolio.
Chief executive Troy Setter said the unit was probably the largest single sheep property in the world.
© CPC
“Our owners, the Hands family, have held significant sheep production properties in the UK, and we believe now is a good time to invest in Australia’s sheep and wool industry,” he said.
“We now have assets in cattle, goat, sheep and wool production, natural capital, and over 20,000ha of cropping capacity.
“We aim to build on the legacy of Jumbuck Pastoral by further developing Rawlinna to increase its sheep and wool production capacity in the years to come,” he said.
CPC owns and operates a portfolio of nine station aggregations in Australia and two feedlots in Indonesia.
Across more than 3.2m ha of land, the CPC team runs more than 300,000 head of cattle, 45,000 goats, and produce a diverse range of crops.