This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
THE Humphry family is expecting over $5 million for the 415 hectares of conservatively farmed land in Victoria’s north east that they have put to the market, having been held within the family since 1914.
Located close to the Springhurst township, the properties Nesbitt’s, Nicholl’s and Smith’s adjoin to or have immediate access from the Hume Highway. Elders Real Estate of Wangaratta’s Dave Colvin has been appointed to sell by private sale the properties for Ian, Lindsay and Margaret Humphry.
“We are all now in our seventies, so this sale offer is part of our personal plans to implement our staged withdrawal from farming after our long involvement,” they said.
The properties have been conservatively farmed and used in conjunction with the noted Humphry home farm of Avondale, a dairy farm holding of almost 800 hectares, at Springhurst. Avondale is not for sale and will continue in operation as an irrigated dairy farm by the Humphry family and their staff.
The three strategic holdings available have generally been used in support of the dairy farm, to run dry cattle, grow out dairy replacement heifers, to produce dairy cross beef vealers, merino sheep and lambs, and with some limited cropping.
In the mid-2000s the Humphry family won a North East region Landcare award for their approach to sustainable farming, including the use of natural pastures, tree preservation and without the use of conventional fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides. They were then national finalists in the Landcare award of 2007.
The superfine Merino wool fleeces produced from about 2,500 Merino sheep have also won awards.
The principal of the three holdings, the 124 hectare Nesbitt’s, at Boralma, is at 168 Robbins Road, three kilometres west of the Hume. It is fenced into nine paddocks and improvements include consist of several steel farm sheds, steel cattle yards and a double-height elevated loading race. There is also a decommissioned bore and an existing and occupied older-style weatherboard home.
The property has numerous attractive tree lines and plantings and has principally been used to spell or overwinter dairy cows, or breed replacement cattle livestock with some oat cropping.
The long 73-hectare Nicholl’s property was created when the Hume Highway was realigned some years ago. It is fenced into five paddocks and has four stock water dams and has been used to run Merino sheep and lambs.
Smiths, spanning 118 hectares, sits on higher ground above the Springhurst Interchange. It has two dams, a band of red granite loams, and is currently running 40 cows and calves plus 300 Merino sheep. It is fenced as four paddocksand while there are no buildings on this site there is power line access.
