Offers of more than $16 million are expected for Romani, a 3,033-hectare commercial-scale cattle and sheep grazing property in the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales, with potential for carbon offsets and renewable energy projects.

Located near Kingstown, approximately halfway between Armidale and Tamworth, more than 42 per cent of Romani’s undulating land is arable, with grazing capacity of approximately 16,000 Dry Sheep Equivalents (DSE).

Since purchasing the property in 2016, vendors Will and Harriet Corlis have run approximately 5,000 Dorper ewes on an eight-month breeding cycle, complemented by a beef breeding and finishing enterprise.

They were originally attracted to Romani because of its three-kilometre frontage to the Namoi/MacDonald River, which Mr Corlis said filled one of their criteria in a list of requirements.

“We were looking for a property with a reliable water source, development potential and scale to support the family operation,” Mr Corlis said.

“When we bought Romani, we wanted to take climate variability out of the equation to manage our drought risk, so we added in a large water storage and distribution system, a 1,400-tonne silo complex and containment yards.

“Through 2018 to 2020 we ran more livestock in containment yards than we are today and were able to support them as a result of the investment in water infrastructure and from grain sourced from our own cropping property at Moree.”

While Romani was bought with the intention of being their forever home, a recent property purchase at Ebor is the catalyst for the Corlis’s to move east and concentrate on making improvements once again.

“Until we bought the block at Ebor, this was going to be our forever home,” Mrs Corlis said.

“We completely renovated the homestead, using high-quality materials and finishes and leveraged the consistent water supply by making the garden a beautiful green oasis.

“We really wanted the house and garden to feel like a retreat so we could leave the day’s work behind.”

The Corlis’s have made significant improvements to infrastructure to support its livestock operations, including almost 48 kilometres of new fencing and 13.3km of electric fencing, supported by an extensive laneway system.

“We’ve done quite a bit of work here and broken the backbone for someone to come in and tidy up the rest,” Mr Corlis said.

“There’s also potential for a new buyer to invest in infrastructure for other endeavours.

“We have had an evaluation completed by the Carbon Farming Foundation, and they said it’s some of the highest yielding carbon land they have ever seen.”

LAWD Sales Director Michael Corcoran said the collective benefit of Romani’s scale, its stunning renovated homestead and potential for carbon and renewable energy projects, made it an attractive opportunity to present to market.

“We are expecting Romani will attract a variety of interested parties from carbon and renewable energy developers through to corporate grazing operators,” Mr Corcoran said.

“Its convenient location to the major regional centres of Armidale and Tamworth also makes the property appealing to family cattle and sheep graziers looking to expand in the region.”

Water security is a feature of the property with almost 3km frontage to the permanent Namoi/MacDonald River, three semi-permanent creeks, several spring fed water holes, and 47 dams. An extensive reticulated water system services approximately 33 troughs and tanks allow for 720,000 litres of water storage.

Along with the standout New England homestead, Romani also features a manager’s residence and staff quarters, and fit-for-purpose rural infrastructure including two sets of sheep yards, cattle yards, a shearing shed, workshop, machinery shed, grain storage and an array of other rural shedding.

Romani ranges from undulating arable land, through to timbered grazing and timbered hills with 859ha, or 28pc of the property, benefitting from pasture development and featuring improved temperate grasses, multi-species cover crops, self-sown annual rye grass and native grasses. An additional 597ha has been approved by the Local Land Services of New South Wales to clear invasive species.

The adjoining 4,365ha Bald Rock Aggregation, consisting of timbered land with a Conservation Agreement in place is also for sale, offering a further option for expansion for buyers seeking scale.

Romani is being offered for sale by Expressions of Interest, closing at 12.00pm (AEDT) on Thursday 23 January. For more information, contact LAWD Sales Director, Michael Corcoran on +61 417 657 589 or LAWD Senior Director, Daniel McCulloch on +61 429 613 332.