ANYBODY looking for a horticultural business offering both reputation and upside, with an idyllic location as a bonus, is likely to be among the starters when Wisbey's Orchards goes to auction later this month.
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The renowned Araluen Valley stonefruit orchard established by the Wisbey family in the early 1970s has been listed for sale to accommodate its present owner's changing needs.
Wisbey's Orchards is owned today by Monaro-reared businesswoman Robyn Clubb, who bought the property in 2005 partly as a business venture and partly as a lifestyle choice.
Since then she has worked at upgrading both the orchard and the business, establishing new, earlier-maturing fruit varieties and broadening the marketing base.
But having achieved those objectives, Ms Clubb - whose busy life includes seats on several company boards and the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW council - is ready to ease up a little.
She has listed the property for sale with Meares and Associates of Sydney in conjunction with Landmark Daniel Walker of Braidwood.
It goes to online auction on October 27 with price expectations of about $3 million.
Situated in the scenic Araluen Valley south-east of Braidwood, Wisbey's Orchards is a 486 hectare (1200ac) property of which the 37ha stonefruit orchard itself is the productive core.
The property rises from alluvial creek flats to easterly grazing slopes backed by timbered ranges.
The sandy loam soil types that occur on the valley floor are considered ideal for stonefruit production.
Apart from having long frontages to Araluen and Majors creeks, the property is amply watered by permanent springs, two equipped bores and rainfall (average 700-800mm) captured in two storage dams.
The orchard itself is laid out in 19 modules containing 25,623 trees of which about 21,000 are peach (mostly yellow varieties) and the balance nectarines.
Trees range in age from three to 21 years and include 6189 of early maturing varieties (covering about 7.4ha) planted since 2011.
Present production averages about 500 tonnes of quality fruit, most of it sold through Sydney's Flemington Markets, where the Wisbey's brand (under which the fruit is still packed) commands premium prices.
Scope exists to expand the orchard to around 30,000 trees, lifting annual production to around 750 tonnes.
The vertically integrated business incorporates a modern packing shed of 1000 square metres with concrete floor, cool stores and computerised 10-lane grader, capable of processing up to 3500 trays a day.
Apart from the stonefruit operation, the Wisbey's Orchards property supports a cattle herd based on 120 Angus cows, utilising pastures of mainly native grasses which respond well to topdressing.
Accommodation consists of a three-bedroom brick veneer homestead with swimming pool, garage and horse tack room, a recently renovated four-bedroom manager's residence and staff quarters of eight bedrooms.
A recent development, opened last year in response to the growing tourist traffic and already locally popular, is a roadside cafe and retail outlet of open-plan design with commercial kitchen and seating for 50.
Situated as it is just over an hour from Canberra and Goulburn, Wisbey's Orchards is expected to attract interest from lifestyle buyers and property investors as well as horticultural owner-operators.
Contact Meares and Assoc, (02) 9362 8111, or Landmark Daniel Walker, (02) 4842 2707.
Peter Austin
Former editor and long time columnist and property writer for The Land.
Former editor and long time columnist and property writer for The Land.
