Stellar prices paid for farm land have helped soothe one family's succession blues

Speaking after the public auction of his family's block in western Victoria on Friday, Mr McAllister admitted sadness at the sale of the Marnoo land.

But with about $3.5 million made from the sale already, the auction sets his family up for a hopefully smooth transition into retirement.

Some of the proceeds will help his son set up on his Banyena farm and finance renovations to a house in Aireys Inlet for his and wife Prue's retirement.

Also to be fair to their other children, the plan is for them to share part of the proceeds as well.

Their bigger block of 207 hectares (511 acres) sold to a local farm family for above $6600 an acre.

Born and raised in Marnoo, Mr McAllister worked as a shearer and on farms to build up a deposit for his own farm at Banyena, to the north of Marnoo.

The family has been in the area since the 1870's, when his grandmother set up along the Richardson River.

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His parents, Jim and Lorna, settled in Marnoo in the 1950's when the land was better known as top sheep country.

Modern farming methods, particularly minimum tillage, has brought Marnoo new wealth as a cropping district.

Mr McAllister said it "had been handy" to operate his cropping enterprise between his Banyena land and the North Plains block on Mingawalla Road which was sold to a local farm family on Friday.

"There are different conditions between the two, you can spread the risk a bit," he said.

Those at Friday's sale universally agreed the crops right across western Victoria had rarely looked better after three good rain years.

Today the only nervousness is that La Nina should depart for long enough so those crops are not damaged and can be harvested.

Mr McAllister said his son had now wanted to stay on the Banyena farm which is why they had decided to take advantage of high farm prices to "cash in" the Marnoo blocks.

"They (the buyers) wanted to pay less, and we wanted them to pay more, but really we are pretty happy with the result."

The bigger Marnoo block, and the second block on Soldiers Road across 54ha (133ac) was later passed in with no bids made at the auction on Friday.

Elders Real Estate agents predicted the smaller block would be quickly sold privately.

For some years, the McAllister's had been leasing the Marnoo blocks currently sown to lentils.

They will enjoy the proceeds from those crops before the land is taken over by their new owners early next year.

The bigger block reached $6600 before being sold after private negotiation during a halt before about 50 people at the sale held at the Wallaloo Golf Club on Friday afternoon.

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