What a price: ‘Blue-chip’ Wheatbelt portfolio owned by first-generation farmer could fetch up to $35 million

A first-generation farmer who bought his first parcel of land in the Avon Valley more than 20 years ago has listed his 1654ha Wheatbelt portfolio for sale, with expectations it could fetch more than $35 million. Darren Best this month listed his four-holding Silverback Farms for sale through rural property specialists LAWD after more than 15 years of business in the tightly-held Avon region. Maslens (765ha), Slaters (529ha), Williams (257ha) and Valley (103ha) are about 10km from Toodyay and 55km east of Perth. The properties are available as a whole or as separate assets. LAWD director Simon Wilkinson said he expected Silverback Farms to attract a high level of interest from nearby farming families and investors. “This blue-chip property has been transformed into a highly efficient broad hectare cropping operation, featuring high quality soil types, operational infrastructure and structural improvements to enhance on-farm efficiencies,” Mr Wilkinson said. The properties include machinery sheds, 1800 tonnes of grain storage silos, hay sheds with capacity to hold 7500 large and square bales, 2000 tonnes of fertiliser storage facilities and a main homestead. There is also a licensed gravel pit with significant annual royalties currently extracting 2000 tonnes per week. In an interview with Countryman in 2020, Mr Best revealed he had always wanted to live in regional WA after growing up on a farm at Gidgegannup. After gaining his apprenticeship at WesTrac in Perth as a boilermaker and welder, he headed back out to the country as an agricultural contractor, working on farms baling hay and spreading fertiliser, among other things. He also began leasing land 15km south of Toodyay and running crops of his own before buying his own property in 2008. In recent years he has grown barley, wheat, oats and canola and run up to 200 head of Angus cattle. Mr Best was recognised for his efforts as a finalist in this year’s Syngenta Growth Awards sustainability category. Expressions of interest close at 12pm on Thursday, August 24.