It's a lot like Christmas for Manchee Ag

The property was marketed by Elders Real Estate during Christmas and January for sale by expressions of interest in a two-stage process.

Nine buyers were identified, but those that were short-listed were held up from inspecting Christmas Creek until late February due to the flooding in the Kimberley.

Elders corporate, international, pastoral and rural real estate representative, Greg Smith, who brokered the Christmas Creek deal, said five parties from across Australia made it to the second stage of inspection when conditions dried out - and that part of the process finished in March.

Three parties have been in the race since then.

But Mr Smith said Manchee Agriculture, based in north west New South Wales, was the preferred candidate at the end of the day.

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"An informal agreement was reached with them and the vendor Lawson Klopper - who is retiring after 35 years on the station - a few weeks ago and it is now formalised," Mr Smith said.

"Settlement is anticipated when the Minister for Lands consents to the transfer.

"The successful buyers have a long history of cattle production on the east coast and own the oldest registered Shorthorn beef herd in Australia.

"They are a family-owned and run agricultural company that has been producing beef since the 1880s."

Manchee Agriculture currently runs cattle on properties spanning about 8094 hectares at Narrabri, in NSW, and Roma, in Queensland.

It has a family history of sustainable land use, with the view that the current generation are the caretakers of the land for the next generation.

It is understood Manchee Agriculture will continue with its core business of running cattle on Christmas Creek, although future carbon opportunities can't be discounted, according to Mr Smith.

The original 400,000ha Christmas Creek lease was part of the expansive portfolio of Emanuel properties - considered the best in the region - and the Australian Land and Cattle company.

In the late 1980s, some of the biggest leases in the Kimberley were broken up in what was called 'The Fitzroy Valley Reconstruction' and one of those was Christmas Creek.

Mr Smith said the lease was now for 139,929ha and comprised the pick of the country from the original Christmas Creek lease.

He said Christmas Creek runs through the centre of the property for 40 kilometres and the lease is boundaried by ranges to the north, east and south.

"All the water from these ranges feeds into a myriad of minor creek systems running onto the property, which has good stands of Mitchell grass and other natives on its expansive black soil flood plains," he said.

"The creeks away from the black soil that have lighter soils are well populated with buffel grass and the southern portion of the property has large areas of soft spinifex."

This means the Christmas Creek lease has an ideal mix of breeding and fattening land, with extensive areas of black soil plains being fully stocked following the completion of the 2023 muster and sales program.

Mr Smith said the herd at Christmas Creek was predominantly high-content white Brahman, with a regular and consistent injection of modern genetics.

Bulls have been mainly sourced from John Wesley's Charlesville Brahman stud at Southern Cross and the feral bull population is well controlled.

The cattle have been selected for temperament and fertility and have a 70 per cent or higher calving - including the first calving heifers.

Mr Smith said the productivity of the property and herd was easily recognised by the consistent turn off of good numbers - with an average across the past 10 years of 4000 sale cattle a year.

He said the property was well set up for ease of management with two substantial sets of cattle yards, all with cooler and holding paddocks.

The main yards have large feeding pens used for weaner management and training.

There are 45km of laneways, all waters are solar equipped and the homestead complex has two houses, a workers quarters and a large complement of sheds - both storage and machinery - as well as a workshop.

Settlement of the station is anticipated to be finalised in time for Manchee Agriculture to carry out a second round 2023 muster post-settlement.

Manchee Agriculture's fifth generation managers John and Liz Manchee said they were a beef business focused on the end product - giving clients the best meat they can.

"I don't see the point of breeding something if you don't get the end product right," Mr Manchee said.

"For the past 20 years, that has been my single focus - to turn grass into beef and beef on to the plate.

"And we need to do this in a sustainable way for future generations."

Mr Manchee said with climate variability and changing rainfall patterns, it was vital to be producing the most efficient products possible.

Manchee Agriculture has won more than 60 carcase and feedlot awards, including the prestigious Beef Australia national champion carcase.

It has been herd recording since the 1980s and this gives them a profitable advantage in the paddock and the market place, according to Mr Manchee.