In 2023, an Australian cattle station sold for $40 million with plans for a major carbon project; three years later it has resold for $26 million after the project never happened
A huge cattle station in Australia’s Northern Territory, bought for A$40 million during the height of the carbon farming boom, has been resold for A$26 million after plans for a major environmental project fell apart. Benmara Station, a 451,176-hectare pastoral property on the Barkly Tableland near the Queensland border, has changed hands after its value fell sharply. According to ABC News, the 35 per cent drop in price shows how Australia’s northern pastoral property market is adjusting after corporate buyers once paid high prices for land with carbon offset potential. The property was bought in May 2023 by Sydney-based agricultural investment firm Wealthcheck, managed by Sam Mitchell, in partnership with global energy trader Hartree Partners. Real estate company LAWD negotiated the off-market deal, which involved the sale of the property without livestock. At the time, the high price was linked partly to expectations that the property could generate carbon credits alongside cattle production.
A speculative boom meets regulatory delay
When Wealthcheck and Hartree Partners bought Benmara Station in 2023, Australia’s carbon market was gaining strong momentum through Human Induced Regeneration (HIR) projects. The HIR scheme allowed landowners to earn Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) by allowing native vegetation to recover through lower livestock numbers and changes to land management. Benmara Pastoral Pty Ltd registered the Nicholson River Carbon Project over 452,542 hectares with the Clean Energy Regulator in September 2023. The project aimed to create permanent native forests through assisted natural regeneration. However, the regulatory situation soon changed. The federal government closed the HIR method to new projects and promised a replacement system called the Integrated Farm and Land Management (IFLM) method. But development of the new method faced repeated delays, creating uncertainty for carbon developers and institutional investors.According to research published by Beef Central, Hartree Partners pointed to continued uncertainty over the carbon market transition as a key reason for leaving the investment. Wealthcheck later entered liquidation in 2024, leaving Hartree Partners as the main vendor trying to sell the property. In December 2025, the Nicholson River Carbon Project was officially revoked under section 30 of the CFI Rule. This formally ended the property’s carbon plans before any credits were issued or commercial benefits were gained.
Pastoral operations and asset restructuring
Despite the collapse of the carbon project, Benmara Station still has strong value as a traditional cattle property. Located about 100 kilometres west of the Northern Territory-Queensland border, the station includes alluvial floodplains, sandstone plains and black soil downs. The land has an estimated carrying capacity of 17,500 adult equivalent cattle. Real estate company CBRE Agribusiness, represented by agents Andrew Loughnan and John Harrison, was appointed to run an Expressions of Interest campaign for the property. Before the sale, the station had been heavily destocked for about 18 months, allowing its pastures to recover after good rainfall across the Barkly region. Speaking to Property Markets News during the sales campaign, CBRE agent Andrew Loughnan described the condition of the property. “Benmara has been largely destocked over the past 18 months,” Loughnan said. “During this period, the property has benefited from good rainfall and better pasture growth, making the clean skin cattle an attractive prospect for an astute operator.” The vendors also carried out improvements across the property. CBRE agent John Harrison said the station had reliable water infrastructure and an ongoing fencing replacement programme along the eastern boundary and inside its paddocks. Existing facilities include a central homestead compound with two main residences, staff accommodation, machinery sheds and cattle yards.
Market correction across the northern pastoral sector
The A$26 million resale of Benmara Station represents a A$14 million loss compared with its 2023 purchase price. It highlights the sharp correction in property values after carbon speculation helped push prices higher.Before the 2023 deal, the station was owned by pastoralist Malcolm Harris, who bought it in 2016 for A$12 million and invested in water points and internal fencing. The jump to A$40 million in 2023 marked the height of institutional interest in combining northern Australian cattle production with carbon credit opportunities.Analysis from Carbon Pulse and agricultural market reports suggests that pastoral properties across the Northern Territory are now being valued more on traditional factors such as cattle carrying capacity and livestock returns, rather than expected income from carbon projects.
