A DYNAMIC North Burnett citrus business with an increasing export focus is on the market, through Colliers International.
Shepherd Citrus currently operates three orchards with about 20,000 trees. That number is planned to increase to 37,000 trees by 2021.
Shepherd Citrus' Home Orchard and Glen Aros Orchard are situated side-by-side, about 2km from Gayndah. The third orchard, Dirnbir, is 10km to the west.
The business is currently transitioning from a mainly domestic operation based on imperial and murcott mandarins, to one which is 70 per cent export focused. The tang gold variety will be the primary product, targeting the seedless mandarin market.
Of the 37,148 trees to be in place by 2021, the proportion will be: 48pc tang gold (17,800 trees), 31pc imperials, 18pc murcotts, 1.5pc lemons, and 1.5pc golden nugget.
Marketing agent Peter Uebergang, Colliers International, said the farms, management and infrastructure were regarded as being above industry average.
"If average yields and prices occur in the next critical three years the farms will be in a sound position to capitalise from very good financial returns in the following years, from the planned structural improvements," Mr Uebergang said.
An attractive feature of the Shepherd Citrus is that it has about 400 megalitres in irrigation allocations. There is 195ML at Home Farm, 110ML at Boyd Farm and 116ML at Dirnbir. Irrigation water can be stored in the Claude Wharton weir in the Burnett River, or taken and stored on-farm.
There is also about 24ML of overland flow water available.
Shepherd Citrus is for sale through Colliers International, with an expressions of interest process closing on March 18.
Contact Rawdon Briggs, 0428 651 144, or Peter Uebergang, 0447 007 744, Colliers International.