IAN Cruickshank just wishes he was 20 years younger – if he were he wouldn’t be selling his productive Tooraweenah properties, “Clearvale” and “Youlbung”.

Yet retirement beckons and so Mr Cruickshank and wife Jeanette plan to scale down and have listed their properties for sale, but they will retain some other country in the district.

The decision is set to wind up a multi-generation ownership of “Clearvale”, which has been in the family since the 1900s.

Ian and Jeanette took over ownership of the property 30 years ago.

The adjoining property, “Youlbung”, was then purchased in 2005 and is currently owned by son Troy.

Both properties are listed for sale with Peter Milling, Danny Tink and Graham Anderson of Peter Milling and Company, Dubbo, and will be offered separately at auction on August 15.

Mr Cruickshank cited about 560ha (about 1400ac) of creek flats across the two properties, ideal for finishing, as among the top selling points; it is country he describes as beautiful and among some of the best land in the district.

“It is high yielding and high production country,” he said.

This year, all of “Clearvale” has been sown to Sunzell wheat – a 270 hectare crop to be given-in with the sale of the property – but in the past has also grown canola, chickpeas, barley and lucerne.

“Youlbung” is currently growing 134ha of Spitfire wheat, 110ha of barley, 55ha of oats and 6ha of winter wheat, also to be given in with the sale.

The properties have witnessed particularly high crop yields since 2010, Mr Cruickshank said, with nothing less than three tonnes a hectare for wheat in the past few years.

Specifically, across both “Clearvale” and “Youlbung” wheat yields were more than three tonnes a hectare last year, more than four tonnes a hectare in 2012 and between three tonnes a hectare to four tonnes a hectare in 2011.

Canola yielded 0.7t/ha in 2013 and 0.8t/ha the year before.

And from 2010 to 2012, “Clearvale” yielded three-and-a-half tonnes a hectare of lucerne hay square bales.