Grain king John Nicoletti would ‘rather farm than go fishing or play bowls’ as he approaches 71st birthday

Grain king John Nicoletti says he would rather farm than go fishing or play bowls in his “old” age after being revealed as a major buyer of WA’s biggest farm aggregation. The agriculture legend, who will turn 71 on January 30, told Countryman it was hard to resist buying back some of the land he sold to foreign owners Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company five years ago. “When someone doesn’t know how to stop working and has surrounded himself with good people, and still enjoys it… it is hard to stop farming,” Mr Nicoletti said. “I decided I am too old to go fishing, am too old to take up bowls, and am too boring to start ballroom dancing… so it is best I stay out here in the bush.” Mr Nicoletti this week confirmed he was the biggest of a group of six local buyers to snap up a share of the 78,000ha Merredin Farms portfolio after it was listed in December 2023. It is believed the whole portfolio — split into two distinct operating hubs at Warralakin (40,401ha) and Bodallin (37,553ha) — was sold for about $200 million. The 78,000ha aggregation was previously entirely owned by Mr Nicoletti, before he sold it to SALIC in 2019 as part of a 200,000ha deal rumoured to be worth about $70 million. Mr Nicoletti declined to comment on how much he had paid for the land or how much he had bought this time around, saying simply it was “a lot of land and a lot of money “. The recent purchase adds to his other landholdings spread across the Mid West and Eastern Wheatbelt, including properties near Geraldton, Holleton and Beacon. Mr Nicoletti has been a prominent figure in WA’s agricultural scene for decades and established agricultural machinery business Ag Implements in 2000. These days, he lives at a property at Copley, but drives “more than 200,000km per year” across the Wheatbelt and other farming areas. “Farming is my only hobby,” he laughed.