Hi Goarmy
I'm retired now, but I ran sheep and cattle and some cropping on the irrigated properties and wild goats on the stations, which have mostly replaced sheep in these areas due to their high value and minimal maintenance. As to your second question, "why in remote areas?" was a combination of strategy. Firstly, remote shire councils are more conducive to allowing subdivision, which I did to value add. Second, mostly with the irrigation properties, it was easier to find river front properties, which added to the value add process when subdividing into smaller parcels. I should also point out that I only purchase run down/neglected properties that had the capacity to make improvements. All hard, backbreaking work, but very profitable.
