Liquidator instructs sale of farms

A Northland dairy farm and its nearby support block once planned to be an avocado orchard have been placed on the market for sale through liquidation tender.

The two blocks of land are located some seven kilometres apart from each other near the rural settlements of Okaihau and Ohaeawai, west of the Bay of Islands. The main farm being sold consists of 118 hectares, while the secondary block is 22 hectares in size.

The 22 hectare farm was purchased in 2007 by Northland Herbs Limited with the intention of developing an avocado plantation in conjunction with livestock feed cropping activities. The bigger farm was bought in 2009.

A liquidator’s report into the failings of Northland Herbs Limited outlined that the company’s demise was a consequence of paying too much for the larger dairy farm, compounded by a severe drought during the 2009/2010 season, then capped off with a lack of cost controls.

Now the two units are on the market for sale through a liquidation tender being run by real estate agency Bayleys Kerikeri. Salesperson Kerry Ludbrook said tender submissions for the properties would close on November 23.

Mr Ludbrook said the units could be purchased either individually, or as a combined offering. The larger farm has a capital valuation of $2.055million and comes with 67,000 Fonterra shares, while the smaller location has a capital valuation of $551,000.

Mr Ludbrook said the larger farm had been run as a commercial dairy production unit for the past two years, but had room to improve output efficiencies. The property is located 25 kilometres south of Kerikeri and 27 kilometres west of Paihia, with saleyards and fertiliser depots 10 kilometres to the west in Kaikohe.

The farm’s main dairy platform is some 75 hectares, with the remainder of the farm in steep grazing land, and is milking approximately 200 cows – which can be purchased with the farm.

Accommodation on the property consists of a pair of three-bedroom homes, both of which are in good condition, with one being rented out for $265 per week. Building infrastructure around the farm consists of a 16-aside herringbone milking shed, a large concrete wintering pad, a pair of three-bay implement sheds, lock-up shed and calf rearing facilities.

Mr Ludbrook said part of the farm’s hillsides were currently covered in gorse, but could be converted into grazing land to increase the effective area. The farm’s water supply comes from an all-year running stream which dissects the property in two places. The upper levels of the farm are fed from an electric pump directly to troughs.

Meanwhile, the smaller support block/lifestyle property is generally flat – allowing for up to five hectares of maize to be grown as supplement feed for the main block, while the remainder of the block was used for grazing a herd of 47 rising one-year-old heifers. The block was operated without any support buildings or accommodation.

Mr Ludbrook said: “The smaller 22 hectare support block could be easily developed into a lifestyle property – with excellent house-building sites scattered through the mature puriri trees scattered throughout the property. The fertile soil – capable of supporting an avocado orchard - was one of the features which attracted the previous owner to look at this site for its agricultural potential.”