Seaside farm with production upside attracts considerable interest

A highly-productive dairy farm with direct access across the back paddocks to a little-used golden sand beach is on the market for sale.

The 111 hectare farm near the Northland township of Waipu in Northland is being sold with 110,000 fully-paid Fonterra shares.

The property is going up for auction on May 29 through Bayleys Whangarei. Rural salesperson Tony Grindle said the farm had a productive platform of 105 hectares -consisting of peaty silt loam and peaty clay soil types which had been fertiliser enhanced.

“In conjunction with a neighbouring lease block and the strategic use of feed supplements, these fertile and free draining soil types have generated production figures varying between 1100 kilogrammes per hectare and 1370 kilogramme per hectare,” Mr Grindle said.

“In addition to the large quantity of rye and clover grass grown on this property, the farm has been planted in approximately 11 hectares of maize. The farm has a very good water supply – both in abundance and quality – with water flowing from a spring and then pumped to troughs through a 32mm pipe.

“Annual rainfall for the Waipu region varies between 1300 – 1500mm a year – underpinning the grass productivity.”

The unit has two homes on the property – one four-bedroom dwelling and one three-bedroom residence – as well as a two-bedroom worker’s cottage. Other infrastructure on the property include a double garage, tractor shed, implement shed, calf shed, hayshed and old cowshed.

Mr Grindle said that all races leading to and from the 40-bail rotary milking platform were limestone lined. All of the post and wire-battened paddocks were within one kilometre of the milking shed – whose ancillary buildings included an office, toilet/shower, covered vet’s inspection area and large store room.

The farm has a 2009-dated capital valuation of $3.85million, and Mr Grindle said the farming operation had considerable room for efficiency improvements – particularly with effluent disposal, supplementary feeding, and calf rearing.

Included in the May 29 auction offering will be harvested and stored maize for the upcoming winter season. Mr Grindle. Feed is supplemented by palm kernel.

“The number of rural listings for diary farms in Northland coming onto the market has been extremely tight over the first quarter of this year. As a consequence we have already received considerable interest in the property from within Northland, and from the central North Island,” he said.

“No recorded sales are available for this soil type in this location so this property is a rarity.”

Real Estate Institute of New Zealand rural market spokesman Brian Peacocke echoed the market conditions, saying: “Sales over the three months to March reflect the strengthening of the rural economy, bolstered by favourable growing conditions, very good levels of production, solid market returns and a positive climate for borrowing.”