Nearby Tikokino is a typical rural New Zealand village with a primary school and community hub, while the main rural services are 37km away in Waipawa and Waipukurau, or Hastings at 51km.
Hadley Brown, from Colliers International, said the farm's owners have run a traditional sheep and beef operation for the past 43 years, with some winter and summer fodder crops providing flexibility.
Deer were also farmed until about 2001 and 24ha is still deer fenced with a deer shed.
On the farm, about 1350 Romney breeding ewes plus replacements are wintered each year, along with close to 120 cattle, which these days are Friesian bulls.
"It's very much finishing country. The cattle side of the operation changed to a bull finishing unit many years ago where they buy in four-day-old Friesian calves and aim to kill the majority at 18-months-old between 270kg-320kg, depending on the season.
"They have a very simple calf-rearing system with a few pens and then straight out on to the grass and it works well for them.
"The advent of the bull scenario shows a good return, while being a low-input system."
Calves are weaned at 100kg and run in mobs of 50 through summer and late autumn with no other stock, dropping to mobs of 15-20 after winter in various weight bands before being slaughtered before the following winter.
On the sheep side of the ledger, Taumahapu Farm achieves a lambing percentage from 130-145%, with the aim of finishing them at 17.5kg or heavier.
Southdown rams have been used over half of the flock and Romney rams over the balance, with the first black-faced lambs drafted in early December and almost all lambs sold prime before winter.
Some fodder crops are grown, which are usually direct drilled into the paddocks. Brown said it was an aspect that could be increased by a new owner seeking a more intensive system.
"The farm has a good fertiliser history and has been very well cared for.
“The presentation of the property is a credit to the retiring vendors and offers a turnkey farming investment for discerning purchasers.
"With a change in stock policy and a strategic cropping and regrassing programme there's an opportunity for the purchaser to run a more intensive finishing system."
The farm's locality on Gwavas Rd at the foothills of the ranges ensures a good rainfall of about 1200mm a year that is usually spread out fairly evenly – Tikokino's climate is warm and temperate, so it benefits from moderate winters.
"It's a very well-sheltered farm because of the way it lies and they're lovely, easy hills with beautiful totara scattered over them.
“There's even a 3.5ha area of mature totara and rewarewa with a QEII covenant."
Easy contour and good tracking enables good 4×4 access around the farm and the road is often used as a main lane for access and stock movements.
In the past, the farm has had a metered water supply from a neighbouring property. This arrangement can’t be transferred to a new owner, so the vendors are installing a new prime system that will source water from the stream running through the property.
Water will be pumped to a holding tank and then connected into the existing reticulation around the farm.
The usual assortment of farm buildings includes a four-stand woolshed, haybarns, implement shed and workshop, while Taumahapu's homestead is an early-1900s home that has been extensively renovated over time.
The garden reflects the history of the house with mature redwood, cedar and copper beech trees standing in the established grounds that surround a grass tennis court.
Taumahapu Farm is for sale by tender with a closing date of March 24.
More? Go to www.colliers.co.nz/54995 or contact Brown on 027 442 3539 or Mike Heard on 027 641 9007.
