Spanning 156ha, 15km from Waipu, the farm’s milking platform makes up 105ha and nearly half of this is irrigated from a dam constructed in 1995 and covering 12.5ha. The dam stretches to a kilometre in length and up to 500m in width to provide a reliable water source for irrigation that is set up for 46ha of the farm.
Graham Hall from First National in Whangarei said irrigation operated for about 100 days during a normal season.
The farm is milking 360 crossbred cows and supplies Fresha Valley at Waipu, so has a split-calving policy with 240 spring calvers and 120 autumn calvers. In 2011 the farm was brought back into dairying with the 22-bail rotary dairy substantially upgraded. Since then there has been some regrassing, including 10ha now in crops of maize and turnips that will be put into new grass.
Races are well formed and metalled to most of the 55 paddocks with metal from a brown rock quarry on the farm, while a limestone quarry supplies the base of the feedpad sitting adjacent to the dairy.
“It’s a well set-up farm, with effluent hooked into the irrigation and the dam summer-proofs the farm.”
The dam also supplies stock water around the farm, with water pumped to a holding tank and then gravity fed by inline dispenser to troughs.
Overlooking the dam sits the proposed lifestyle block subdivision, with 20 lots ranging from 4900m2 to 9ha and eight titles edging the waterfront. Bush bounds parts of the picturesque dam that is cradled by rolling hills.
Much of the farm is rolling country that sits on a mix of Waiotira clay soils, Waikare silt loam and Okaka silt clay. At its heart is the upgraded dairy that comfortably milks 320 cows and is fitted with automatic cup removers, automatic feed dispenser and a molasses tank. Beside the dairy is the feedpad and a five-bay round barn, and near the four-bedroom home is a four-bay implement shed.
The farm has a deadline sale date of March 19. For more details on the farm, contact Hall on 09 438 8667 or 027 606 7093 or Malcolm Downing on 027 272 3631.
