Jerome Pitt from For Farms described it as an easy, flat farm in a good location just 2km from Woodville, an area that benefits from a reliable summer rainfall because of the close proximity of the Ruahine Ranges.
“Last year was a tester year with the drought and it still looked reasonable in this area,” he said.
In recent years the farm has had a major facelift, so now sports a near-new dairy, yard and effluent system. The 2008 dairy is a 30-aside herringbone that has been reduced to 24-aside for a one-person operation, but the sale includes the extra six sets.
Dairymaster plant and an energy-saver vacuum pump are fitted in the dairy, along with a compressed air-operated drafting gate and an in-dairy feeding system.
Leading to the dairy is a well-formed new central race from the 50 paddocks that have been given capital fertiliser applications to increase fertility.
A new water pump and system uses a 32mm line around the entire farm, with 20mm and 25mm pipe to the troughs. The main block of 70ha is used as the milking platform, with the other 13ha block used for two cuts of silage and sometimes a third cut, before being shut up for wintering 80-100 cows, with the remainder of the herd grazed elsewhere.
A good, basic herd that has just natural mating for ease of management begins calving on August 1 and even in last year’s drought, continued through to the first week of June. It’s assisted with about 150 tonnes of feed through the in-dairy feeding system, made up of a palm kernel mix.
“It’s a simple system for a manager to run, or for a sharemilker who wants to farm by themselves without staff. And it’s a lot easier to get into a farm at this price.”
For more information on the farm, contact Pitt on 06 374 4107 or 027 242 2199.
