Situated at Lochiel, between Invercargill and Winton, the farm is smack in the middle of Southland’s premier dairy country, which Brett Lucas from Southern Wide Real Estate said was "as good as it gets".
The farm's owner has expanded the farm over the years to 217ha on one side of the road and 100ha on the other, with an underpass connecting them.
Each block has its own dairy, though the 217ha block has the new dairy which is reasonably central to the entire farm. The 60-bail Euro platform with Milphos plant is fully automated including cup removers, drafting and teat spray, as well as a Herd Sense cow management system to measure milk volume, fat, protein and cell count. A "grunty" snap chill system cools the milk quickly.
"It's a quality dairy with every bell and whistle you can think of that goes into a dairy. It's a dairy second to none,” Lucas said.
The second dairy, sitting on the 100ha block, is a 34-aside herringbone with Milphos plant and Protrack. Alongside it is a plastic-covered wintering barn with individual stalls on a concrete floor and a large silage pit beside it for feeding the cows through winter.
"The other key thing for this farm is that the two dairies allow you to split the herd."
Both dairies have new consents for effluent systems, with one constructed last year sporting an eight million litre lined pond and an umbilical system from hose to dribble bar on a tractor. The wintering barn has its own 600,000l effluent pond.
Other farm buildings include a 20m by 40m main shed, calf shed, three haybarns, a woolshed and sundry outbuildings.
Expanding the farm over the years had still resulted in a good shaped property, Lucas said, flowing over flat to very easy land on strong, free-draining soils of high quality. The property is supported by about 120ha of leased land that may be available for lease by negotiation.
Last year the farm wintered 650 mixed-age cows, 320 rising-two-year heifers and 200 rising-one-year heifers, as well as 12 two-year-old bulls. It also winter milked 300 cows, though that contract is now finished. This season it produced about 425,000kg milksolids (MS) and for the 2014-15 season it will milk 980 cows for a budgeted production of 440,000kg MS, as well as carrying 115 rising-one-year heifers and 20 bulls. The stock is available for purchase by negotiation.
Completing the farm are four homes including a four-bedroom brick house, a 1970s three-bedroom brick and roughcast house, a four-bedroom villa and a two-bedroom wooden cottage.
The farm can be viewed at www.southernwide.co.nz. For further information contact Lucas on 03 218 2795 or 0274 351 361.
