Take your pick in Northland

Dairy farms ranging from 108ha to 632ha and support blocks of 83ha to 614ha form the basis for the operation which milks 4000 cows for a forecast production this season in excess of 1.2 million kilograms of milksolids (MS).
Merv and Cara Pinny manage the group, with Merv overseeing the day-to-day farming operations and Cara responsible for the financial administration and support functions of the business which has about 36 employees. It also contracts a team of five staff who work across the properties applying fertiliser, sowing and harvesting crops, carrying out maintenance and undertaking various other tasks.
The pair have a long history of developing dairy property in Northland and scaled the operation back several years ago to consolidate it to their “Kaikohe Hub” in the picturesque Mangakahia Valley south of Kaikohe.
All the properties either adjoin or are within a few hundred metres of each other, though each of the seven dairy farms is capable of being operated independently.
“I decided pretty early on that farms that are spread out are pretty hard to run,” Merv explains. “It’s a lot more practical and you can use your resources a lot more if your farms are together. So we sold off farms further away which took so much time travelling and often unproductive time.”
They’ve been developing their Kaikohe Hub operation since 2006; splitting a couple of the larger farms into smaller operations that work more efficiently and converting beef farms to dairying. By splitting the larger farms, Merv says they still achieved the same production with the reduced size and in one instance created another dairy farm out of it.
Three beef farms on Picadilly Rd were converted to dairying and Merv says there’s still plenty of scope on it for further development.
“It’s probably got more land that could be bought into the platform and my thought is it should be split as well and someone could build another shed there. That’s worked for us in the past and adds value.”
Across the road, they bought an existing dairy farm and added a couple of neighbouring properties that have had substantial development to create an efficient, manageable unit.
“All the conversion work we did ourselves and there’s a lot you learn about a property that way. And the more you do, the better you get.”
A good team has been crucial to the operation. Merv says they have spent a lot of time working on the culture within the group and are proud of the results.
“We think we’ve got a really good team there and I think if the right person comes along, they’d be willing to stay on. I’d like to make sure the farm changes hands smoothly because it’s a real challenge for a big operation to have good staff and have the right type of culture.”
About two-and-a-half years ago the Pinny Group instigated a comprehensive business improvement plan which included an advisory board to oversee the strategic direction of the business. The board included a business advisor and specialist farm advisor who worked closely with Merv and Cara. It also included a capital expenditure programme to ensure the properties were operating efficiently and had all requisite infrastructure.
In the season following the implementation of the plan, production improved 10% despite drought conditions and the following season lifted another 13%.
The seven dairy farms include a 195ha block of land with 120ha as milking platform that milked 290 cows last season for 77,540kg MS. The remaining 75ha is used as grazing and support land with an adjacent support property.
It has a 20-aside herringbone dairy, a three-bedroom house and a range of farm buildings. This farm has a low stocking rate and a previous peak production of about 100,000kg MS, so has scope for increased productivity.
The second dairy farm is 108ha with a milking platform of 103ha and milked 270 cows last year for 80,528kg MS. It has a 21-aside herringbone dairy, a two-bedroom house, two single-bedroom cottages and various farm buildings. It has flat to easy-rolling contour and an application for a resource consent to irrigate 66ha.
Next is a 399ha farm with a 310ha milking platform that milked 700 cows last season for 223,267kg MS through a 50-bail rotary dairy. A feedpad holds up to 400 cows and two 150-tonne concrete feed bunkers cater for it. This farm has a four-bedroom house and various farm buildings.
On Picadilly Rd is a 399ha farm with a milking platform of 300ha that milked 650 cows last season for 221,000kg MS. It also has a 50-bail rotary dairy and a feedpad for 350 cows, and two four-bedroom houses, a three-bedroom house and a range of farm buildings.
Across the road is a 632ha dairy farm with a milking platform of 425ha, leaving 150ha for grazing and support land. The farm milked 840 cows last year and produced 250,759kg MS through a 72-aside rotary dairy. A feedpad holds 500 cows and the farm has a four-bedroom house, three three-bedroom houses and a range of farm buildings.
The sixth dairy farm has 206ha with a milking platform of 142ha, including about 80ha that are irrigated from an irrigation lake, and produced 111,050kg MS from 350 cows last season. This farm has a 36-aside herringbone dairy, a feedpad, silage bunker and calf-rearing shed.
Number seven dairy farm spreads over 333ha, including a 328ha milking platform, and produced 226,420kg MS from 740 cows last year through a 50-bail rotary dairy. Its feedpad holds 350 cows and has three large concrete silage bunkers beside it. Accommodation is spread between a four-bedroom house, a three-bedroom house and three self-contained flats.
Completing the portfolio are the three dairy support blocks of 83ha, 323ha and 614ha. The properties have a deadline sale closing February 5. To view all the properties visit www.tennzfarms.co.nz and for further information contact Bayleys agents Stewart Ruddell on 027 273 6860 or John Barnett on 021 790 393.