‘Okirae’ placed on the market after four generations

Media Release
17.10.2012

‘Okirae’ placed on the market after four generations of ownership

A 586 hectare property with a farming heritage stretching back to the early 1900s has been placed on the market for sale.

The then 6,500 hectare ‘Okirae’ was purchased by pioneer James Campion, and has been subsequently farmed by four generations of his family. It is currently jointly owned by James Campion’s great grandson, and a business partner.

Over the past century ongoing improvements have been carried out to increase Okirae’s carrying capacity, production, and profitability.

These improvements include the addition of a dairy platform and run off, increasing the size of the dairy platform to extend milking capacity from 240 cows to 460 cows.

Located in the Rangitikei district, the farm also offers the versatility of multiple income steams, with the dairy unit integrated with a sheep and beef grazing operation.

Okirae has been placed on the market for sale by tender, and is being marketed by Bayleys Coast to Coast Ltd director Pete Stratton, and Bayleys Wanganui salesperson Knud Bukholt.

Mr Stratton said Okirae – located 15km from Fordell, 30km north east of Wanganui, and 77km north west of Palmerston North – provides a unique opportunity to purchase one of a very few fully integrated dairy/sheep and beef farms operating in New Zealand.

“To have an integrated dairy, sheep and beef operation with a functional layout on such a significant scale with such an extensive array of supporting farm buildings available to the market is rare,” he said.

“The size, and flat to undulating contour of the land is ideally suited to a range of farming enterprises. The 158 hectare dairy platform is supported by the balance of the property, which services all the dry stock needs, as well as accommodating a productive sheep and beef grazing operation.

“This sale is likely to draw considerable attention, both from existing farmers looking for a step up, but also from groups of farmers who are seeking economies of scale from multiple income streams.”

Okirae comprises 528 hectares of freehold land, with an additional 93 hectares of leasehold land. The milking platform is a total of 158 hectares, with the capacity to take in a greater area, and includes a 44 bail rotary cowshed with inline feeding system.

A total of 164,003 kilograms of milk solids were produced over the 2011/2012 season, which equates to 1006 kilograms of milk solid per hectare.

Okirae currently winters on farm 460 New Zealand dairy cows, 96 dairy replacements plus 1286 sheep, 146 Angus cross breeding cows, and 192 other cattle.

The dairy platform and run-off is of a predominantly flat to easy contour, dominated by
Karapoti sandy loam, an extremely versatile soil, with large areas of Kiwitea silt loam, while the balance of the block is mainly easy to medium undulating hill country with silt loam hill soils ideally suited for dairy support and cattle grazing.

The property contains a mixture of conventional and electric fencing, dividing the dairy platform into 34 main paddocks. There are an additional 11 paddocks within the dairy support/sheep/beef portion of the main block and another nine paddocks in the run-off, all subdivided with good quality conventional fences. Water is supplied to stock via four artesian bores by a network of troughs.

Okirae comes with a full range of farm buildings and facilities including a large extended yard/feed pad area, a 40 tonne silo with crusher, a calf rearing complex, cattle yards, a four stand woolshed with covered yards, and various other sheds.

An additional four dwellings on the property provide accommodation to support the workers, including the owners’ house, a two-storied manager’s homestead, a four bedroom home and a three bedroom cottage.

Okirae is located within the Rangitikei District, with the flat 34 hectare run off located five kilometres away on Mangamahu Road in the Wanganui District.

The properties surrounding Okirae mostly consist of larger sheep and beef breeding/fattening farms, forestry enterprises and a scattering of smaller ‘rural lifestyle’ sized blocks.

Okirae supplies the Open Country Dairy plant in Wanganui, while the closest Fonterra factories are at Hawera, 119km north west and Pahiatua, 120km south east of the property.

Tenders close for Okirae on November 29 at the Bayleys Wanganui office in Victoria Avenue.

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