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Former forestry block converted to cattle farm up for sale
A substantial dairy grazing property owned by Wairakei Pastoral Limited, a large corporate farming enterprise, has been placed on the market for sale.
The Taupo property consists of four individually-titled landholdings, ranging in size from 93 hectares to 275 hectares – which are being marketed for sale individually, in any combination, or as an entire 675 hectare farm.
It sits within the Wairakei Estate (25,723 hectare) precinct which contains some 18 dairy units that Pamu, formerly Landcorp, have been operating.
The properties for sale are accessed via Tram Road, which is a private road accessed from either State Highway 5 (Taupo to Rotorua) or Tukukau Road.
Now surplus to requirements, the Tram Road property is being marketed for sale by tender through Bayleys Rotorua, with tenders closing at 4pm on February 8. Bayleys Rotorua rural salesperson Ben Hickson said Wairakei Pastoral Limited had been converting much of the block from harvested pine plantings to pasture-covered paddocks and hillsides for the past decade with the majority of this land having come out of pines in the past four years.
“Currently running dairy heifers, the land lends itself to all stock types – with strong wintering and soil characteristics. With underlying soil of mainly pumice-based loams, the block’s pasture allows deep grass rooting sustained by free-flowing drainage,” Mr Hickson said.
“Soil fertility has been paramount for the pastures, and with Wairakei Pastoral’s considerable resources the unit has become highly productive in a relatively short period of time through the application of lime, urea and superphosphate. Throughout the conversion, soil from across the farm has been regularly tested to see that it is responding to fertilisation as planned.
Concurrent with this, tree shelter belts have
been established and fenced to provide protection for stock.
These strategic plantings will add to the properties’
aesthetics over time as they mature further in addition to
providing shelter and privacy. As with soil improvement and
pasture management, shelter, protection and shade has always
been high on Wairakei Pastoral’s animal welfare
agenda.”
The farm is serviced by large 15-metre wide
laneways for efficient stock movements, with pasture
separated into paddocks of approximately 2.5 hectares each,
which are all segregated by high quality fencing. Trough
water to all paddocks is sourced from an off farm bore via
an easement to be created.
Mr Hickson said the
majority of the land was mowable making pasture management
and supplement production a less stressful task – with the
best of the land developed and grassed so that a fertiliser
truck or tractor could operate safely.
Like all units
within Wairakei Estate, the Tram Road property has been run
under a nutrient management plan created specifically for
the block’s soil type and topography to support not only
environmental best-practice management, but also to increase
profitability.
Building Infrastructure on the Tram Road
farm consists of: two sets of concrete floor stockyards –
each with races and weighing areas, and water connections
for washdowns. Mr Hickson said that prior to the M Bovis
incursion Wairakei made a choice to destock the property,
the farm had been stocking up to 1600 heifers over winter,
with an additional 1300 calves in the summer.
The former forestry plantation converted into a substantial dry stock grazing station and owned by New Zealand’s largest corporate farming enterprise has been placed on the market for sale.
Bayleys Real Estate
New Zealand
Bayleys is New Zealand's largest full-service real estate company. We offer expertise in the marketing and sale of a wide range of property, including residential real estate, farms and lifestyle blocks, and commercial and industrial property. This includes tourism and business sales such as hotels and motels. We also cover the real estate markets in Fiji and other Pacific Islands.
Bayleys also provides a complete property and facilities service including property management and valuations teams focused on achieving both Owner and Tenant satisfaction.
No other real estate company can match our breadth of coverage across all market sectors throughout New Zealand.
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