780 Te Maire Road, Te Kopuru, Kaipara

Entry level coastal dairy unit

Situated on Northland's west coast is this 171 hectare (more or less) dairy unit, home to 300 Friesian dairy cows. This farm is part of a larger dairy investment for the vendors who now want to downsize. Given the coastal location and soil types (Red Hill Loam and Pinaki Sand) the farm calves in June but could easily be converted to autumn calving. A consistent performer with a three-year average production of 112,000kgs of milk solids.

The farm's infrastructure includes a 25-aside herringbone cow shed, feed pad, 5-bay implement shed, 3-bay calf shed, and a large set of cattle yards positioned at the roadside for convenience. Always important, the farm water comes from the Te Marie and Bradley water schemes. The Bradley scheme also feeds the three-bedroom farmhouse.

The effluent is a three-pond system and has the resources to irrigate some 20 hectares through a pod system. The farm is essentially a pasture-based system with some PKE, maize, and turnips (grown on the property). Subdivided into 53 paddocks with multi-wire electric fencing, the race system has a limestone base and the contour is gentle-to-rolling with some stepper sidelings.

The farmhouse is a comfortable three-bedroom, one-bathroom home with a sleepout. The farm currently is run by a contract milker so also presents as an investment into dairying.

With the recent Kaipara Water project (https://www.taitokerauwater.com/kaipara) well under construction, there is an opportunity for horticulture in the future given the quality soil types and titles.