Te Miro grazing property heads to auction

After 13 years of considered ownership, it is time for the shareholders of 66 Hopehill Lane to exit the farming business that has been progressively turned around to become a high-performing grazing unit and a finalist in last year’s Ballance Farm Environment Awards.

The 265ha property is located only 20 minutes from Cambridge and is to be auctioned by Bayleys on November 12. 

Shareholder and manager Luke Campion has been farming the property for the entire 13 years he and his other two shareholders have owned it, overseeing significant improvements in that time to it. 

“When we took it on it was pretty run down and really needed some TLC, which we have provided over that time,” he says. The property has had 100ha regrassed and has been re-fenced with full electric fencing throughout and commissioned a major bore water supply point.  

Dairy grazing operation includes kiwifruit diversification

Now run as a dairy grazing block with some finishing cattle, the property also features a relatively new Green kiwifruit development, due for its first harvest this coming autumn. 

“The soil here is quite remarkable, as Maeroa Ash you can pretty much grow anything on it. We saw kiwifruit as an ideal diversification option that is looking good, and set to deliver high earning returns once mature,” says Campion. 

Consented bore supports irrigation and frost protection

The move to kiwifruit included the discovery of a high-volume bore water supply source, now fully consented for supply of 800cum per day through a fully automated irrigation control system. Frost protection systems have also been installed with a Frost Boss diesel powered fan blower. The property’s owners have also earmarked a further 7ha for future orchard development, taking the entire kiwifruit area to a significant orchard footprint. 

Central Waikato location supports grazing use

Bayleys Waikato rural salesperson Dave Kilbride says the property is well located to make the most of its dairy grazing offering, surrounded by dairy farms and in the country’s largest dairying region where grazing central grazing opportunities are getting harder to find. 

“There is an exceptional balance of country and contour across the property, with around 90ha that is mowable for silage, half as class 2-4 land and the remainder as class 5-6, lending itself well to a variety of stock classes.”  

The present operation capitalises on the farm’s “dairy-centric” location, running 700 rising two-year dairy heifers and 150 rising one-year dairy heifers. 

Kilbride said the property lends itself well to a new owner keen to lock in a well-established, cash flow generating farm operation, or a large dairy operator seeking a dry stock block to support their milking platforms. 

Environmental work recognised in regional awards

Alongside the re-established pasture, the current owners have also paid respect to the environment, fencing and protecting 25ha of native bush area. They have also planted 16ha of blue gum rather than opting for pine trees, making continued grazing of that country possible.  

Supplement production off the property has been plentiful in recent years, including 800 silage bales and 250 bales of hay, and a settlement inventory of 300 silage bales and 250 haybales to be left.  

Cropping history on the property includes six hectares of fodder beet planted annually. 

The attention to detail and efforts to protect waterways and bush were recognised last year with the property becoming a regional finalist in the Ballance Farm Environment Awards. 

Farm infrastructure and two dwellings included

The property comes complete with full building infrastructure including yards capable of holding 200 head, a four-bay lockable corrugated iron shed workshop, four-bay implement shed and haybarn only one year old.  

Dwellings are high quality, including the main 1970s homestead house with four bedrooms and two bathrooms, and the second dwelling of robust 1960s construction with three bedrooms. 

Cambridge and Hamilton within easy reach

The Te Miro property brings the best of both worlds, with its proximity to Cambridge only 20 minutes away and Hamilton 35 minutes while also providing outdoor recreation including fallow deer hunting on the farm, and generous sized duckponds for seasonal shooting. 

“It is quite hard to find a property this extensive in the Waikato today that is as central as it is, and in such good order it can be simply purchased and ‘plugged in’ to your existing operations,” says Dave Kilbride. 

66 Hopehill Lane is offered for sale by way of auction, on November 12.  Interested parties can contact Dave Kilbride at Bayleys on +64 27 436 7082.