Otorohanga Property Brings Land Use Options

An expansive multi-titled dry stock property only an hour from Hamilton offering diversified land use options is on the market for the first time in 80 years this spring.

The 782ha property located on Okupata Road near Oparau in the Otorohanga district comprises a mix of easy contoured hill country at the front of the farm, with younger steeper country to the rear, all supported by a high standard of farm infrastructure and improvements.

Bayleys Waikato salesperson Scott Macdonald said the property’s multiple titles, access, location and mix of land type provide an ideal opportunity for an intending owner to completely re-think their approach to land use, optimising all these aspects from different income streams.

“The options for this property could include considering forestry on parts of it, whether for wood lot or carbon. There are six titles varying in size from 4ha to 474ha in the main block area, and very real potential to partition part of the farm into forestry, and focusing upon the easier country to intensify your cattle and sheep operations.”

Consisting of Maeroa ash soil, the property wintered 1100 ewes this year, 330 hoggets and 230 breeding cows. Younger cattle included 440 rising one and two-year-old bulls, and 100 rising one and two-year-old heifers.

The typically summer safe country works on receiving a healthy average of 1800mm a year over the past 15 years, and harvested supplement will comfortably include from 170-270 round silage bales a year.

“The property has been developed and farmed traditionally over the years, supporting the Okupata Hereford stud which is known to the many dairy farmers who purchase bulls from it every year,” says Macdonald.

Careful reinvestment back into the property means it offers buyers a high standard of buildings, improvements and supporting infrastructure.

Subdivision is well enforced with robust internal 7-8 wire conventional and two wire electric fences, with boundary consisting of battened 8 wire fencing.

Water reticulation is at an equally high standard with a large dam and hydraulic water ram pumping to a high storage tank for gravity feeding further storage tanks, supplying numerous troughs via 40mm and 50mm main lines.

Recent improvements include the stockyards built in 2013 with 250 cow capacity. There are satellite yards, a flood lit loading area and a covered Te Pari cattle crush with load bars.

“The farm is very well set up for handling cattle, which have gradually built up over the past few years.”

Residences on the farm set a high standard, with a two-year-old main four-bedroom home offering all modern living options, including double glazing, double garage and 50,000 litres of water storage.

The farm also features a 1900s homestead with eight bedrooms and office, generating useful farm tourism income over the past seven years.

Macdonald says the Oparau property offers some exciting land use combinations for buyers who see a property offering the potential to generate cash through traditional livestock finishing, and also offer longer term inter-generational forestry returns in a very positive carbon and forestry market.

The property is to be sold by tender, closing 4pm November 25.

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