The 168 hectare Arawhata farm at Fordell sold under the hammer at the Bayleys Auction in Wanganui on Friday 25th November, 2016.
Bayleys agent Pete Stratton says the attractive farm which featured fertile flats that have been part of a milking platform for a dairy farm, was offered for sale to a room that included seven interested parties.
Co-agent Knud Bukholt says Arawhata, which is located 28km from Wanganui near Fordell, was historically a sheep and beef farm before becoming part of a dairy operation and still has sheep facilities including an all-weather multi-purpose sheep and cattle complex. At one stage it was run in conjunction with a larger sheep and beef hill country station and about 1,000 older ewes were lambed, with all progeny finished. Between 120 and 130 yearling heifers were also brought there to later calve on the easier contour of the country.
A water supply to the lower areas of the farm is via a high pressure system in conjunction with a neighbouring property, with additional water drawn from an artesian bore which supplies a 25,000 litre tank. Numerous dams are scattered across the hills, while fallow deer graze in the 11ha of native bush.
Mr Stratton said the bidding opened at $1.2 million with three parties contesting strongly, before being knocked down to a local sporting identity for $2.04 million. He says this equates to a price of over $12,000 per hectare (just under $5,000 per acre), which is an extremely strong result in the current market, that has been dominated by uncertainty in the Dairy industry. He adds that there is a genuine shortage of farms available at the moment, while the amount of interest is a strong as he has seen for about 10 years.