With dairy earnings now accounting for 50pc of all farm incomes, any parcel of land that can facilitate the production of the white, liquid gold will draw plenty customers for the foreseeable future. Distance and county boundaries are no barrier to the expansive milker.
A 94ac dairy farm at Ballintue, Ballynacargy, Co Westmeath coming to auction next week is expected to bring customers from across north Leinster and beyond.
The holding will be offered for sale at a combined live and in-person auction with a guide of between €750,000 and €800,000.
Located 2km from Ballinacargy, 16km from Mullingar and 20km from Ballymahon, the farm is accessed via a space shared with the Royal Canal.
The farm at Ballintue, Ballinacargy is in two blocks of 31ac with the sheds and 65ac of land.
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The farm at Ballintue, Ballinacargy is in two blocks of 31ac with the sheds and 65ac of land.
It comes with a well-equipped farmyard and is laid out in two separate divisions with extensive road frontage and frontage onto the aforementioned canal.
The livestock accommodation includes a three-column slatted shed with space for 32 adult cattle. There is also a three-column, round roof shed, a four-column lean-to, a five-column lean-to along with an adjoining two-column round roof shed accommodating 56 cubicles.
Other space include a calving area, a calf shed and a dry bedded area with a central feeding passage.
The dairy infrastructure is built around a six-unit herringbone milking parlour in need of servicing and slight reconditioning. Above the parlour is a lofted feed storage area with feed delivered to the stalls by a manual release system.
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Adjacent to the buildings is a holding yard and cattle pen while other facilities include a silage pit, a 30mx11m silage slab and a camera system for calving and checking on livestock.
According to auctioneer Padraic Murtagh of James L Murtagh auctioneers, the prime limestone lands are renowned for their fattening capacity.
The farm has extensive road frontage to a road parallel to the Royal Canal
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The farm has extensive road frontage to a road parallel to the Royal Canal
Describing them as lands of excellent quality, they are all in permanent pasture with no waste whatsoever.
The divisions are well-sheltered and fenced, have good road frontage with piped water running to each one. Overall the lands are serviced by a hardcore roadway while the availability of an abundance of gravel, stone and sand on site will facilitate the repair and further development of roads.
At auction, the holding will be offered in lots with the first comprised of c.31 ac, including the milking yard and cattle accommodation. The second is made up of c.63ac of grassland while the entire 94ac will also be offered.
It is important to note that a letting agreement for grazing currently in place is due to expire on December 1, 2021. According to the auctioneer, this date can coincide with the closing of the sale.
