A model farm in the Model County

LAND FOR SALE

Shirley Busteed

sbusteed@farmersjournal.ie

Unlike the north of the county, land in the Killane/Caim/Kiltealy region of Co Wexford just doesn’t come to the market, which should make the forthcoming sale of a circa 63-acre residential farm with an address at Model Farm, Killanne, Enniscorthy, an interesting proposition.

Described by selling agent David Quinn, Carnew and Gorey, as a “smashing place”, the property was a renowned dairy farm in the area and was used as a model holding to stage farm walks down through the years. While used in later years to accommodate a suckler enterprise, the paddock grazing system and the disused milking parlour remain intact, making it a fairly straightforward package for conversion back to dairying for a young enthusiastic farmer.

Views of the mountains

With the fabulous Blackstairs Mountains as a backdrop, the property comes to the market with a three-bedroom residence, a farmyard, over a mile of dual road frontage and 63 acres of top-quality land. It has been rented out to a dairy farmer in recent years who, reportedly, has maintained the land to a very high standard.

Guided at €10,000/acre, it is expected the property will generate a good level of local interest particularly, given that it will be offered in lots ranging from circa 39 acres to 7.5 acres in size.

Split by the road, the house and yard stand on circa 55.5 acres while the remaining circa 7.5 acres sits directly across the road. Currently in grass, the 55 acres is laid out in six fields that are sub-divided into paddocks and accessed from a number of internal farm roadways.

Described as “super, level, free-draining land”, the paddocks are serviced by piped water and are well fenced. The seven acres across the road is laid out in a single field.

Set back 100 metres from the road, the house is a traditional stone-built cottage-style residence with some single-storey extensions added over the years. Extending to circa 1,500 square feet, the accommodation includes three reception rooms, kitchen, three bedrooms, bathroom and a store room. The heating is oil-fired. It is approached by its own hardcore driveway (separate to the farmyard) and has mature lawns and gardens to the front with a vegetable garden and wooded area to the side.

Dairy operation

Farm buildings are reminiscent of a former dairy operation and include two slatted cubicle sheds, a four-bay round roof shed with adjoining lean-tos, a disused dairy and milking parlour, open silage slab, dungstead, and a number of other loose-bedded and storage sheds. The property is presented for sale in excellent condition, described as “one of the finest to arrive on the market in the Killanne area for some time”.

Scheduled to be auctioned on 30 September in the Riverside Park Hotel, Enniscorthy, at 3pm, the property will be offered in its entirety or in three separate lots that include the house and yard on circa 39 acres, a 16.4-acre block and the 7.5 acres across the road.