Well-known dairy farmers David and Ann Moore, are coming full circle on a property they bought in the late 1990s as they put their farm near Midleton in east Cork on the market.
At the time, they had two separate farms the other side of Midleton – one 50ac, the other 80ac of wetter land. They wanted to farm in one block and go into dairy. In the process, they looked at 24 dairy farms but found what they were looking for on the 25th attempt.
David says, “We walked this farm and we knew it was the one so we bought 173ac here in 1998 and paid £588,000 (€710,000 approx) for it. We had no quota of our own so we bought 5,000 gallons and started milking with that and had the sucklers on it too. We definitely spent half a million on milk quotas between buying and leasing over the years.
“It’s a lovely dry farm with sandstone rock underneath. Once it’s dry overhead, it’s dry underneath.”
In 2005, they purchased another 77ac adjoining the farm, bringing the entire to 250ac. Now they are putting 216ac on the market. They are keeping the balance along with their older yard and 80ac which they have on long-term lease as they intend to stay in the dairy sector via the contract rearing route.
There is slatted accommodation for 400 cattle in the yard.
The couple have invested around €1.2m over the last number of years developing a yard on a greenfield site at the centre of the farm. The 40-unit herringbone milking parlour was installed six years ago and the last work was completed on the yard two years ago.
This yard now has slatted accommodation for 400 cattle, a drafting system and a calf shed.
Super cow man
The modern yard includes slatted cattle accommodation a 40-unit milking parlour and a calf house.
The couple have two children. “Our daughter Joanne is nursing and she helps on the farm but she isn’t interested in dairy production,” says David.
“Our son Bryan moved to New Zealand two years ago. He’s married and has children there. So we’re heir-less you could say. We parted on good terms and we’re going to buy some land out there [in New Zealand] as he is share-milking and that will allow him build up equity. He’s a super cow man but he’s at the other side of the world and that’s the reality of it. We said we’d see how we’d get on without him but the time is right to get out now.
“We’ve been farming 80ac regeneratively for the last three years and the rest since last year. To service our debt would mean pushing the farm production cost beyond what is good for soil health.”
Listed with David Keane Property Services, the 216ac non-residential farm at Ballyspillane is 6km northeast of Midleton and is for sale by private treaty.
Ideal opportunity
The 216ac non-residential dairy farm has slatted accommodation for 400 head of cattle.
Regarding the farm, auctioneer, David Keane says: “You don’t get the likes of this farm coming up for sale too often, not in the immediate area anyway, if not in the county.
“It’s an ideal opportunity for someone who might be leasing a farm to purchase a modern dairy unit on a large block of land. It’s an area where there is often land for lease too.
“It’s a unique holding. You can drive it without getting out of your car. All laid out in paddocks, with mains fencer, water and roadways.
“Everything is under control and it’s excellent.”
He is guiding this farm in excess of €20,000/ac.
Well-known dairy farmers David and Ann Moore, are coming full circle on a property they bought in the late 1990s as they put their farm near Midleton in east Cork on the market.
At the time, they had two separate farms the other side of Midleton – one 50ac, the other 80ac of wetter land. They wanted to farm in one block and go into dairy. In the process, they looked at 24 dairy farms but found what they were looking for on the 25th attempt.
David says, “We walked this farm and we knew it was the one so we bought 173ac here in 1998 and paid £588,000 (€710,000 approx) for it. We had no quota of our own so we bought 5,000 gallons and started milking with that and had the sucklers on it too. We definitely spent half a million on milk quotas between buying and leasing over the years.
“It’s a lovely dry farm with sandstone rock underneath. Once it’s dry overhead, it’s dry underneath.”
In 2005, they purchased another 77ac adjoining the farm, bringing the entire to 250ac. Now they are putting 216ac on the market. They are keeping the balance along with their older yard and 80ac which they have on long-term lease as they intend to stay in the dairy sector via the contract rearing route.
There is slatted accommodation for 400 cattle in the yard.
The couple have invested around €1.2m over the last number of years developing a yard on a greenfield site at the centre of the farm. The 40-unit herringbone milking parlour was installed six years ago and the last work was completed on the yard two years ago.
This yard now has slatted accommodation for 400 cattle, a drafting system and a calf shed.
Super cow man
The modern yard includes slatted cattle accommodation a 40-unit milking parlour and a calf house.
The couple have two children. “Our daughter Joanne is nursing and she helps on the farm but she isn’t interested in dairy production,” says David.
“Our son Bryan moved to New Zealand two years ago. He’s married and has children there. So we’re heir-less you could say. We parted on good terms and we’re going to buy some land out there [in New Zealand] as he is share-milking and that will allow him build up equity. He’s a super cow man but he’s at the other side of the world and that’s the reality of it. We said we’d see how we’d get on without him but the time is right to get out now.
“We’ve been farming 80ac regeneratively for the last three years and the rest since last year. To service our debt would mean pushing the farm production cost beyond what is good for soil health.”
Listed with David Keane Property Services, the 216ac non-residential farm at Ballyspillane is 6km northeast of Midleton and is for sale by private treaty.
Ideal opportunity
The 216ac non-residential dairy farm has slatted accommodation for 400 head of cattle.
Regarding the farm, auctioneer, David Keane says: “You don’t get the likes of this farm coming up for sale too often, not in the immediate area anyway, if not in the county.
“It’s an ideal opportunity for someone who might be leasing a farm to purchase a modern dairy unit on a large block of land. It’s an area where there is often land for lease too.
“It’s a unique holding. You can drive it without getting out of your car. All laid out in paddocks, with mains fencer, water and roadways.
“Everything is under control and it’s excellent.”
He is guiding this farm in excess of €20,000/ac.
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