Large goat farm for sale near Te Aroha

One of New Zealand's largest dairy goat farms, Corganix Dairy Goats near Te Aroha, is on the market.

The sale of the 103ha Waikato property, which produced 121,214kg of milk solids last season, encompasses the land, buildings, machinery, about 1000 milking goats and 117,903 Dairy Goat Co-operative (DGC) shares.

"The freehold farm is on mostly flat land and comprises three titles," says Bayleys' sales agent Mike Fraser-Jones, who is selling the property and business by tenders closing at 2pm on Wednesday, November 23.

He says the hub of the operation is a 100-bale rotary milking shed, four large housing sheds and a large implement shed with all the necessary machinery to run a cut-and-carry farming operation.

"This is a well set-up farm with a steady income. It will be of interest to serious investors. DGC is one of New Zealand's leading dairy exporters and has consistently delivered top returns to its shareholders, and payments to suppliers have been about $18 per kilogram of milk solids in recent years.

DGC goat milk is used in infant formula and DGC products are sold in more than 20 countries.

"Because existing shareholders are meeting the current increases in demand, the only way to enter the co-operative in the short to medium term is to buy an existing farm."

The farm infrastructure includes:

• 43 paddocks (28 in the main block and 15 in the secondary block).

• A minimum of 900 milking goats, 260 kid does and 25 kid bucks.

• A dairy shed with De Laval plant and yard with capacity for 550 goats.

• Four housing sheds and three implement sheds.

• Four meal silos, a shavings bunker and two gable barns for hay storage.

• A shallow bore pumping to two 30,000 litre tanks.

• More than 20 pieces of quality machinery, including loaders, tractors and wagons.

Fraser-Jones says the property has a highly efficient layout, geared to minimise both staff and stock movement.

The silos are close to the sheds for ease of loading and feeding and the goats are able to move from the sheds to the milking platforms on concrete. The paddocks are close to the main operation and are easily accessible by the large machinery required in cropping and cutting silage.

Included in the sale are three dwellings and two accommodation units. The main farmhouse is a renovated 1930s weatherboard three-bedroom home, with spacious living areas and modern kitchen with a SMEG wall oven and Miele dishwasher.

The second house is a 120sq m three-bedroom home with double garage that was built in 2006 and the third is a renovated weatherboard three-bedroom home moved onto the farm in 2013.

The farm itself is well situated in the middle of New Zealand's most prosperous dairy farming areas, with three dairy processing plants and three meat processing facilities nearby, including Silver Fern Farms.

The farm is served by the nearby township of Te Aroha while Hamilton CBD is less than an hour's drive away and Morrinsville just 26km away. It also sits against the backdrop of Mt Te Aroha and the expansive Kaimai-Mamaku Forest Park, popular with tourists, trampers and mountain bikers.

"Farming goats provides competitive gross margins compared to other farming operations," says Fraser-Jones.

"Goat milk infant formula accounted for more than 7 per cent of New Zealand infant formula exports last year and significant growth is expected in the years ahead. Demand in markets like China has more than doubled each year."