"The topography of Rolling Downs Station is exceptionally good; the whole property contains more than 800ha of paddocks spreadable by a fertiliser truck," says Rasmussen.
Stock records from June this year show the station wintered 12,129 sheep, and 506 cows and steers.
Most of the sheep flock are Romney bred, with early lambing ewes producing $800 lambs to the nearby meat processing plant at 17.1kg carcass weight average before Christmas 2017.
The main Ngapaeruru Rd block consists of a 1,172ha farm, next door to 566ha portion of the station which is known as the Tunakore block.
About 250ha has been sown in new pastures and have a solid history of fertiliser application, with the paddocks accessed by well-maintained laneways and tracks coming off an all-weather central road. There is 8.5 ha of young pinus radiata. The 5.5km of internal roading provide good vehicle access and stock movement.
Farm building Infrastructure on the Ngapaeruru Rd block, includes:
● Two four-stand woolsheds with night pen capable of holding up to 1200 sheep each, with four sets of cattle yards in total
●A four-bay implement shed/workshop with concrete flooring
●A near-new three-bay implement shed and workshop
●A 100 tone fertiliser bin located at the top of the farm with adjoining airstrip for loading top-dressing aircraft
●A central set of near new covered sheep yards with concrete base and cattle yards at the end of the 5.5 kilometre centre road
Meanwhile, building infrastructure on the Tunakore block, comprises:
●A four-stand woolshed with night pen capable of holding up to 1200 sheep
●A four-bay implement shed/workshop with concrete flooring and
● Cattle yards.
The Tunakore block has a five-bedroom owner/manager's residence.
Ngapaeruru has a four-bedroom owner/manager's house, plus a pair of single-level three-bedroom houses.
Rasmussen says the block also contains 71ha of tended pinus radiata forestry blocks, between 21 and 24 years old.
"Some 250ha of land within this part of the farm have been cropped or where pastures have been renewed in the past four years.
"But there are still large areas though which can be developed further.
"In particular there is scope for improvement on some of the easy contour land on the Tunakore portion of the station," Rasmussen says.
Poplar and willow trees had been planted across the property for shelter and soil erosion control.
Soil types on Rolling Downs Station are a mixture of shale, silt, sandstone and mudstone — allowing for cows to calved with minimal pasture damage. Livestock water came from seven fenced dams feeding into reticulated tanks.
