{"id":13418,"date":"2015-01-06T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-01-05T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.farmersweekly.co.nz\/first-farm-family-appeal\/"},"modified":"2015-01-06T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2015-01-05T11:00:00","slug":"first-farm-family-appeal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.farmersweekly.co.nz\/news\/first-farm-family-appeal\/","title":{"rendered":"First farm, family appeal"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> < 1<\/span> minute<\/span><\/span>

Twenty minutes west of Kaitaia beside the Herekino Harbour, the farm milked 125 cows last season for 36,170kg milksolids as well as rearing 120 calves out of the vat.<\/p>\n

To date, the farm's production has been from 70ha, but Gerard Ponsonby from LJ Hooker in Kaitaia said potential existed to milk cows from 85ha and also calve the herd a little earlier by using about 20ha of sand country. Another 5ha of the farm is planted in mature pine forest ready for harvest.<\/p>\n

A small amount of hay is sourced locally and along with a little palm kernel were the only inputs on the farm, while a gravity-fed water system also kept costs low.<\/p>\n

Though low-cost, it also left room for a new operator to make their mark on the farm and production, Ponsonby said.<\/p>\n

"A younger person will squeeze considerable improvement out of it."<\/p>\n

Cows are milked through a 12-aside herringbone dairy with a new refrigeration unit, vat stand and vat auto washer.<\/p>\n

Good support buildings cover all the necessary requirements while a tidy three-bedroom home has a sunroom and office.<\/p>\n

"It's a well-presented farm with enormous family appeal of harbour and estuary recreation. If someone is into catching a fish or going for a hunt in a quiet location, they'll love it."<\/p>\n

The farm can be viewed at www.ljhooker.co.nz<\/a>. For further information contact Ponsonby on 09 408 1241 or 0274 544 808.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After 25 years sharemilking on a 125 hectare Kaitaia farm, both the sharemilker and farm owner have decided it’s time to retire, paving the way for a first-farm buyer to pour their energy into the farm.\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":13419,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t