Prime midlands holding guided at €1.2m
LAST year’s land market was characterised by the sale of larger farms.
This year is kicking off in a similar vein with the launch of a 220ac farm in Waterford. In the second big farm transaction of the year, Mullingar auctioneer Eddie King is handling the sale of a 177ac holding with substantial sheds at Aghamore near Kinnegad in Westmeath.
The property, which is part of the extensive agricultural estate of the late Michael Scally, is on the private treaty market as an executor sale with a guide price of €1.2m.
According to Mr King, there is an offer of €975,000 in hand.
Located 3km from Kinnegad and 50km from Dublin, the holding is at the end of a 2.5km cul-de-sac, a road mainly maintained by the council, onto which the farm has over 275m of frontage.
Currently in grass and described as good grazing ground with arable potential, the place is all in one block and laid out in 13 fields. An endless supply of water comes from the Kinnegad River, a tributary of the Boyne, cleaned regularly to avoid flooding.
The fencing is a combination of hedgerow and modern fencing made up of post and rail, barbed wire and sheep wire. Up to 50pc of the fencing was renewed in the recent past.
While one would expect, in the present climate, that the main interest would come from the dairy sector, Mr King says tillage farmers are showing the keenest interest.
“The land is made up of sandy soil, ideal for tillage and was ploughed about two decades ago,” he said.
There is clearly a local memory of this. The yard is made up of an extensive range of dated but substantial farm buildings, built in 1980.
With accommodation for up to 200 cattle, the main shed is a large A-framed construction with single slats, a central feeding passage and lie-back areas.
The facilities also include two silage pits along with a cattle-gathering pen and a cattle crush.
There is also a two-bay hayshed with a sheep dipping tank.
The yard could do with some tidying and modernisation but is nevertheless a strong basis for a good farming operation.
While set quite a distance from the main road, Mr King believes there is a real opportunity to turn the farm into a residential holding.
He hopes the deal can be concluded “as soon as possible”.