Mega dairy unit’s £5m price tag

With a price tag of over £5 million, Ardgarth farm on the north side of Dundee is possibly the largest ever dairy farm to come onto the market in Scotland.

The 1,246 acre unit which has had millions of pounds invested in it over the past five years has been advertised by estate agents Galbraiths, whose Duncan Barrie described the farm which lies on the Perth/ Angus border as an “exciting and rare opportunity to acquire a substantial dairy unit”.

Up until five years ago, Ardgarth was originally three farms – Ardgarth, Balshando and Ledyett. They were bought by the Howard family who have farming interests in England. The Howards’ plan in amalgamating the three farms was to develop a New Zealand type lowcost dairy unit.

The system was based on low-cost summer milk production with minimal over-wintering costs. Not long after it came into production in 2015 the then farm manager admitted the system was “not without its challenges” in the harsher Scottish climate.

The sale particulars show the farm equipped with a dairy complex including a 54-cow rotary parlour, cubicle housing and bulk outdoor feed passage for 660 cows, modern calf and young stock sheds along with a large slurry lagoon and three silage clamps. Five kilometres of tracks including some with cow steps have been created around the farm.

The 600 cows have been provisionally entered for sale next month at Carlisle but Barrie said any buyer could purchase the whole unit as a going concern.

He also pointed to its potential in reverting to arable cropping, the land having previously grown cereals, potatoes and vegetables.