67-acre farm in North Kerry seeks €11k/acre

Holding of excellent quality grassland coupled with the Kerry Co-op 'shares effect' means guide price could be a conservative estimate

The outbuildings on the 67-acre farm at Gurteenacloona, Ballylongford.

Grassland in North Kerry is always sought after and always creates a buzz whenever it comes on the market. In this part of the world, the combination of a vibrant dairying scene coupled with the lurking presence of the Kerry Co-op shares mean any decent-sized block of good-quality land will generally attract a good price.

The Kerry Co-op shares effect stems from the presence of spin-off dividends that were spread amongst the Kerry agricultural community when the former co-operative made the inevitable transition into the public listed company Kerry Foods. 

The tendency since then has been that this latent wealth comes into play every time a sizeable quality holding comes up for sale.

The latest offering from Abbeyfeale-based agents Sherry Fitzgerald Stack would appear to fit the bill. 

It’s a 67-acre farm of excellent quality grassland in the townland of Gurteenacloona, 5km southeast of the village of Ballylongford. Tarbert is 6km to the north and Listowel is 12km to the south.

“It’s in a good location,” said selling agent Maurice Stack. “It’s only just off the main Limerick-Tralee-Listowel road (N20).”

Farm is located 5km southeast of the village of Ballylongford. Tarbert is 6km to the north and Listowel is 12km to the south.

There are no entitlements going with the property but, as Mr Stack points out, the existence or not of entitlements has less and less bearing on the prices achieved by farms.

“I’m finding that very often when entitlements are coming with a farm, a lot of the young farmers don’t want them because they want to get them out of the national reserve.

“The public road runs through the land so there’s a lot of road frontage and there is an internal road system as well. It’s a nice, easy to work block of land, Mr Stack said.

“There’s a good slatted unit there and a milking parlour that hasn’t been used for a number of years... there’s a six-bay slatted unit there and a cubicle house.”

The price guide of €11,000 per acre seems like a very reasonable expectation. In times of European conflict, one needs to temper one’s expectations but if the famous Kerry shares come into play, it could prove to be a conservative estimate.