Great excitement at sale of 70-acre grassland farm

There was great excitement at the sale of some prime farmland at Carrignavar, Co Cork, recently when two young farmers went head to head for the 70-acre grassland farm at Ballybrack, just outside Cork city and in a very intensive dairying area.

The land opened at €700,000 in front of a full house and the actual acreage was clarified at 70 acres before matters proceeded, and they got off to a flying start.

Bids went up immediately in €20,000s, until the farm reached €1,050,000 at which stage it went on the market, says Michael Barry of Dick Barry and Sons Auctioneers, Fermoy: “We went on the market at that stage and two more bids of €1.16m and €1.17m put the land at over €15,000 an acre — and the purchaser was an adjoining farmer — on the boundary ditch.

“That’s what you want for an auction — two customers — the other bidder was another local dairy farmer.”

The underbidder was represented by auctioneer Micheal McKenna, continues Barry, who was almost surprised himself by the swiftness — and sureness of the auction. “It’s a very nice bit of land, well laid out and the purchaser was leasing the property already. It was great to see a result of over €15,000 an acre, which is an exceptional price — it just goes to show what happens when you have the right ingredients.”

The agent hadn’t been too far out either in his guide price even if his parameters were rather wide at €12,000 to €15,000 per acre — however, the final per acre price of €15,285 is excellent and an indication of the strong appetite for good dairy land there is out there — when the right farm comes up.

Demand in this location for conacre was also very strong, with auctioneer Liam Mullins saying that land in the Carrignavar area made as much as €350 an acre earlier this year and strong prices are also reported in other heavy dairying areas close to Cork city.

And the upside of the sale for potential vendors and auctioneers is that there is a serious buyer, with over a million to spend on good land on the loose. With the free milk market (after quotas go) hoving into view, maybe it’s time to sell? Well, that’s the question begged by this auction, Michael Barry points out.