Blarney farm may sell for €1.6m
And in a turn-up for the books, the 176-acre, residential farm sale at The Laurels, Dawstown, Blarney, will be sold at the spanking new mart at Corrin, says selling agent, Eamonn O’Brien.
This was at the specific request of the property’s owner, Leslie Appleby, who eschewed a hotel in favour of the place where he’s sold cattle for generations.
And isn’t Corrin Mart as good as any hotel, with a list of fine events notched up already for the multi-purpose venue near Fermoy?
There will be a big crowd expected there on Wednesday, August 20, a date which allows plenty of time for potential bidders to get their respective affairs in order, as getting the wherewithal to pay for a farm of this size involves a campaign, rather than a simple outing with some hand-raising.
A fine, single-block farm, it will be coveted by many, particularly as a cohort of horse-racing afficionados will already have walked its fields over the years and remarked on the quality of the pastures.
The farm could kindly be described as old-fashioned, in that it’s been farmed well, but with respect and the ground is rich and fertile, says Eamonn O’Brien.
With the farmhouse and yard at the centre of the block, it’s an ideal set up for a dairy farmer, he says, and would allow an intensive, one-man operation.
Farmed as a drystock operation for years, and before that a mixed farm with cattle, sheep and pigs, the land is in good heart, but has some areas in need of attention.
Approximately 30 acres will need to be drained or reseeded, suggests O’Brien, and he has factored that into the overall pre-auction guide price.
A figure in the region of €1.6m has been mooted, an average of €9,000 per acre, which is below the €10k-plus often suggested for land of this quality.
“We’re going to auction but with two balances in mind, firstly to sell, and purchase-wise, not to be exorbitant, but to be realistic.
“It’s an opportunity for the next generation, be they strangers or neighbours, to take a living from it,” says a philosophical Eamonn O’Brien.
The Applebys, Liz and Leslie, took their time making the decision to sell, he says, and with three sons as academics, none were interested in farming (you can be born into a farm, or be born a farmer, says O’Brien).
Now the decision has been made, and the entire property is there to tempt expanding or young farmers in this most intensive dairying area.
The farm yard is geared toward drystock and comes with a four-span hayshed and lean-tos, but a new operator could set up a very efficient dairying system.
Either way, the purchase and upgrade of the land will be significant, but then, the quality and location of the ground would repay the investment, says O’Brien
The land slopes gently and is free-draining with a stream on one boundary and over a mile of road frontage.
Situated outside the Green Belt area, there is the potential for site sales down the line, too, if so required, he says, adding that there’s never been a site sold off this farm.
“It’s very easy to work, paddock sizes vary, the gaps are quite wide where the point-to-point was run.
“They went there because of the scale and the perspective, and the good race viewing to be had because of the nature of the lands.
“The farm is currently in grass, but would lend itself to dairying or tillage, because of its size, one person could manage the lot.
“You could have 150 cows and replacements and forage all in one farm.”
In terms of grassland management, it would be more to the organic side than intensive, says O’Brien, and might appeal to someone who’s looking at organic.
The land has been farmed very sympathetically and has lots of character, it’s an old-style farm.
Within a 20-minute drive of Cork city, on good roads, and just off the main Mallow-Cork road, this property is a rare sale for the locality, but also for the region, and there should be a good day out at Corrin in August.
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