Prior to the opening of the M8 motorway, anybody heading south from Dublin will be more than familiar with the slip road to Abbeyleix. Once notorious for realms of traffic, this particular stretch has become a lot more pleasurable to drive on, as I realised last week while on my way to view a 131-acre residential farm situated in Colt, Ballyroan, Co Laois.

Brand new to the market, this farm has the cream of locations. Just three miles from Abbeyleix, the M7 (Limerick) and the M8 (Cork) motorway, and only four miles from Portlaoise, the property is within easy access of a lot of towns and many of the surrounding counties. In the same family for generations, the property is deeply rooted across a range of enterprises. Over the years, it has been the nurturing ground for tillage crops, the production ground for a milking herd and the grazing ground for a suckler herd.

During the 1950s and 1960s, the land was regularly ploughed by horses to grow barley.

Then, in 1981 a milking parlour was built and soon up to 75 cows were passing through for milking. Following this, the owners exited dairying in 2004 and subsequently got into sucklers, an enterprise which continues today.

The farm itself is split by a country road (the Raheen road), with the house and yard on 105 acres, situated directly across from the remaining 26 acres. Apart from its super location, the property features a tremendous amount of road frontage (over two miles), including direct frontage onto the main Abbeyleix road.

When I was there last week, the contractor was whizzing up and down the fields getting the fertilizer out, while the yearling bulls were lapping up some nice, leafy grass. The farm itself is generally laid out in big grass divisions, which have been rotationally reseeded over the past 10 to 15 years. As the owner will tell you himself, it’s clear the land closest to the yard is getting the dung and slurry as it’s currently harbouring a lovely sward of grass.

The grass furthest from the yard is really only beginning to take off now. This section is home to a seven-acre mature plantation, which is unusually almost circular in shape.

The house

With views across its own land, the two-storey residence hasn’t been lived in for over 12 years and is in need of extensive refurbishment. Accommodation includes two reception rooms, store room, two bedrooms and a bathroom.

In the yard, farm buildings are traditional. These include a disused 12-unit milking parlour, with a dairy and workshop under one roof. There are also three round-roof sheds spanning 80 feet wide that contain 112 cubicle spaces as well as loose-bedded housing.

These round-roof sheds lie directly opposite three silage slabs, allowing a self-feeding arrangement.

There is also a fourth silage slab, bull pens, a dungstead, a sacrifice paddock, cattle crush and a range of stone outbuildings. Water to the yard and land is supplied from a private well.

Expected to attract widespread interest, selling agent Joe Coogan, Castlecomer will offer the farm in one or three lots, including 42 acres which have frontage onto the main Abbeyleix road and the Raheen road. The house and yard on circa 63 acres (this includes seven acres of forestry) and 26 acres located across the road.

Each lot has excellent road frontage. The property is scheduled to go under the hammer on 15 May at the selling agent’s auction room in Ballycomey House, Castlecomer, at 3pm. The guide is €10,000/acre or €1.31m. It’s understood the owner is retaining 12 acres – six acres around his own house and six acres across the road. However, he will give the new purchaser the option to lease the 12 acres on a five-year lease, if desired. With a bit of tweaking here and there in terms of fencing, reseeding and the installation of the odd drain, Colt is a farm with tremendous potential.

As evident from its past, the land is suitable for any enterprise and the attractive lots will certainly make it more appealing to local farmers and to those further afield. Location is definitely going to be a key driver.