Well-equipped dairy farms arriving on the market in South Wexford are extremely rare. This makes the recent launch of a 138.5-acre non-residential package situated at Clonsharra, Duncannon a unique proposition for locals in the area. The property, which almost touches the 60km boundary in Duncannon, offers a ready-to-go operation for any young budding dairy farmer or indeed to an existing dairy farmer who might wish to enhance his own enterprise.

Situated off the main Wexford-Duncannon line, the property is laid out in two main blocks, all currently in pasture, consisting of the farmyard on circa 105 acres, which was used as the principle milking block for the spring calving dairy herd down through the years. Gently undulating, this block naturally slopes down to a 4.5 acre nature sanctuary which also serves as a reed bed filtration system for rainwater run-off from the farm. Well supported by a network of internal farm roadways, the 105 acres is laid out in a range of good-sized fields and paddocks, many of which are currently sporting a fine crop of silage. Water is supplied from an on farm well.

The second parcel of circa 33 acres is just a field away down the road and this was used to make silage and to graze followers. Located on the outskirts of Duncannon, this block is laid out in three grass fields and has a nice section of road frontage to accompany it. While predominantly dry land, there is circa 4 acres of poorer quality land.

It’s clear from walking the property last week that the owners placed a strong emphasis on biosecurity. In a bid to maintain the efficient running of their dairy enterprise over the past 35 years, a closed herd status was imposed with strict protocols put in place for any bulls that were bought in. Clonsharra was an active dairy operation up until the end of April before the entire milking herd was sold.

Farm buildings

There are a wide range of buildings in place with cubicle accommodation for 110 cows present in one shed, equipped with automatic scrapers. There is a further 30 cubicles, along with slatted accommodation located under a six span apex roof shed used predominantly for weanlings and breeding heifers. Another relatively new six span apex roof shed measuring 50ft by 80ft is currently used for straw storage but has the potential for conversion to provide more cubicle spaces. Other buildings include a grain store, straw shed and a well-designed calf shed, which provides accommodation for 50 calves at any one time while also having access to pasture helping to reduce the disease burden in the shed.

The milking parlour is kitted out with an 18-unit Dairymaster milking machine fitted with automatic cluster removers and flush wash system. The milking machine along with a Dairymaster drafting system were installed from new only two years ago. Apart from slatted slurry storage, there is also a lagoon on the farm with a capacity for 600,000 gallons of slurry.

Early grass

An early farm by nature, Clonsharra is well suited to grazing in the shoulders of the year with cows out from January through to December.

From touring the farm last week, it is evident that grassland management has been a priority for the owners with 14.5 tonnes of grass grown per hectare in 2016.

Correct soil fertility has been instrumental to achieving this with regular soil tests to ensure correct phosphorus, potassium and pH levels are maintained.

Although non-residential, there is ample space for the construction of a house subject to the appropriate planning with a total of 1.3kms of road frontage. For sale by private treaty through Anne Carton of PN O’Gorman Auctioneers, New Ross, the property is being offered in its entirety or in a range of lots and is guided in the region of €12,000/acre or in excess of €1.6 million. Apart from dairying, Clonsharra might also suit a suckler or drystock enterprise given the extensive range of farm buildings and the high quality of the land.