One of the finest dairy farms in the country has come up for sale. It’s Brownstown Estate on 564ac at Kentstown, Co Meath. The property is on offer from Savills by private treaty with a guide price of €9m.

This is a full package. The big spread of land is all in one unit and in great condition. There is an excellent yard with a modern rotary parlour. There is a lovely period house, likewise in nice condition. There is staff accommodation and a gate lodge.

The 50 unit Pearson rotary parlour.

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The owners have spent years building a top-class dairy farm and they are now retiring. They operate the farm as a limited company and their preference is to now sell the company’s shares to a new owner. Potential buyers can take professional advice on the implications of making such an acquisition.

The farm is in a good location. Kentstown is 2km away for day to day needs while it’s 10km to Navan. Access to the M2 motorway is 5km away, the M3 is 8km. Drogheda and Dublin are easily accessed. The farm sits on a local road, a short distance off the R153. The land lies on both sides of this road, in three facing divisions. This means that the farm has plenty of road frontage.

The land in this area is good quality.

The 564ac includes 531ac under grass with some tillage. There are some 7ac of woodland and the balance of 28ac is under roads, the home, surrounding gardens and parkland, and the farmyard. There are internal roads. Field boundaries are well-maintained with hedges and electric fencing. Water is piped out to all fields from a well. The land has been well maintained with pasture reseeded on a regular basis.

The house

The house and farmyard are together and quite central on the holding. There are driveways to the house from the front and rear and a gate lodge with two bedrooms.

The house is early 19th century, elegant and very spacious at 9,483 sq ft (881 sq m). It has three main reception rooms and six bedrooms. Outside there are formal gardens, including a walled garden, and parkland.

Beside the house is the original yard laid out in a rectangle with a central courtyard and cut-stone buildings. Part has been converted to create three apartments. There are also stables, a tack room and stores. There is a sand arena and an adjoining horse walker.

The original yard with cut stone buildings, all in good condition.

Farmyard

Behind this courtyard is the present-day farmyard. This is centred on a 50-unit Pearson rotary parlour and 270 cantilever cubicles and scrapers, all under one roof and built in 2017. Also in here is a 26,000l Packo bulk tank, collection area with backing gate, viewing gallery, office, stores and an automatic separating gate.

When older buildings are included, the yard has cubicle accommodation for over 470 cows and heifers. There are open and roofed silage pits and an overground slurry store. The yard has three-phase mains electricity supply, with a backup diesel generator and water supply from a well.

The farm is currently carrying a herd of 335 Holstein dairy cows, plus followers, with milk supplied to Glanbia. The livestock are available to any potential buyer.