The Southern Dairy Hub project is a step closer to reality with a conditional agreement to buy two neighbouring properties.
Finding a farm of suitable size and scale for the research and development centre has proven to be more of a challenge than anticipated.
But during late December and early January, conditional sales and purchase agreements were completed.
The agreements would be subject to ‘‘considerable'' due diligence by the Southern Dairy Hub (SDH) and one of the vendors, SDH chairman Maurice Hardie said in a statement.
That could take up to 180 days, allowing time for resource-consenting, design, planning and business case models to be approved by all investors.
The aim was to start developing the properties from the beginning of October, with the hub scheduled to be completed by June next year.
SDH is a collaborative project being developed by AgResearch, DairyNZ and the Southern Dairy Development Trust with a proposed cost of $26.5 million to build. More than $1.3 million has been pledged by southern farmers.
The completed hub would allow for dairy farmer-led and local issues to be researched on southern soils in southern conditions.
