Farm investment company Craigmore Farming has added another property to its North Otago holdings as it spends more than $15 million on redevelopment.
The Overseas Investment Office has given approval for the company, which has about 90% of its shareholding overseas, to buy the 136ha Abercairney Farm in Tussocky Rd at Enfield, taking Craigmore's holdings in the area to more than 1700ha.
''North Otago is a great farming region and we're very happy to be there for the long term,'' company chief executive officer Mark Cox said about its investment in the Windsor-Enfield area.
Craigmore would not reveal how much it paid for the property, but earlier this year dairy land in the area was fetching $30,000 to $50,000 a hectare, depending on the level of development.
The recent property purchase shared a boundary with other dairy farms owned by Craigmore and formed an important part of the group's overall farming strategy in North Otago.
Craigmore chief executive officer Mark Cox said the company planned an extensive development programme for the property.
This included building a dairy shed, new effluent system and native planting to assist with nutrient management.
''This will result in additional local jobs and crucial investment during both the development phase and over the longer term as a result of increased production,'' he said.
The company estimated about 10 extra people would be employed during the development phase and about 40 across all the properties once redevelopment was completed.
''We're seeking to improve public access to recreational opportunities and have specifically agreed with the Alps 2 Ocean Cycle Trail to provide farm access for an extension to their network of public cycleways.,'' Mr Cox said.
The Craigmore Farming group was established in 2008 by Mr Cox and his brother-in-law, Forbes Elworthy, whose family farmed at Craigmore, near Timaru.
It has $250 million in equity and $400 million in assets, including dairy, grazing, horticulture and forestry blocks within New Zealand.
