44.2 ha Farm in Kirkwood

Location

The operation is situated in the town of Kirkwood approximately 75km North of Port Elizabeth.

Size

The production unit is made up of 3 separate farms comprising a cumulative 5 title deeds, with 2 farms being adjoining and the third a mere 1,5km away, giving a total area of 44.2104ha.

Description

The 3 farms have been under the current ownership and management for a number of years and during this time a tremendous amount has been invested in maintaining the orchards optimally, as well as all the irrigation systems and fertigation equipment. All three farming units are similar having level topography and are equally suitable for irrigation purposes with a mean sea level of between 89 100m. The one farm has the Sundays River as its western boundary with approximately 325m of river frontage.

Irrigation on the citrus is all via drip or micros and at the time of viewing all trees appeared in excellent health. This is largely a result of the good management of all the orchards (31.56ha) as well as the continual and systematic attention to overall soil health. The 1.5ha block of lucerne is under permaset irrigation.

The farming activities on the 3 units can be best summarised as follows:

Unit 1, this farm has +- 10.76ha of citrus orchards (lemons & oranges), with a 1.5ha block where Lucerne is planted.

Unit 2, this unit is developed with +- 4.52ha of citrus orchards (Navels & Valencia''s).

Unit 3, is developed with +- 16.23ha of citrus orchards, developed with Lemons and Oranges in various stages of production.

Infrastructure

Quick summary:

Unit 1, this farm has various structural improvements in the form of: a large single storey main farm house with attached outbuilding, a staff house, additional outbuilding, shed, pumphouse and butchery with coldroom.

Unit 2, this unit has 2 x farm houses, with 2 x outbuildings and a covered patio area.

Unit 3, this farm has one house, with one outbuilding, poison store and pumphouse as well as 2 x staff houses with an ablution building.

Additional info re the accommodation offering: the main residence consists of 5 bedrooms and various living areas plus theres the staff unit. In addition, there are the three income-generating houses with one having 4 bedrooms and the other two each having 3 bedrooms.

The various farm portions are fenced off with standard cattle fencing, found to be in a fair to good condition.

Eskom power provides for all electricity needs with a total of 4 transformers (3 phase).

Legal and Staff Complement

There are no registered land claims over any of the titles concerned. The entire production unit is owned by a single trust. The farm is accredited with all the necessary requirements for export with this being done by the SRCC and numerous awards have been achieved for production volumes etc.

In addition to the SRCC who manages the farming unit, the farm employs a highly experienced foreman and 8 permanent utility labourers who, between them operate all the vehicles and machinery on the farm.

Conclusion

This is a well developed operation with good quality citrus orchards under irrigation, found to be in good overall condition, with substantial infrastructure plus generally speaking, a very well planned and profitable farming operation.

Price

R 33 million + VAT at the applicable rate

The 2024 crop does not form part of the sale agreement, and the timing of the transfer will influence the overall price paid. The movable farm equipment is specifically excluded from the sale. Some of the equipment could form part of a separate transaction, while other will be retained by the seller. The SRCC pack rights are also sold separately.