Say cheese the eco way

Large rounds of Farmhouse cheese mature for at least two months.

Fittings are high-tech and processes environmentally sound.

A boutique, fully certified and going-concern dairy farm and cheese-making business, with 24.5ha of pasture, an equestrian arena, and a newly built homestead is on the market for sale by negotiation.

"All the hard work has been done in this artisan cheese-making business," says Daniel Reed of Bayleys Nelson, who is marketing Moutere Hills Dairy, a multi-faceted property and business at 96 Eggers Rd, Upper Upper Moutere, in the upper South Island Tasman farming district.

Reed says the sale represents an excellent business opportunity for a forward-thinking new owner who can capitalise on the vision of the enterprising couple selling the property.

"They made the major investment to create highly desirable, artisan A2 Guernsey cheeses for a ready and evolving market," Reed says.

"This property runs the only commercial herd of Guernsey cows in the South Island and no expense has been spared in creating a model, small-scale dairy farm. It is a far cry from the traditional intensive dairy operations. Farming methods are sympathetic to the environment with minimal sprays used, no chemical fertilisers, and extensive solar-powered electric fencing."

The owners grew up on different farms - Doug McBride on a sheep farm in Southland and Anneli McBride on a mixed cropping farm in Sweden. They share a passion for creating bespoke cheeses containing A2 beta-casein, which is often better tolerated by people who struggle with mainstream dairy products.

Life for the free-range small Guernsey herd of 17 cows, all of whom have names and are treated more like pets, is designed to be stress-free. They graze on a mix of herbs, plantain, chicory and clover and are milked in a 10-cluster herringbone shed.

"A new owner may wish to remain an artisan producer, or take the farm to a new level to meet demand which is growing throughout the country for the cheeses containing the A2 protein," Reed says.

Two cheeses are produced - a creamy camembert and a farmhouse cheese, both of which won bronze medals in the Ministry for Primary Industries' champion new cheese category at the New Zealand Cheese Awards this year. Moutere Hills Dairy cheeses are stocked by a growing number of delicatessens, specialist food markets and restaurants from Auckland to Invercargill.

The cheese-making facility is all under one roof and includes a climate-controlled chiller, heat pump and a processing room with positive air pressure.

The property and business comes with a 312sq m homestead that is set in woodland gardens and built last year to high specifications. It has four bedrooms, generous living spaces and broad verandas and is adjacent to a sizeable workshop, sheds, garage and storage space supplied with three phase power.

The property has a small orchard producing citrus, feijoa, kiwifruit, stonefruit and apples.

An environmentally friendly dual-tank, bio-cycle sewerage system disperses treated wastewater into the grounds and the home's huge 400-litre electric hot-water cylinder is ready for solar connection.

A 150m bore feeds from the district's aquifer, filling two 30,000-litre storage tanks and an irrigation pond with extraction rights.

Two creeks run through the property.

"The property's extra dimension is a 40m by 20m equestrian arena that is ideal for horse lovers," Reed says. "This arena has a compacted base with sand overlay and is bordered by post-and-rail fencing."

The property and business is close to Upper Moutere village and 20 minutes from Motueka or the busy suburban centre of Richmond just south of Nelson, where there is a selection of schools, shopping and entertainment. "It is rare to find this combination of a peaceful, rural lifestyle accompanied by a business offering significant income potential," Reed says.