While not a man with a reputation for gambling, James Law says he’s going to start buying Lotto tickets on a regular basis.
And he if wins one of the multimillion-pound jackpots, the first thing he’ll do is buy Easter Auquharney Farm, which is on the market with a price tag of offers over £6,335,000.
James has been manager of the farm – the highest-valued farm to be offered for sale in Aberdeenshire – for the past six years, but has a wealth of farming experience at his fingertips, having been farm manager at the Rowett Research Institute outside Aberdeen and is a previous president of the Royal Northern Agricultural Society.
He said: “The farm is in excellent heart and the land has been very well cared for and farmed, thanks in part to plenty of good cattle muck being spread on it – nothing is wasted here.
“If I had the money, I’d definitely buy the farm myself as we get good yields – Four tonnes an acre on wheat and on winter barley we do about three and a half tonnes per acre.”
Since taking on the role of manager for owner Dr Gordon Masson, James has seen a fair bit of change.
“We are always striving to improve the farm the whole time. In my time, we have expanded by 500 acres, taking on Kiplaw and North and South Mains of Auchleuchries farms,” said James who has two full-time staff to help him out.
“One of the biggest changes made has been expanding the cattle from around 500 a year to 1,100 a year. Not many places have sheds that can take that amount of extra cattle, so we have had to increase the space they need, while at the same time, trying as much as possible to look after all their needs in-house.
“Apart from buying a wee bit of pot ale syrup and some dark grains everything else they are fed is home grown – barley, whole crop barley or winter wheat. We make about 3,000 tonnes of whole crop silage a year and about 1,000 tonnes of grass silage for our grazing cattle.”
Dr Masson is non-resident farmer with roots in the north-east. He started buying land in the area in 1985, regularly expanding over the years and buying Easter Auquharney in 1994 with Auchenten being purchased in 2010.
Easter Auquharney is a well known commercial farm, close to Hatton in central Aberdeenshire. The land is generally south facing and capable of producing a wide range of spring and winter crops, in addition to rotational grass land.
The farm buildings include an excellent range of modern portal frame structures, suitable for arable and livestock production. A two-bedroom farm cottage is conveniently located adjacent to the farmyard while the accommodation within the substantial farmhouse includes a dining kitchen with living area, utility room, shower room, dining room, further reception room, conservatory, master bedroom with en-suite and four further bedrooms.
The substantial asking price means there’s one important question begging to be answered: What makes this such a high-value farm?
Tom Stewart, partner with selling agent, CKD Galbraith, said: “The scale and quality of the land and buildings make this an exceptional farm. There’s been nothing of this size in terms of a lowland farm for sale in Aberdeenshire for decades.
“My client is a very private person but I can tell you that he has expanded and grown the business considerably while it’s been under his care. He has invested heavily in it in terms of buildings, machinery, fences, drainage and the farm is in excellent condition.
“The farm is a model for beef production, because of the management and quality of the ration, they turn an average stirk into a first class beef animal. They really do an excellent job of the cattle.
“James has been a first class farm manager and has really looked after it since he has been here and the place is looking really well.”
The farm, which stretches across 1,659.95 acres and is mainly grade 3(2), is being offered for sale in six lots or as a whole for offers over £6.335million
The majority of the land is eligible for the Basic Payment Scheme, however the entitlements are not included with the sale of the land and they must be purchased separately. The farm is also subject to Agri Environment Climate Scheme funding, which has a projected annual income of £31,358. A condition of the sale is that the purchaser agrees to continue with the scheme and transfer it into their name.
For James, the future is perhaps looking a little uncertain but he says he’s hoping someone will buy the farm as a whole.
“It would be great is someone bought the farm as a whole as it is geared to be one farm,” said James, secretary of the North of Scotland Grassland Society.
That someone could just be 57-year-old James . . .
“I bought a Euromillions ticket last night but didn’t win. I’ll need to try again next week.”
Contact: CKD Galbraith on 01224 860710.
