One of the best-known farms in the pedigree cattle world is on the market with a price tag of £3.245 million.
Blelack, near Aboyne, which extends to around 640 acres, has been the birthplace of prizewinning Aberdeen-Angus, Charolais and Shorthorn cattle for father and son Neil and Graeme Massie for half a century.
The farm was briefly on the market in 2016 when Graeme (55) sold his pedigree Charolais and Shorthorn herds and the adult section of the Aberdeen-Angus herd, but he says he got “cold feet” and decided to continue farming.
However after a heart attack last year, he is selling up and the remaining 120 Aberdeen-Angus animals will be dispersed by United Auctions in October.
The Blelack herd has had more Aberdeen-Angus champions at the Perth and Stirling bull sales than any other herd, and Neil Massie is a recipient of the Sir William Young award for outstanding services to livestock breeding
Graeme Massie said: “My father is rightly proud of what he has achieved here at Blelack. Now in his eighties, he is still involved with the herd and checks on them daily. His record over almost fifty years has secured Blelack’s place in the top echelons of the breed.”
The portfolio, marketed by Savills as a whole or in five lots, comprises Blelack farm and farmhouse, a new feed shed and indoor cattle handling system, with buildings capable of housing more than 300 cows. There are three self-catering cottages and farm buildings, together with land and steadings at three nearby farms.
The land is predominantly arable and rotational grassland. Cereals are grown for feed and straw, and spring barley is the principal crop.
Savills agent, Rory Galloway said: “The sale of Blelack marks a truly exceptional opportunity to own not only a first class set up with a charming farmhouse, income-generating cottages and high quality land, but also the name itself: a valuable brand from which any future commercial herds can only benefit.”