For over 25 years this well-established large scale calf rearing operation has been continually developed resulting in a unique offering, boasting impressive specialised facilities and residing on 37 hectares (STS) of aesthetically appealing land near the Hamilton city boundary. As many as 4000-5000 dairy and beef calves are reared annually from 4-days to 4-months old through a spring/autumn split rearing system. The hub of the operation is the large main calf rearing complex which is well positioned to all other ancillary buildings. It has a concrete floor with a specially designed plastic slat grate for ease of cleaning, comprised of 48 pens and attached lean-to. In addition there are a further two concrete pad feeding stations nearby. Numerous milk storage tanks, totalling 140,000 litres, are strategically positioned and plumbed through a milk warming system, with milk pumps distributing out to multiple outlets for simplicity of feeding. Supplements including 350 tonnes of calf pellets and 60 tonnes of barley grain were fed out last season with storage via three meal silos and one 16 tonne barley grain silo.
In 2015 the 230m2 hydroponic shed was carefully designed and constructed with insulated panels, and an underfloor heating/cooling system to create an indoor facility for growing barley seed into fodder feed to mitigate risk through bought in supplements. The building comprises of 512 three-metre plastic rectangular trays stacked in eight rows and attached to a chain conveyor system. The process from seed to feed takes eight days, producing up to two tonnes of nutritious barley sprouts daily, which is fed straight out to the calves. Further infrastructure includes gable and mono pitch calf rearing sheds, 4 bay implement shed, barn/machinery shed, an old dairy shed now converted to further calf pens with a handling facility and separate stock yard with loading ramps. The property