Uruguay dairy unit ripe for expansion to 2,500 cows

Dairy farmers and investors looking to extend their horizons in search of potentially lucrative returns might be tempted by a substantial unit for sale in western Uruguay.

San Pedro, an irrigated dairy farm, is a 2,575-acre ring-fenced dairy unit suitable for substantial expansion, said Stephen Hall of Savills, which, together with international brokerage company Gateway to South America, is marketing the property.

The farm is located in an area with some of the highest-quality land in the country and is about 2.5 hours from Montevideo. It is currently milking 1,000 cows with 850 dairy youngstock, but the farm could sustain 2,500 milking cows to make the most efficient use of the infrastructure already in place, said Mr Hall.

Currently almost 1,000 acres of land is under six centre-pivot irrigators, with the potential to develop a further 600-plus acres.

“San Pedro is available for sale as a turnkey investment opportunity with the land, machinery, equipment and livestock included. The current owners, a group of New Zealand farmers and investors, have developed a robust 10-year business plan that shows significant economies of scale once the business is fully capitalised, which produce conservative net yields of more than 10% from an early stage.”

The farm is for sale as a whole to include livestock at $13.5m – about £8.5m. (Savills 01223 347 223)