Waterhouse farmer Roger Bignell with Bulger dairy in the background.
Local farmer Roger Bignell has sold Waterhouse Dairies to a Canadian investment group for more than $25million, after 18 months of negotiations.
The land, two dairies, dam, water rights and cows have been purchased by the group under the umbrella of Australian Dairy Pastures, and will be run by New Zealand based management company FarmRight.
The current seven full time staff will continue working at Waterhouse Dairies.
Mr Bignell established the dairies alongside Nic Van Den Bosch of Bosch Engineering and his nephew Matthew from New Zealand.
With expertise in locating possible large-scale dam sites, the Van Den Bosches went into a partnership with Mr Bignell in 2009, to investigate the potential of converting an area on his property to a large-scare dairy.
“Water was the first basic requirement needed, and after purchasing 900 ML of water rights in the form of direct take from the Great Forester River allowed the start of the first of the planned three dairy conversions,” Mr Bignell said.
“Work on clearing land allowing the installing of centre pivot irrigation started in 2010, and finally the first dairy, Oxberry, was completed and milking 900 cows in 2013.”
Bosch Engineering then found a large-scale dam site in the Cuckoo Valley on the McKenzie Rivulet, which is a tributary of the Great Forester River that flowed through to Waterhouse.
A 3,600ML dam was constructed several years later, supplying the necessary water for the conversion of a further two dairies.
When three-phase power was installed along Old Waterhouse Road by the state government, the dairy was no longer ‘off-grid’, running off generators, which provided confidence to continue the development.
The second dairy, Bulger, was completed in August 2019 milking a further 1,100 cows.
“It’s proved to be one of the highest producing farms in the state. It produces 2,200 milk solids per hectare,” Mr Bignell said.
“This project could not have been achieved without the tremendous pool of experienced local contractors, businesses and tradesmen. We have tried where possible to employ locals who have supported us in return.
“Overall the development has been an exciting and challenging venture.
“It’s been my passion for a long time but now it’s up and running I’m okay to step aside.”
It’s understood plans Mr Bignell had for a third dairy will be continued by the new owners.
“From what I have heard, they will continue as we had planned to, building it this Summer, milking on it in August 21.”
Mr Bignell will now be able to devote his full attention to his farm Kananga, where he lives with his wife Alison.
“She’s pretty happy now that she has her husband back – she’s been very patient with me over the years,” he laughed.
With 3,000 hectares still to their name, spanning from Waterhouse down to the coast, they farm 8,000 sheep and 1,000 cattle.
In the long term they plan to retire to Bridport but Mr Bignell said that’s still a few years off.
This article was first published in the North-Eastern Advertiser on June 24, 2020.
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