Ross McKee is a long-standing PGG Wrightson Livestock sheep and beef rep in Southland. When he started working for Terry and Nan Dennis in 1985, they were farming on the 485-hectare Waikaia farm that had been in Terry’s family since 1904.
After the couple downsized in 2017, moving east into South Otago and onto 220-hectare Haunui Farm, Terry called Ross.
“He said: ‘Now we’ve moved, who is going to be my agent?’ I said: ‘You don’t want to train anyone else, do you?’ He said: ‘No,’ so I said: ‘I’ll do it,’ and we kept it going,” says Ross.
When Terry died in 2022, Nan initially carried on farming, supported by son Calvin. In late 2023 however, she decided retirement was the best option. Passing the property on to any of her three children, Karl in Cromwell, Jackie in Dunedin or Calvin in Gore, was not realistic, meaning it was time to quit the farm, so she engaged a real estate agent, and waited.
Several months later, Ross dropped by.
“I could see Nan was growing frustrated at the lack of interest in the property. I suggested she talk to Derek Ayson, and I brought him along to look at the farm.”
Derek and Ross work out of the same Gore office, where Derek is a rural and lifestyle sales consultant for PGG Wrightson Real Estate. After talking it through with the two of them, Nan switched the agency to Derek, who brought in Otago-based colleague Brent Irving to assist with the marketing campaign.
“Even in a slow market for sheep and beef farms, they were confident they could find a buyer,” says Nan.
Derek describes Haunui Farm, 29 kilometres northwest of Balclutha, as a well-presented property in an excellent location.
“On flat to rolling contour, the farm has well managed pasture and enables easy stock movement. A good standard of improvements includes a magnificent north facing four double bedroom family home built in 2018, a comfortable four-bedroom second dwelling, a three-stand raised board woolshed and covered yards,” says Derek.
Wasting no time to further utilise the PGG Wrightson network, Derek and Brent spoke to Balclutha-based Jason Rutter, who happened to be dealing with a prospective buyer not too far from Haunui Farm. This was in early December last year. Within a few days of the PGG Wrightson Real Estate team taking over her listing, Jason and the couple he was working for inspected the farm and presented Nan with an offer.
“We’d had several people through to look at the farm and although there were more scheduled to come, the offer was good enough, so we cancelled any more visits, and accepted it,” says Nan, who is now preparing for a possession date of 1 May and starting to work out what she will do in retirement.
“We were confident we could locate someone who would see the property’s potential, and that’s how it played out. With all parties satisfied, and a quick turnaround, it was a pleasing result,” says Derek.
In the meantime, the PGG Wrightson baton goes back to Ross, who has one last task to perform on behalf of the Dennis family: a clearing sale, on 26 March.
“Terry was an excellent stockman who developed a well-regarded stud, so the stock are among the best around. Although he and Nan had a big move eight years ago, there is still plenty of high-quality machinery for sale, which should excite local interest. It promises to be a good day,” he says.
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