In 2007, based in Scotland though looking for a New Zealand adventure, Alan and Dot Bissett went on Trade Me and bought a century-old disused stables and its overgrown vineyard sight unseen. 

Located near Masterton’s Opaki racecourse, initially the Bissetts planned to tidy it up for a quick sale. However, after spending more than $100,000 on it, property prices dropped away.

“We had committed so much to it we decided to keep it. We wanted a change of life, away from the every-day pressures of our work,” says Alan.

Having first met when Alan managed a soft fruit farm near St Andrews in Scotland and kiwi Dot worked on a similar farm nearby, they married in 2002, heading on a completely different tack when the economic situation left the run-down Wairarapa property in their hands.

Once they decided this was more than a short term project, postponing their commitment to taking it easy, the Bissetts ripped out some vines to make room for berries, leased extra land for potatoes and other vegetables, and turned the stables into a shop. What resulted, the Wee Red Barn, has become a local landmark. Specialising in berry fruit, it is best known for strawberry production, and recognised as one of New Zealand’s best-yielding berry farms.

Fifteen years later, having won the regional farm environment awards twice, featured on Country Calendar and appeared in an Allyson Gofton cookbook, the Bissetts are finally ready to properly embark on their much delayed quieter life. Alan and Dot have engaged Andy Scott and Stephen Hautler of PGG Wrightson Real Estate, Masterton to present the Wee Red Barn for sale as a going concern. 

Andy says the business presents a unique opportunity.

“With three hectares of fruit under canopy tunnel houses, 140,000 strawberry plants grow in coir peat pads on racks. This ‘table top’ system avoids crop rotation in the ground, reduces chemical use and makes picking easier. Productivity averages 1.3 kilograms per plant, with a yield average of between $10 and $11 per kilo. A new owner will have the capacity for further intensification.  “Wee Red Barn staff are casual, comprising a mix of university students, backpackers, and up to eight Recognised Seasonal Employees. In addition to the three-bedroom home and swimming pool, the property includes plenty of staff accommodation with a cottage plus a separate backpacker-style accommodation block,” he says.

With hot days lifting sugar levels and cold nights keeping the fruit firm, the region’s climate enhances the berries’ taste. Also growing under cover at the Wee Red Barn are raspberries, asparagus, cherries, figs, feijoa, and tomatoes, which are all for sale in the farm shop alongside other items such as baleage, hay, jams, ice cream, eggs and vegetables.

Dot Bisset says establishing such a successful business has been highly satisfying.

“Starting from nothing was hard work, though really rewarding. People are what makes the business a real joy. As well as our wonderful staff, we have some lovely customers, and seeing them regularly, knowing we provide them with something they value and enjoy gives us real purpose,” she says. As well as the on-site shop, the business includes two Wairarapa roadside stalls, while the couple are regulars at a weekly local market in Silverstream.

British based horticultural industry supplier Haygrove and its product range of growing systems and tunnel houses has played an important part in the Wee Red Barn’s development. As well as using the system throughout their business, Alan has a long association with the company, selling their tunnel houses in Australia and the United States, as well as New Zealand.

Dot says the Haygrove systems will make the Wee Red Barn easy for a new owner.

“It runs smoothly with the two of us, plus casual staff. All the fruit is grown on tables, in tunnels, with automatic irrigation, enabling us to essentially guarantee what we grow, and we will be on hand just down the road to hand over and help teach a new owner.”

After 16 years she says it is time for someone else to put their mark on the business.

“We never wanted to take it past the point where we didn’t enjoy it, and we still enjoy doing it: it will be very strange to walk away, though someone else coming in with fresh eyes will see ways to do it bigger and better. There is potential for expansion, maybe opening a café or bringing in new technology. 

“We just want to pass it on to the right purchaser,” she says.

Property Express - Out Now

Welcome to our autumn 2023 edition of PGG Wrightson Real Estate’s Property Express. From the first page to the last, this magazine is packed with premier rural properties which could be the setting for your next chapter.

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