Like many farming families, Waikato farmers Jo and Paul Bodle have been wrestling with creating an equitable succession plan for themselves and their three children.

After much discussion, they found themselves returning to the notion of selling their diverse, fourth-generation property to free up capital for their own next phase of life, and to give their two daughters and son financial support to build their own legacies.

They would always have preferred to keep Whakanui Farms within their family, but logic has prevailed over the emotional attachment they have to the land, and it is now listed for sale with Bayleys.

Tenders for the property close at 2pm on Thursday 27th November 2025, at Bayleys Hamilton, unless it is sold before the closing date.

Whakanui Farms covers 350ha of flat to rolling country in several titles on Waterworks Road, only 11km from Morrinsville.

It offers a fully self-contained dairy and beef trading operation, plus an equestrian facility which Jo and their daughter Hannah used to build a successful horse training venture, selling show jumpers both internationally and locally.

The grazable area totals 287ha, reflecting significant riparian plantings and wetlands the Bodles have created to build on the farm’s biodiversity and to enjoy regular duck shooting. There are also two pine plantations within the 63ha of retired area.

Two separate dairy sheds are linked to the farm’s excellent race system and both have fully consented effluent systems and in-shed feeding. The main shed is a 36-aside herringbone built in 2000 and is linked to a 148ha milking platform. The smaller shed, a 16 aside herringbone, sits on a 32ha platform.

Paul says the second shed provides numerous options, depending on the season and payout, including milking first-calving heifers in a separate herd until they transition into the main herd or to milk empty and late calving cows later in the season to capture winter milk premiums.

The total dairy unit is running 430 spring-calving, mixed-age, Holstein Friesian cows and reliably produces 350-400kg of milksolids per cow each season in a System 3 operation.

The dairy unit is run by a herd manager plus two full time staff, overseen by the Bodles, and has produced an average of 126,890kg of milksolids for the past three seasons.

The dairy herd is supplemented with crops of chicory, turnips and, for the first time last season, fodder beet, plus around 200 bales of wrapped baleage made on the property and up to 300 tonnes of mixed blends delivered through an in-shed feeding system.

The Bodles use little or no nitrogen fertiliser on the property and usually move the herd to once-a-day milking from February when feed growth tails off and daily temperatures start to impact production.

Water comes from Morrinsville’s town supply feed which runs through the middle of the property, providing excellent access for stock, dairy sheds and houses.

Paul and Jo rear all the calves from the dairy herd and these, plus any extra trading stock bought in, mostly graze the 107ha drystock portion of the property. At present there are just over 280 rising one-year beef cattle on and the Bodles recently completed a short-term trade with 60 rising one-year dairy heifers.

“We usually aim to sell all our beef calves as rising one-year-olds on the grass market from late October to December,” Paul says.

All the farm infrastructure is well maintained and its five homes, including a substantial main home with magnificent gardens, are in good order.

“We have been evaluating building a feed pad, but that will be an opportunity for new owners to explore,” Paul says.

Whakanui Farms began as a sheep farm before beef cattle were added to the mix and then it was converted to a dairy and beef operation.

The farm’s old woolshed remains and is still functional. Part of it was converted to a grandstand for the 2011 Rugby World Cup and it’s become a local gathering point for sport watching, community events and an occasional duck shooting awards night.