IoW early veg unit offered
IoW early veg unit offered
By Louise Rose
AN earlier growing season and more temperate climate benefits growers on the Isle of Wight enabling them to take advantage of higher prices for early delivery of crops.
Now an 837-acre arable unit in the Arreton valley is for sale which, under the present management, grows crops on contract for national supermarkets and processors.
Marvel Farms, near Newport, which is for sale due to the reorganisation of a farming business is available as a whole or in up to three lots where the land is divided into 105, 604 and 153-acre blocks. The aggregate guide is for offers of about £2.85m.
"Compared with similar farms marketed this year, mainly in Lincolnshire, where the bare land has averaged about £2600/acre, the guide price is very favourable," said Ian Hepburn, Strutt & Parker handling the sale jointly with island based Christopher Scott.
The vendor Tom Smith has invested heavily in an irrigation system which supplies over 48m gallons of water through five reservoirs to any part of the cropped acreage.
Cropping is based around potatoes, specialising in early set skin and processing crops, carrots, brassicas and sweetcorn. Winter wheat is grown as a break crop and a store lamb enterprise uses the vegetable and arable crop by products.
Also included in the sale is a four-bedroom farmhouse with an integral annexe, potato and grain storage, a packing shed and chitting facilities.
Marvel Farms versus GB maincrop – a comparison
1999-2000 Three-year average
Marvel National Marvel National
Tonnes/acre 17.4 18.0 16.2 18.6
£/t 109 67 133 97
Gross output an acre (£) 1,894 1,213 2,134 1,778
Marvel Farms figures are the average price of all potatoes.
Marvel Farms in the Arreton Valley on the Isle of Wight are guided at about £2.85m for the whole.