Fully Equipped 9.3-Hectare Livestock, Irrigation and Dairy Farm in Rocklands, Nelson Mandela Bay

Overview
A rare opportunity to acquire a livestock, irrigation and dairy farm, all in one, of approximately 9.3 hectares in the sought-after Mountain View area of the Rocklands smallholding community, ideally positioned between Uitenhage and Gqeberha within the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro. This is one of the most comprehensively equipped smallholdings in the Rocklands corridor, combining a substantial four-bedroom, four-bathroom family home and a separate two-bedroom second dwelling with a four-point dairy, an extensive irrigation and rotational grazing system, three strong boreholes, a naturally fed dam, generous workshop and outbuilding space, three-phase power and full livestock handling facilities. It offers genuine dual appeal, working equally well as a premium lifestyle farm and as a commercial, ready-to-run dairy and livestock operation close to the city.

The Residences
The property offers two dwellings. The substantial main home of approximately 215 square metres provides four bedrooms and four bathrooms, while a separate second dwelling of approximately 162 square metres offers a further two bedrooms and two bathrooms and could equally serve as a workshop or shed with minor alterations. Together they provide spacious and flexible family accommodation. Set at the heart of the farm and framed by four smaller camps that form the immediate homestead precinct, the residences enjoy a private, established setting with the working farm arranged conveniently around them.

Dairy and Livestock Operation
A standout feature of this property is its four-point dairy of approximately 81 square metres, a facility that most smallholdings in this bracket simply do not have. For a buyer intending to run or expand a commercial milk production enterprise, an established dairy removes years of setup time, capital outlay and regulatory compliance, making this a genuine turn-key dairy opportunity. The farm historically ran at a carrying capacity of approximately 70 cattle and 30 sheep on a rotational basis, a stocking rate that reflects the quality of the irrigation, pasture and camp management rather than the natural rainfall-dependent capacity of the area, which averages approximately 630 millimetres of rain per annum.

Pasture, Camps and Irrigation
The farm is laid out as 23 rotational grazing and irrigation camps, each served by drinking troughs, supporting a well-managed rotational system with an approximately 20-day rest cycle per camp that is ideal for pasture recovery and intensive grazing. Three of the camps are irrigated by drag lines and the remaining 20 by permanent sprinkler systems fed from the borehole infrastructure and natural dam. The established pasture is a productive mixture of kikuyu, rye and teff grasses, particularly well-suited to intensive rotational grazing and dairy production.

Water Infrastructure
Water security is exceptional. The property is served by three boreholes, the first delivering an outstanding yield of approximately 18 000 litres per hour, the second approximately 7 000 litres per hour and the third approximately 800 litres per hour (no pump attached), giving a combined yield of roughly 25 800 litres per hour that comfortably exceeds the demands of the current operation. This is supported by a naturally fed dam with an existing pump, providing additional surface water storage and backup supply, together with the permanent sprinkler systems that irrigate the grazing camps. Water storage is further enhanced by a 5 000-litre rainwater tank at the main house and two 250 litre tanks that capture borehole water at one of the borehole pumps. Prospective buyers are encouraged to confirm borehole yields by formal pump test and to verify the borehole registration status with the Department of Water and Sanitation.

Buildings, Power and Handling Facilities
Beyond the two dwellings, the property offers excellent outbuilding and workshop space, including a large 231 square metre workshop and garage well suited to farm machinery, vehicle storage or processing. The farm benefits from a three-phase electricity supply capable of running large pump motors, milking equipment, a 1 650-litre milk holding tank, dairy refrigeration and other heavy agricultural machinery. Livestock handling is well catered for, with two kraals, four smaller camps around the main homestead, and pig and handling pens of approximately 316 square metres with capacity to accommodate roughly 200 to 250 pigs. The whole property is enclosed by good perimeter fencing to 1.2 metres with sound internal camp fencing throughout, although the electric fencing requires some attention.

Location and Lifestyle
The Rockland’s smallholding community is one of the most active peri-urban farming areas in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro, offering a productive rural lifestyle within easy commuting distance of both Uitenhage and Gqeberha and with good road connections to the N2. Demand in the area comes from a mix of lifestyle buyers, small-scale farmers and livestock operators who value a working rural holding close to the city’s economic centres. This property sits well above the typical Rocklands offering, and its dairy will appeal to a wider catchment of commercial dairy and livestock producers from across the Eastern Cape.

The Opportunity
This is a seldom-found combination of residential quality, farm productivity and dairy infrastructure. For a commercial operator it offers a fully equipped, irrigated and historically operational dairy and livestock unit ready to run, while for a lifestyle buyer it presents a spacious family home, with a separate second dwelling, on a beautifully watered, productive smallholding minutes from the city. With strong borehole water, three-phase power, a four-point dairy and extensive handling and workshop facilities already in place, it is a rare opportunity in a liquid and established market.