CHALLOCH Farm, a 373 acre farm in the Rhins of Galloway with panoramic views over the open countryside towards Loch Ryan, is being brought to the market by Savills.

Talking about the farm, which is in a prime location, Sian Houston of Savills Dumfries office said: “The reputation of Challoch Farm as an outstanding dairy operation is very well founded and is due to the high productivity of the land matched with first class infrastructure.

"Challoch has seen substantial investment over recent years and is a cutting edge operation, which has been entirely future proofed. The farm has been beautifully managed and benefits from one of the earliest growing seasons in the country. Cows here are out and grazing as early as mid February each year."

The current owners have made a significant investment over the years to create a modern dairy complex to house over 300 Holstein Fresian milking cows and their followers, producing around 2.2 million litres annually.

The property includes a five-bedroom farmhouse, dating back to 1573, which boasts a beautiful walled garden that provides a private and tranquil area away from the working farm.

State of the art buildings have been architect-designed to meet the highest standard of cow comfort, and are future-proofed to meet milk buyers’ expectations going forward. These include a modern dairy complex with Fullwood swingover parlour, New Zealand handling system, cubicles for 340 cows, calf rearing sheds, loose housing and three silage pits, with capacity for over 2500 tonnes. This is all set on concrete yards with good access to grazing paddocks.

The majority of the land is Grade 3, with some Grade 4 to the west of the holding. The land is well fenced with the majority benefitting from electric wires and all enclosures benefit from water supply to troughs.

The farmland consistently grows over 15 tonnes of dry matter per hectare. Slatted storage for 180,000 gallons of slurry was constructed in the main yard which pumps underground to two off-lying lagoons with capacity for 280,000 and 450,000 gallons in the east and west of the holding respectively. Winter fodder is produced on the farm over three cuts of silage.

The farm lies adjacent to the village of Leswalt where there is a primary school and Stranraer is just three miles to the south, providing A-road access to livestock markets at Newton Stewart (28 miles), Ayr (55 miles), Castle Douglas (57 miles) and Carlisle (109 miles). Ferry services to Northern Ireland (Larne and Belfast) operate from Cairnryan, only six miles north of Stranraer.