Before Doug McIntyre’s plans to create a massive dairy conversion in the Mackenzie Country, the area had been the land of high-country stations.
Now it is a swath of green, with hundreds of cows grazing against the backdrop of the Ben Ohau Range.
Before moving into the area in the late 1990s, McIntyre was an established dairy farmer near Oamaru. He saw the potential in a 2600ha block of land on the Twizel-Omarama Rd. Then, after more than 20 years of planning, physical work started on the $4 million scheme in 2005.
About 8000ha of land was irrigated on six farms on each side of State Highway 8 between Lake Ruataniwha and the Ahuriri River. The 25km canal to the Ohau River now provides water to eight shareholders.
As such, McIntyre has progressively turned his huge property into a highly economic dairy unit with a rateable value of $30 million.
The McIntyre Williamson Partnership is also recognised in Fonterra’s top 20 shareholders list with 819,888 shares worth $4.7m.
McIntyre’s sprawling property portfolio includes 3300ha of dairy farms and 5500ha of supporting pastoral land with a collective rateable value of $68m. He also owns numerous residential properties and sections in Twizel, Oamaru and Mt Pisa.
Photo: Stuff
2018: $50 million