Uses for pasture

[Paul in the woods]

You may have a problem with garlic as it's planted in late autumn and will be exposed over winter.

 

Do you know what the land is currently used for? I would think it would greatly depend on what neighbouring properties are used for as well.

 

Any chance of having a chat to the owner to see what they want?

[Guest Gimlet]

I'm viewing it tomorrow. First thing I'll ask is want do you actually want to be done with the land. If they say someone to maintain the pasture as it is, that's probably me out. It needs someone with plenty of money to manage it as a hobby at a loss. That's not for me.

The question is, if the landlord owns the farm next door, why are they not maintaining it themselves? If they have their own livestock why not just graze it off. If they haven't got their own livestock that's probably a good indication that there's no interest locally in leasing the keep.

 

It's a long way to go to find out but needs must. 

 

 

[Paul in the woods]

Good luck, looks like you'll get to see it when it's wet and windy.

 

They may think someone expects a bit of land, or it could just be too small for them to use.

 

With my two small fields one the road is too small for even a small modern trator to get in. The other does have reasonable access but the farmers now don't wish to bother fields under 5 acres.

[Vedhoggar]

If Cumbria what about diversifying into tourism during summer months by way of a tiny campsite over part of the land, that is if any reasonably level areas and manage the remaining pasture areas to maintain floral diversity. 10 pitches at say £10-£20 night has the potential of making £700-£1400 per week during the peak season and camping sites are in high demand at the moment. See Tiny Campsite Guidbook by Dixe Wills. 

[Guest Gimlet]

Don't think it's level enough for camping and there is no sanitation.

 

3 hours ago, Paul in the woods said:

Good luck, looks like you'll get to see it when it's wet and windy.

 

They may think someone expects a bit of land, or it could just be too small for them to use.

 

With my two small fields one the road is too small for even a small modern trator to get in. The other does have reasonable access but the farmers now don't wish to bother fields under 5 acres.

My brother said you couldn't round bale hay on that ground because it's too small for the tractor to get up to speed and your bales would be loose, so you need small bale machinery or someone local who has it to make hay.

If the landlord owns the farm, why not just take down the fence and incorporate the field into the surrounding fields which are all pasture as well? Makes me wonder whether someone's bought the house with a scrap of ground off the farm and it's got an agricultural covenant on it which could be quite restrictive.

I'll find out tomorrow.

[Vedhoggar]

If no sanitation on site toilets chemical portable toilets can be hire for sites with no water or waste drainage, longterm hire wouldn't cost much per week and weekly servicing/cleaning can be arranged. If site turns out not to be level enough it might be possible to created some level pitches if even just for small tents. Good luck with it.

[Baldbloke]

How many sheep can you have on four acres?

My tenant has had a dozen on our two small fields totalling 5 acres, and that was right through the winter, with some supplementary feed. Now there’s an additional 7 tups/rams in the top paddock, and the grass is struggling to beat them with this cold spring/summer. So I’d suggest your ground might hold more but you’ll have to count on buying in or keeping hay back for the winter months.

I only allow sheep as they’re not hard on fences and keep the weeds down[emoji1303]

 

[Guest Gimlet]

It's all academic now. Our buyers pulled out yesterday...

[htb]

20 minutes ago, Gimlet said:

It's all academic now. Our buyers pulled out yesterday...

Not good.