Free land

Clive

Staff Member

Arable Farmer

Location

Lichfield

• Feb 14, 2016

• #1

If you were offered rent free land, no BPS ................BUT it was utter shite, i.e. terrible drainage, zero indices of most nutrients, not kind to work etc

would you take it ? and what would you do with it ?? (assume you are an arable farmer and it must be cropped)

 

Kevtherev

Member

✓

Location

Welshpool Powys

• Feb 14, 2016

• #2

Take it!!!
And improve it

 

Derrick Hughes

Member

✓

Location

Ceredigion

• Feb 14, 2016

• #3

How many acres

 

Clive

Staff Member

Arable Farmer

Location

Lichfield

• Feb 14, 2016

• #4

Kevtherev said:

Take it!!!
And improve it

Click to expand...

why would you improves someone else land ? there is no security of tenure so make it worth more and owner will want rent form someone ! catch 22 IMO - you could spend fortunes liming and improving indices for the next guy !

 

Nearly

Member

Location

North of York

• Feb 14, 2016

• #5

10 years minimum to make it worthwhile?

 

Clive

Staff Member

Arable Farmer

Location

Lichfield

• Feb 14, 2016

• #6

Forage Trader said:

How many acres

Click to expand...

100 or maybe 200 TBC

 

APJ

Member

Location

West Midlands(Shropshire borders)

• Feb 14, 2016

• #7

You'd want it for a long time eg 10yrs, close to your main base, get the owners to contribute towards drainage then plenty of compost and sludge, low input cropping to start with like oats and linseed and build it up, got to be worth a go if it's free!

 

7

7610 super q

Never Forgotten

Honorary Member

• Feb 14, 2016

• #8

Not unless crop prices improve significantly. Why get involved in recreational land improvements ?

 

Clive

Staff Member

Arable Farmer

Location

Lichfield

• Feb 14, 2016

• #9

my thought is crop it alternate years with a crop that will stand low ph and low nutrition such as Oats ?

cover crop one year and cash crop the next - would probably soon improve it without spending cash ?

 

Clive

Staff Member

Arable Farmer

Location

Lichfield

• Feb 14, 2016

• #10

7610 super q said:

Not unless crop prices improve significantly. Why get involved in recreational land improvements ?

Click to expand...

my initial thought TBH - however i wonder if there is a thinking outside the box solution as above that I might be missing ?

 

Rob Holmes

Moderator

BASIS

Location

Ashbourne, Derbyshire

• Feb 14, 2016

• #11

Surely no-til would instantly improve it!

 

7

7610 super q

Never Forgotten

Honorary Member

• Feb 14, 2016

• #12

Clive said:

my initial thought TBH - however i wonder if there is a thinking outside the box solution as above that I might be missing ?

Click to expand...

Any chance of buying it? Sounds like a 20 year project to me.

 

B

bigw

Member

Location

Scotland

• Feb 14, 2016

• #13

Clive said:

If you were offered rent free land, no BPS ................BUT it was utter shite, i.e. terrible drainage, zero indices of most nutrients, not kind to work etc

would you take it ? and what would you do with it ?? (assume you are an arable farmer and it must be cropped)

Click to expand...

That sounds like my farm!!

 

Clive

Staff Member

Arable Farmer

Location

Lichfield

• Feb 14, 2016

• #14

Rob Holmes said:

Surely no-til would instantly improve it!

Click to expand...

it would be the only way to farm it - but crops don't grow when drainage and nutrition is none existent

 

Bramble

Member

• Feb 14, 2016

• #15

Take it on and then rent it out straight out again

 

Clive

Staff Member

Arable Farmer

Location

Lichfield

• Feb 14, 2016

• #16

7610 super q said:

Any chance of buying it? Sounds like a 20 year project to me.

Click to expand...

not for sale - and around here it would probably still make 10k/ac !

 

7

7610 super q

Never Forgotten

Honorary Member

• Feb 14, 2016

• #17

Rob Holmes said:

Surely no-til would instantly improve it!

Click to expand...

Of course, it needs to be farmed holistically.

 

Kevtherev

Member

✓

Location

Welshpool Powys

• Feb 14, 2016

• #18

Clive said:

why would you improves someone else land ? there is no security of tenure so make it worth more and owner will want rent form someone ! catch 22 IMO - you could spend fortunes liming and improving indices for the next guy !

Click to expand...

If you could secure the tenure then yes improve it.
There's nowt for nowt.

 

solo

Member

Location

worcestershire

• Feb 14, 2016

• #19

185 acres to let on 5 year fbt just south of Brum with similar remit. Rent free till September then rent payable. Not been cropped for a year and in need of some tlc. Be interesting to see how much rent it is deemed worth. Under Bruton Knowles.
Land at Walton Pool, Clent
Stourbridge, Worcestershire DY9 9RN

 

M

Mr Charisma

Member

Location

stratford on Avon

• Feb 14, 2016

• #20

Rob Holmes said:

Surely no-til would instantly improve it!

Click to expand...

If it has terrible drainage I doubt it ,,,,,,,,,
we had a block of land which we did contract work on for 16 years , owner would spend no money , indexes of P 0 and K 0 , it needed a heap of lime and a lot of drainage doing to it , last year he asked if I would like to take it on , told him I would pay him 30 quid an acre , he keeps sub and at that I needed my head looking at , he laughed at me and said that an agent had told him it was worth 120 quid over the sub , I turned and walked , probably best thing I did ,
He has a new tennant and in fairness is doing a good job of turning the place around , ,,,,,,, but I would hate to look at his costs as he has spent a fortune
I ought to point out that new tennant played near what I offered