If you aren’t paying rent and you have sufficient machinery I think it will be a nice evening/weekend/holiday job that should earn some decent cash. You will need an understanding family, but I say crack on. Can the out going family member do a “handover “ year?
160 acres arable
- Thread starter mobileweld
- Start date
- Location
- Lincolnshire
It all depends. It’s a full time job for me here but I repair all my own machinery and do everything. It’s more engineering than farming TBH. You’d be better off with engineering knowledge if it’s an arable farm. Just get an agronomist to tell to what chemicals to apply. The agricultural but can be handled by the agronomist.
- Location
- Lincolnshire
How can it be a weekend job when you have clutches and gearboxes to repair, roof sheets to put on, a wodge of spray tickets to get through, grain stores to clean out, dryer to repair, roguing to do, combine to get ready, seed to order, accounts to do every month, etc etc. There isn’t half some bollox talked about how it’s possible to do 180 acres as a part time job. It isn’t, it’s full time if you do it properly. But I even run my own lime spreader and sort out about 50 miles of under drains.
Rod Dumbreck
Member
What nobody has mentioned is the paperwork. You will need to get your head around a fair bit of form filling, you may have to buy entitlements, its all quite a lot to learn in one hit, so as above, someone who has been doing it or a good agent called Charlie to do it for you.
- Location
- Shropshire
Reckon your just slow
Conversely I don’t know how you spin it out so much
I did that sort of acreage part time (with old kit) while I drove a lorry. Everyone is different and there is more than one way of skinning a cat.- Location
- Lincolnshire
Yes you would probably think I’m a crap farmer and you might be right!maybe I am. But I do a thorough job!
- Location
- Lincolnshire
If nothing broke down and I subcontracted a lot of the work I could do it in a weekend but there would be nowt left. I’ve been repairing my tractor for a fortnight now, between spraying. Days can go by doing major overhauls.Conversely I don’t know how you spin it out so much
maybe get a contractor to do the sowing harvesting for the first few years while you get upto speed. get your spray ticket and do the spraying fert, hedge trimming yourself. keep your regular job for the moment. get a couple of years accounts under your belt. 160 arable here, but another 80acres of beef which keeps me busy all year. realistically only living on the subs most years, and dont have a family to support so not drawing much.
gone up the hill
Member
- Location
- Devon
Something seriously wrong with the industry if you can have an asset of at least 1.7 million + another 300k of gear and working capital invested in the job and all that money tied up still means you need to do a full time off farm job to live as the returns/ profit from the job are so poor that it cannot sustain even one full time wage!
- Location
- Lincolnshire
Having a single row beet harvester uses hundreds of hours of time as well as repairing it. If I got a contractor in I’d probably be free from mid October to early March. So maybe it’s a choice I make.
- Location
- Cambs/Suffolk/Norfolk
Thank you everyone for your input. Keep the different opinions coming it’s good to hear people’s views.
- Location
- Lincolnshire
I’m busy from dawn till dusk. Half the morning cleaning the clutch parts and bell housing out on my tractor ready for reassembly. Half an hour talking to agronomist. Then took the drill I’d borrowed from a mate back to his farm. While I was there I got roped into fixing a diesel leak and wiring short on his Ford 6600. Took all afternoon. Got back home at 5pm. After tea sprayed the beet, two fields, one a mile away. Finished washing out by 9 pm.
- Location
- Lincolnshire
I have about a weeks work to do repairing the combine. About 10 days roguing bolters, blackgrass and wild oats. A fortnight roofing the grain store. And probably a few unexpected repairs and breakdowns. And there is always the drain header that needs desilting and relaying that’s been waiting three years if I do get any spare time. Weekend job my arse.
I would say go for it, use contractors for some of the work like heavy cultivation’s, harvesting and spraying. You could manage the grain storage, drying, possibly drill, roll, fert spread, hedge cutting if there is enough to justify a cheap trimmer. One tractor 100-120hp be plenty. This would enable it to be part time and you don’t have to invest in bigger gear, the contractors will take care of that. Waste of time buying old gear that you spend all your time maintaining.
- Location
- Aberdeenshire
My neighbours have 500 acres and their just weekend farmers.
They work every scheme under the sun which quickly brings down their acres plus rent some out to carrots and potatoes so after all that all they only really work about 180 acres and quite honestly they make it look super easy barely an inconveniences.
I say get a contractor in to do the sowing and combine and do the rest yourself. You should be able to make about 16K from it ideally...
I suspect in Drwazzock case it is very much the job is expanding to fill his time rather than what the job actually needs...
Not to knock him I'm full time whether I have 120 cows or 160 it just changes your priorities. I'm sure if someone offered him another 180 acres he would very quickly find more "time".
They work every scheme under the sun which quickly brings down their acres plus rent some out to carrots and potatoes so after all that all they only really work about 180 acres and quite honestly they make it look super easy barely an inconveniences.
I say get a contractor in to do the sowing and combine and do the rest yourself. You should be able to make about 16K from it ideally...
I suspect in Drwazzock case it is very much the job is expanding to fill his time rather than what the job actually needs...
Not to knock him I'm full time whether I have 120 cows or 160 it just changes your priorities. I'm sure if someone offered him another 180 acres he would very quickly find more "time".
- Location
- East meath/dublin
Id go for it if i were you ,arable farming is a great lifestyle and the work is imho very enjoyable . Downside is that theres no money in it !!!
But seriously dont mind the naysayers 160 owned acres is still a nice farm .
And as you are already a welder i presume your also handy with the spanners so stick with the old gear already on farm till you find your feet .
If you can clear 200 quid acre its 32 grand and you wont be murdered working either .
The countryside needs more small farmers not another block of contract " blitzkrieg " farming .
Anyway with BPS on the exit chute if the doom sayers are to belived then nobody will be able to afford new gear and every farmer in the 3 parishes will be beating a path to your door to get welding done so you could be a busy man !!!
If such a scenario comes to pass the multi talented @DrWazzock will have the last laugh Best of luck to you .
But seriously dont mind the naysayers 160 owned acres is still a nice farm .And as you are already a welder i presume your also handy with the spanners so stick with the old gear already on farm till you find your feet .
If you can clear 200 quid acre its 32 grand and you wont be murdered working either .
The countryside needs more small farmers not another block of contract " blitzkrieg " farming .
Anyway with BPS on the exit chute if the doom sayers are to belived then nobody will be able to afford new gear and every farmer in the 3 parishes will be beating a path to your door to get welding done so you could be a busy man !!!
If such a scenario comes to pass the multi talented @DrWazzock will have the last laugh
Best of luck to you .
bull sh.it .
what a stupid thing to say .40 more cows /300 more ewes is more work no doubt about it fullstop.
anyone who says any different is lying.
comments like that are irresponsible and why some people get the wrong idea about 'modern' farming
.
- Location
- Lincolnshire
bull sh.it .
what a stupid thing to say .40 more cows /300 more ewes is more work no doubt about it fullstop.
anyone who says any different is lying.
comments like that are irresponsible and why some people get the wrong idea about 'modern' farming
You can easily tits up a 160ac part time arable proposition by adding some stock just to keep busy.
Get contractor in for drilling and cutting. Do the low draft work yourself as that's the profitable bit.
If you want sheep / cows let a grazier come on and pay you for the pleasure. Ring them up when sheep die / cows get out.
Why make a hobby into hard work?