Advice on renting farmland please!

[Duckwobble]

Hello fellows!

I recently found a piece of land to rent - I'm looking somewhere to graze and raise some goats (but thats another story).

I've been trying and failing to find comparable lots - hes charging £50 per week for an acre. Google tells me an acre is generally valued at £120 per annum, I think?

He has a lot of horses and various other lots and gives the impression its in high demand. There seems to be little else available so we're considering on just taking the hit, but I'm wondering if it really is a bit steep or is that an acceptable price?

Many thanks for any clarity or opinions offered!

 

[Doc]

£50/wk/Ac
Is this an air bnb?

 

[Spud]

Hello fellows!

I recently found a piece of land to rent - I'm looking somewhere to graze and raise some goats (but thats another story).

I've been trying and failing to find comparable lots - hes charging £50 per week for an acre. Google tells me an acre is generally valued at £120 per annum, I think?

He has a lot of horses and various other lots and gives the impression its in high demand. There seems to be little else available so we're considering on just taking the hit, but I'm wondering if it really is a bit steep or is that an acceptable price?

Many thanks for any clarity or opinions offered!

You're having your leg royally lifted at that. £120/ac for an odd small field is nearer the mark.

£2600/ac/yr (£50/week) would go a long way to paying for land, never mind renting it

 

[teslacoils]

It's worth what someone will pay. If round you it's £50/AC/wk then that's what it is. That's what is charge for horses as they invariably wreck the place.

£120/AC is more for those renting 500acres.

 

[Tha Ulsterscot]

 

[lloyd]

£120 for an acre for a year would be too much hassle and a waste of time
however £2600 sounds far too much so probably between £500-£1000
would sound more sensible.

 

[Duckwobble]

So I guess the 120/ac is more of a bulk buy type price, whereas a small lot...

It is quite likely someone else might pay the £50/week, but its a little bit of uneven, sodden ground that got hit by the flooding, lots of weeds (great for goats when it dries out).. not the highest value except for its location perhaps, and the apparent rarity of other acres to rent.

Sounds like its definitely worth a barter..!

 

[teslacoils]

Presuming you will be responsible for fencing the goats in? Because they *will* escape.

 

[Duckwobble]

He did offer to fence it with block and mesh type stuff, but I was planning on using my own electric fencing to allow for a little rotation and extensive grazing elsewhere.

 

[soilbug]

Duckwobble - a commercial rent would be around 1% of the capital value of the land for a sensible acreage (one worth traveling to for commercial cropping, i.e. the £80 - 120 per acre others are suggesting.
This guy is exploiting your keenness to find a hobby patch to indulge your passion. So it depends how desperate you are and how convenient it is to you. I would shop around to find someone who would appreciate your keenness to take on a fiddly plot - and appreciate the care and improvement you would deliver. Someone who believes in mutual benefit, not rip-off terms.

The alternative would be to find the cash to buy a corner of a field - or even a field (and let part of it to others to help pay for it).
Money is cheap; good land doesn't depreciate, and some owner might like to take £5,000 to 7,000 per acre off you but make sure it has good access and a source of drinking water for livestock not exposed to vandalism or footpaths.

 

[Al R]

Where in the country are you? I often get offered a lot of sub 5 acre fields for free, mainly because it’s cheaper for them to rent it for free than it is to pay someone to top it and fields are rough etc... when farmers talk of £50/acre or £120/acre that’s for a year not for a week!

 

[Mc115reed]

Where in the country are you? I often get offered a lot of sub 5 acre fields for free, mainly because it’s cheaper for them to rent it for free than it is to pay someone to top it and fields are rough etc... when farmers talk of £50/acre or £120/acre that’s for a year not for a week!

I was gonna say iv a few fields the owners practically beg me too graze because they can’t get anybody too come and mess around with such small bits [emoji23][emoji23]

If your in the midlands I’ll rent you some for £20/acre/week [emoji28][emoji51] just if anybody asks there my goats your just checking them for me

 

[Flat 10]

Where in the country are you? I often get offered a lot of sub 5 acre fields for free, mainly because it’s cheaper for them to rent it for free than it is to pay someone to top it and fields are rough etc... when farmers talk of £50/acre or £120/acre that’s for a year not for a week!

Yes but I’m guessing here you are the local professional sheep man who looks after his stock and they don’t escape or die too much and you put several sheep in graze it off and clear off for 300 days. The OP is a new starter afaik so doesn’t have any reputation and wants to be there 365days a year for goats and veg I think was mentioned. I would be looking for equine money too I’m afraid.

 

[d-wales]

Hello fellows!

I recently found a piece of land to rent - I'm looking somewhere to graze and raise some goats (but thats another story).

I've been trying and failing to find comparable lots - hes charging £50 per week for an acre. Google tells me an acre is generally valued at £120 per annum, I think?

He has a lot of horses and various other lots and gives the impression its in high demand. There seems to be little else available so we're considering on just taking the hit, but I'm wondering if it really is a bit steep or is that an acceptable price?

Many thanks for any clarity or opinions offered!

He's asking for horse livery prices, where the renters arent looking to make money on a product, but to have a hobby. You've got to sell a lot of goats to make £2500 profit to cover the rent. [emoji102]

You can find no end of parcels of land to rent around me, most for free (crap grazing, small areas, no fence, etc) or you could rent 200 acres of well farmed grass land for about £80 per acre per year.

I know of a local kid getting paid £200 to top 10 acres at a property, he uses my machine so we split the money. [emoji389][emoji857].

 

[Duckwobble]

He's asking for horse livery prices, where the renters arent looking to make money on a product, but to have a hobby. You've got to sell a lot of goats to make £2500 profit to cover the rent. [emoji102]

You can find no end of parcels of land to rent around me, most for free (crap grazing, small areas, no fence, etc) or you could rent 200 acres of well farmed grass land for about £80 per acre per year.

I know of a local kid getting paid £200 to top 10 acres at a property, he uses my machine so we split the money. [emoji389][emoji857].

Livery prices would make some sense I guess.... why charge me less if he could charge someone more?

It's interesting you mention being paid for cutting tops - the idea with the goats was to contract them out as a natural weed management. Apparently the service is much more sought after in the US than the UK! Will probably make another post about that though.

 

[Duckwobble]

Yes but I’m guessing here you are the local professional sheep man who looks after his stock and they don’t escape or die too much and you put several sheep in graze it off and clear off for 300 days. The OP is a new starter afaik so doesn’t have any reputation and wants to be there 365days a year for goats and veg I think was mentioned. I would be looking for equine money too I’m afraid.

Some fair points in there! Still, I've seen acres of equine grazing much cheaper than £50/acre/week.

And planting a veg bed might not be welcomed by many farmers.. if any?

 

[Duckwobble]

Where in the country are you? I often get offered a lot of sub 5 acre fields for free, mainly because it’s cheaper for them to rent it for free than it is to pay someone to top it and fields are rough etc... when farmers talk of £50/acre or £120/acre that’s for a year not for a week!

We're in Cheshire, the land is closer to Wigan/Manchester. I guess it'd be worth us asking around!

 

[d-wales]

Livery prices would make some sense I guess.... why charge me less if he could charge someone more?

It's interesting you mention being paid for cutting tops - the idea with the goats was to contract them out as a natural weed management. Apparently the service is much more sought after in the US than the UK! Will probably make another post about that though.

Yes. That the problem, if he's getting livery prices it doesn't make sence for him to ask for livestock prices, it all depends on the area I guess.

It seems a lot of money that you need to make on top of wages/other expenses.