Fingers crossed for a response!

What I've noticed through reading through the "shooting and metal detecting" forum are a lot of requests without replies, so there's obviously very little appetite to allow people to roam over your land - this is hardly surprising, but I just thought I'd ask about it.

What would someone need to offer to a landowner to secure a permission to roam and do whatever it is that they do? There has to be a mutual benefit, what would that be for you?

It doesn't have to be a serious answer, but it would be great if it was - and maybe that would help people think about what they could genuinely offer in exchange for something that is really quite a privilege?

And this isn't a sneaky way of me asking for a permission to do something naughty, admittedly that was the reason that I joined TFF - but then I found a few threads that I could contribute to (engines, fuels and sustainability stuff) and that's the reason why I keep coming back.

Anyway, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a response to this question, I'd be generally interested to find out. Even if it's a "it's not worth the hassle"

John
 

Alchad

Member
Basically you couldn’t offer me anything. I don’t want strangers on my farm, the same as I don’t want people coming asking if I’ve any old batteries etc while there eyes are doing a 360 checking out the place. Might be harsh but you did ask.
 
Basically you couldn’t offer me anything. I don’t want strangers on my farm, the same as I don’t want people coming asking if I’ve any old batteries etc while there eyes are doing a 360 checking out the place. Might be harsh but you did ask.

It's not harsh at all, it's your place, why would you let a stranger there? It's great to have a response.
 

Disco_rich

Member
Location
West Berks
Its a question I've pondered for many, many hours ever since I started shooting. I have various pest control permissions locally, mostly obtained via sending (a lot of) letters and advertising in the local rag over five years or so, the largest being golf courses and polo paddocks/small holdings in the 100-150 acre bracket. For the most part, my experience is that farms are either already leasing the shooting, or are as per the gent above - just completely anti-anyone being on their land regardless of how they might benefit; cash certainly doesn't seem to sway farmers.

A friend of mine was a tractor driver in a tied cottage on a 500 acre farm that contracted another 3000-odd acres - I was fortunate to get on that until they sold up and he moved on. But it was quite obvious talking to the owner on numerous occasions that he wouldn't entertain anyone unknown to him/his employees being on his land.

Around here (West Berks) big chunks of land are controlled by various estates which run or lease large commercial shoots which = no chance. I was fortunate to come across an advert on gunsonpegs a few years ago by a chance, and have been leasing the shooting over 300 acres of a 1500 ish acre farm just over the border in Wiltshire. I have a good relationship with the owner and consider myself very fortunate to have obtained this. I'm under no illusion that the odds of coming across another similar ad again is pretty much zero.

I've shot steel targets a couple of times with a business run by a chap who was leasing some headland and other rough, steep land on the border of a fairly large arable farm in Wiltshire. I wont pretend to have a clue but I wouldn't have thought the strip of land in question was useful for much (you'd have a job getting any machinery up it without rolling it)/able to generate income otherwise. He's just called it a day as the owner has made it untenable for running it as a commercial venture (week days only, only available from Feb to July due to the shoot they run etc) so I assume money isn't the issue. Its so convenient for me I would have paid well to make whatever use was allowed of it, but I cant see any approach being successful sadly.

Having had run ins with lots of the public whilst shooting, I can see why land owners are averse to having randoms on their property - a lot of people just have zero respect and it seems to get worse with time. I'm forever picking sh!t up people have tossed rather than taken home, asking people to control their dogs (yes, I'm sure your dog is fine around sheep...) and shutting gates that people shouldn't have even opened in the first place. Add a few light-fingered pikeys into the mix and its not hard to see why everyone gets tarred with the same brush...

Without knowing a farmer personally (or someone who knows a farmer and knows you well enough that they'll vouch for/introduce you), its potentially an endless search sadly.
 
Its a question I've pondered for many, many hours ever since I started shooting. I have various pest control permissions locally, mostly obtained via sending (a lot of) letters and advertising in the local rag over five years or so, the largest being golf courses and polo paddocks/small holdings in the 100-150 acre bracket. For the most part, my experience is that farms are either already leasing the shooting, or are as per the gent above - just completely anti-anyone being on their land regardless of how they might benefit; cash certainly doesn't seem to sway farmers.

A friend of mine was a tractor driver in a tied cottage on a 500 acre farm that contracted another 3000-odd acres - I was fortunate to get on that until they sold up and he moved on. But it was quite obvious talking to the owner on numerous occasions that he wouldn't entertain anyone unknown to him/his employees being on his land.

Around here (West Berks) big chunks of land are controlled by various estates which run or lease large commercial shoots which = no chance. I was fortunate to come across an advert on gunsonpegs a few years ago by a chance, and have been leasing the shooting over 300 acres of a 1500 ish acre farm just over the border in Wiltshire. I have a good relationship with the owner and consider myself very fortunate to have obtained this. I'm under no illusion that the odds of coming across another similar ad again is pretty much zero.

I've shot steel targets a couple of times with a business run by a chap who was leasing some headland and other rough, steep land on the border of a fairly large arable farm in Wiltshire. I wont pretend to have a clue but I wouldn't have thought the strip of land in question was useful for much (you'd have a job getting any machinery up it without rolling it)/able to generate income otherwise. He's just called it a day as the owner has made it untenable for running it as a commercial venture (week days only, only available from Feb to July due to the shoot they run etc) so I assume money isn't the issue. Its so convenient for me I would have paid well to make whatever use was allowed of it, but I cant see any approach being successful sadly.

Having had run ins with lots of the public whilst shooting, I can see why land owners are averse to having randoms on their property - a lot of people just have zero respect and it seems to get worse with time. I'm forever picking sh!t up people have tossed rather than taken home, asking people to control their dogs (yes, I'm sure your dog is fine around sheep...) and shutting gates that people shouldn't have even opened in the first place. Add a few light-fingered pikeys into the mix and its not hard to see why everyone gets tarred with the same brush...

Without knowing a farmer personally (or someone who knows a farmer and knows you well enough that they'll vouch for/introduce you), its potentially an endless search sadly.

Thanks, that's what I had assumed really, that trust comes top and cash is last, and judging from the comment higher up maybe "barterable" skills fall somewhere in the middle.

I was quite fortunate to grow up in west wales in the 80s, the farms were typically much smaller and everyone knew everyone else in the local community so it was pretty easy to ask back then. I think I'll just have to work on my Liam Neeson impersonation and do the "I have a very particular set of skills..." line, it's just a shame that none of them are terribly useful!
 

ianm641

Member
the only barterable skills i have to offer any would be landowner is being a hgv mechanic with a class two licence but i prefer older machinery with less computers
 

Boysground

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Wiltshire
I’ve posted this before but I think it’s good advice. It is no coincidence that everyone who has shooting permission on my farm have one thing in common. They all beat or pick up on the shoot that uses my farm. It’s by no means a big expensive posh shoot. It’s social and sensible, most of the teams of guns have been returning for years. Most importantly I pick up as much as I can.

This means that the fox pigeon and bunny controllers get to know both me (also the other landlords) and the shoot owner first. We learn what they are like and I would say trust is earned both ways.

So my advice to anyone looking for shooting permission is to spend some time beating through a season or 2 and you may well earn some shooting. You will get a beaters day at least.

Bg
 

ianm641

Member
I’ve posted this before but I think it’s good advice. It is no coincidence that everyone who has shooting permission on my farm have one thing in common. They all beat or pick up on the shoot that uses my farm. It’s by no means a big expensive posh shoot. It’s social and sensible, most of the teams of guns have been returning for years. Most importantly I pick up as much as I can.

This means that the fox pigeon and bunny controllers get to know both me (also the other landlords) and the shoot owner first. We learn what they are like and I would say trust is earned both ways.

So my advice to anyone looking for shooting permission is to spend some time beating through a season or 2 and you may well earn some shooting. You will get a beaters day at least.

Bg
used to do beating in essex before i joined up great days had my first experience with whiskey and a very staggered walk home
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 80 42.3%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 66 34.9%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 15.9%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 7 3.7%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

  • 1,293
  • 1
As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
Top