Help on some land matters...

[sim2kuk]

Good morning all,

First post, but mainly because I am looking for advice on a few things.

I am not a farmer, or have much idea on anything agricultural (I work in IT) – but with the push to working from home and two young children, we thought it would be beneficial for all our lifestyles to move to the country. It sounds rather romanticised, and to a certain extent it is, but we think it’s worth our while giving it a go.

We are currently going through the purchase of a house in East Sussex, which has 5.5 acres of equestrian land – as you can probably imagine the land is not in particularly good nick – it is potted with a lot of weeds, and not particularly good grass.

What I wanted to enquire was what work would generally need to be done to change the land from equestrian to a more sort of “parkland” type land? Also, are there people that can come and do this. I’ve been searching on Google (yeah, I know) and I can’t seem to find anyone to do this.

I am also (lastly) looking for advice on small tractors – what kind of machine and accessories would I need to keep the land well cut and maintained – there seem to be lots of compacts ranging from 25-50hp (assuming I won’t need more than that) that would fit the bill, but so many Brands (and some that I thought were good, like Kubota, seem to get pelters wherever I look).

Anyway, hope you’re all keeping well, and any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers!

 

[delilah]

Is it sheep fenced ? If not then spend your money on that before a tractor, then get a local sheep farmer to hit it hard with a good number of sheep for a short period of time, they may do a surprisingly good job of rescuing it from the gee gees, eating the weeds etc. If the farmer was receptive to it the sheep could be fed some sheep feed with some grass / clover seed mixed in it to reseed it via their poo.

 

[The Son]

Get moved in and get to know your neighbours, they will be the best source of local information for you.
Always get a quote for any work you are having done, we country people are not so daft and as an incomer you will be seen as fair game, so be careful!

 

[teslacoils]

Chat to neighbouring farmer. Don't bother with tractor.

 

[betternextyear]

I am not sure what you mean by parkland, other than grass? So at a guess you are wanting pasture grass but not a lawn. If the field has been overgrazed by horses it will have docks nettles thistles. These are perrenial weeds and difficult to kill other than spraying with glypho. My advice ,spray the grass and weeds to kill them in spring. plough field and sow with a parkland grass mixture. Then mow it or graze it.

 

[sim2kuk]

Is it sheep fenced ? If not then spend your money on that before a tractor, then get a local sheep farmer to hit it hard with a good number of sheep for a short period of time, they may do a surprisingly good job of rescuing it from the gee gees, eating the weeds etc. If the farmer was receptive to it the sheep could be fed some sheep feed with some grass / clover seed mixed in it to reseed it via their poo.

It has split rail fencing or bushes all the way round the land - not sure if that would be secure enough?

 

[sim2kuk]

Get moved in and get to know your neighbours, they will be the best source of local information for you.
Always get a quote for any work you are having done, we country people are not so daft and as an incomer you will be seen as fair game, so be careful!

Ha - I'm sure I will! I'll always try to get a couple of quotes!

 

[sim2kuk]

I am not sure what you mean by parkland, other than grass? So at a guess you are wanting pasture grass but not a lawn. If the field has been overgrazed by horses it will have docks nettles thistles. These are perrenial weeds and difficult to kill other than spraying with glypho. My advice ,spray the grass and weeds to kill them in spring. plough field and sow with a parkland grass mixture. Then mow it or graze it.

Yeah, pretty much that kind of pasture type grass.

Would it be easy to get someone to plough and sow?

 

[delilah]

It has split rail fencing or bushes all the way round the land - not sure if that would be secure enough?

that will depend on what breed of sheep your neighbour has, as others have said introduce yourself over the farm gate, observing social distancing rules of course lol. .

 

[sim2kuk]

that will depend on what breed of sheep your neighbour has, as others have said introduce yourself over the farm gate, observing social distancing rules of course lol. .

Cool - sounds like it's just a case of getting friendly with the local farmer and he/she should be able to help me.

 

[delilah]

Cool - sounds like it's just a case of getting friendly with the local farmer and he/she should be able to help me.

You've got it. Don't go talking about spending money, word will get round.

 

[Ffermer Bach]

and, if I were going to buy a tractor, I would definitely not buy a compact tractor, rather a small little (agricultural size) tractor, I know everyone here will say don't bother buying one, but I think it's nice to own a tractor, you could put a log splitter on it too

 

[betternextyear]

Using sheep to renovate and improve the grass is a good idea but sheep fencing isnt cheap. 500 metres of sheep fence will cost at least £1000 depending how bad the original fences are and how much work there is.

 

[sim2kuk]

and, if I were going to buy a tractor, I would definitely not buy a compact tractor, rather a small little (agricultural size) tractor, I know everyone here will say don't bother buying one, but I think it's nice to own a tractor, you could put a log splitter on it too

So what would be an example of a small agricultural size tractor?

 

[sim2kuk]

Using sheep to renovate and improve the grass is a good idea but sheep fencing isnt cheap. 500 metres of sheep fence will cost at least £1000 depending how bad the original fences are and how much work there is.

To be honest, thinking about the size of the land and the way large bushes surround the majority of it, I will probably only need a few hundred meters of fencing. Is sheep fencing the wired fencing on posts (ie could I just buy the wire and attach it to the rail fencing I already have there?).

 

[GeorgeK]

To be honest, thinking about the size of the land and the way large bushes surround the majority of it, I will probably only need a few hundred meters of fencing. Is sheep fencing the wired fencing on posts (ie could I just buy the wire and attach it to the rail fencing I already have there?).

The first thing sheep will do is chew through the bushes and either escape or get tangled up. Maybe see if someone locally would temporary electric fence and stock it to see how you like the sheep and if they do the job you want before investing in permanent stock fencing?
It's worth paying to have the land cultivated and starting with a clean slate in my view, it will level any rough areas and make mowing 10x easier. Unfortunately it will need spraying in the first year or two for weeds like docks after reseeding, it's the only practical way to eradicate them

 

[farmerm]

Is it sheep fenced ? If not then spend your money on that before a tractor, then get a local sheep farmer to hit it hard with a good number of sheep for a short period of time, they may do a surprisingly good job of rescuing it from the gee gees, eating the weeds etc. If the farmer was receptive to it the sheep could be fed some sheep feed with some grass / clover seed mixed in it to reseed it via their poo.

How effective is feeding seed vs spinning some on and what time of year would you feed it?

 

[Highland Mule]

So what would be an example of a small agricultural size tractor?

MF 135

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Cool - sounds like it's just a case of getting friendly with the local farmer and he/she should be able to help me.

Just direct drill it , ploughing is the old fashion way like a wooden wheel sort of thing .
We who sell seeds for Hurrells are happy to discuss at length the best seeds for the job
Send me a pm anytime , we pride ourselves in getting the right seeds out for the job at hand [emoji3]

 

[D14]

Good morning all,

First post, but mainly because I am looking for advice on a few things.

I am not a farmer, or have much idea on anything agricultural (I work in IT) – but with the push to working from home and two young children, we thought it would be beneficial for all our lifestyles to move to the country. It sounds rather romanticised, and to a certain extent it is, but we think it’s worth our while giving it a go.

We are currently going through the purchase of a house in East Sussex, which has 5.5 acres of equestrian land – as you can probably imagine the land is not in particularly good nick – it is potted with a lot of weeds, and not particularly good grass.

What I wanted to enquire was what work would generally need to be done to change the land from equestrian to a more sort of “parkland” type land? Also, are there people that can come and do this. I’ve been searching on Google (yeah, I know) and I can’t seem to find anyone to do this.

I am also (lastly) looking for advice on small tractors – what kind of machine and accessories would I need to keep the land well cut and maintained – there seem to be lots of compacts ranging from 25-50hp (assuming I won’t need more than that) that would fit the bill, but so many Brands (and some that I thought were good, like Kubota, seem to get pelters wherever I look).

Anyway, hope you’re all keeping well, and any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers!

All you need is fencing, a water supply and borrow some sheep to sort it out. Then get the farmer the sheep came from to spin on some new grass seeds from his slug pelleter and then get him to harrow and roll the seed in. Job done for 6 months. Might then need a cheap spray in May time and then sheep again in the autumn but don't let them poach it or overgraze it. By year 2 you'll have a nice stand of grass and then just bring sheep in twice a year for a month at a time and that'll be all you need to do.