Help on some land matters...

[sim2kuk]

I would disagree with the Hon. Member.

There is nothing wrong with compact tractor, just avoid Chinese cheapies... Dunno what your budget, but if you can find a low hours 30hp Kubota or Kioti, you will not go far wrong. Even better get a front end loader on it, and you will constantly find uses for it, even if a lot of the work is as a motorised barrow!

Loads of cheap attachments about to do small tasks, mowing, harrowing etc that will be quite adequate for your 5-6ac.

Good luck, and have fun!

TBH, I wouldn't want to spend more than £20k including attachments (which I assume would be a flail mower and a loader to start with).

 

[sim2kuk]

If you want the straight answer no waffle . Burn it off with roundup and direct drill some new seed . But first get the soil tested

What's the approx cost per acre for direct drill? Just a ballpark would be useful.

 

[GeorgeK]

Quite some interest in this thread. Perhaps because some of us farmers are starting to think we'd be just as happy with a paddock and old tractor to play about with, forget about trying to make money from growing food

 

[sim2kuk]

Quite some interest in this thread. Perhaps because some of us farmers are starting to think we'd be just as happy with a paddock and old tractor to play about with, forget about trying to make money from growing food

I'm really excited TBH...I think we'll go as far as having some chickens but that's about it!

 

[GeorgeK]

I'm really excited TBH...I think we'll go as far as having some chickens but that's about it!

You should be, plenty there to fully immerse yourself in and escape from the outside world, lots of fun and lots to learn. In a few months you'll have succumbed to the lure of an old tractor and be posting on the classics earning their keep page

Classics Earning their keep.

The Today at work thread seems to be very popular, so how about giving the shinny paint boys a run for their money, and show them that classic stuff can still do the job. I'll kick off with these taken while working today, and hope more will follow.

thefarmingforum.co.uk

 

[sim2kuk]

You should be, plenty there to fully immerse yourself in and escape from the outside world, lots of fun and lots to learn. In a few months you'll have succumbed to the lure of an old tractor and be posting on the classics earning their keep page

Classics Earning their keep.

The Today at work thread seems to be very popular, so how about giving the shinny paint boys a run for their money, and show them that classic stuff can still do the job. I'll kick off with these taken while working today, and hope more will follow.

thefarmingforum.co.uk

It does amaze me the way a lot of old tractors keep so much of their value - the proverbial workhorses as it were.

 

[Loftyrules]

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.

Does that method or reseeding work? I am trying to work out how best to add some clover to my grassland (without reseeding etc) and that could be an interesting way

 

[Derrick Hughes]

What's the approx cost per acre for direct drill? Just a ballpark would be useful.

£27 acre drilling Cost seed approximately £55 then a bit for spraying
Ploughing would cost you 4 times that and not as good

 

[rusty]

We're going to incorporate it into the garden of the house which is very small - there is a retaining wall between the house garden and the manege so we'll put steps down to it, put soil in and seed it. Here is a picture of the manege:

View attachment 941890

Before you put soil over this I would look into selling the sand . It looks from the photo to have fibre mixed in with it. Together they will have probably cost over 10k for the sand and fibre alone so maybe some second hand value to someone looking to do a ménage. There should be a membrane under the sand with drainage stone below this.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Does that method or reseeding work? I am trying to work out how best to add some clover to my grassland (without reseeding etc) and that could be an interesting way

I'm doing some with a Stocks Seeder on the quad bike . Mix with fertiliser, mix with slurry dont really matter .it helps if there is a bit of bare soil , harrow and roll hard after or turn plentyof sheep on to tread it in

 

[Goweresque]

If you want the straight answer no waffle . Burn it off with roundup and direct drill some new seed . But first get the soil tested

Says the man who sells grass seed......

 

[fgc325j]

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.

V. good advice- proper fencing is vital with ANY animal. Ps - spend some time on the "fence post" section.

 

[thesilentone]

If it we're me, I'd start with a blank canvas, and to do that I would direct drill the lot and get a good mixed lay cover. If you're not interested in farming, I would then plan where you're going to dig a pond, and plan a decent path route that offers a reasonable length walk.

Around/ along each side of the pathway, I would plant a mixture of soft and hardwood tree's, the soft will grow fast (silver birch/spruce) and once established you can thin the softs out to give the hards a good chance. Leave a few blank areas and let mother nature do the rest. In a few years you'll have a wildlife haven.

In future, all you'll need is a decent sized ride-on mower to keep the paths short and a chainsaw to thin the softs out..

If you have a dig around you may find some support funding to help you.

 

[Ffermer Bach]

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

I was just looking, but they seemed a bit expensive, I was thinking maybe a Zetor 7245, Renault 75 14, IH 785, MF 575

 

[Ffermer Bach]

Does that method or reseeding work? I am trying to work out how best to add some clover to my grassland (without reseeding etc) and that could be an interesting way

if you have calves, mix clover seed in with their creep

 

[Highland Mule]

if you have calves, mix clover seed in with their creep

Amazing how much ground you can cover in an evening with a bucket and spreading by hand approach. Probably do ten acres in an hour. After the first year it spreads out and fills in any mossed parts pretty well too.

 

[gmgmgm]

TBH, I wouldn't want to spend more than £20k including attachments (which I assume would be a flail mower and a loader to start with).

That should get you a decent compact Kubota with a few hours on it. If you're planning on ever doing any improvements on the house/garden a loader is super-useful. With pallet forks. Big agricultural tractors are better value certainly, but you need more space for them, and they won't be as comfortable. Is this work or pleasure?

Sheep (and small cows) are great, but best to use a local farmer. Don't buy your own sheep.

Frankly, there's probably nothing wrong with getting a local contractor to run their flail over the area a few times a year while you work out what you are interested in doing (and spending time vs. money on). Their big kit will be much quicker than your ~5ft flail.

The "Accidental Smallholder" forum is a good place to read up on smaller-scale farming too.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Says the man who sells grass seed......

I also own a plough . But of you can make a silk p [emoji164] out of a [emoji241] ear im all [emoji101]

 

[The Seeker]

id say just have a nice large allotment goodlife style patch and dont bother with livestock much perhaps a few chickens if you must

 

[neilo]

I also own a plough . But of you can make a silk p [emoji164] out of a [emoji241] ear im all [emoji101]

I own a Direct Drill and no plough. I’d still be hesitant to recommend anyone DD’ed into badly poached horse fields though!