Letting land for shoot

Not sure on value but I Catch about 20 magpies and crows each year and control fox and deer numbers - this farm isn’t shot over.

Tell me which is better for the wildlife in general, my involvement or not?

New enviro schemes ought to include payment for Corvus control if the ground nesting birds are truly going to benefit.
 

Beefsmith

Member
Have a neighbour want to put some guns out in couple of our fields, up to 8 days a year, and to bring in the hedges on some days.

Going to have a written agreement.....but need to agree a value per acre for access. Of which i have no idea...

Has anyone done similar.

‘Shooting Rights’ are £10/acre for small bits like you describe. If they want access to the whole farm literally just to walk it’s generally no more than £5/acre, more typically £3.50/acre on old school estates.
If they want covers then £500/acre although it’s best if you buy the seeds and do the work especially if those areas are part of a stewardship agreement. Then invoice them at cost price for those bits but maintain the £500/ac base rate. Remember you’ll be claiming sfp as well plus any environmental money. It can be a very good earner but be careful how it’s invoiced or cash is better.
 

Jackov Altraids

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Devon
Sid makes no mention of being in an Agri environment Scheme.
I take it that you haven't bothered to look up the facts then.

I never said he was.
From memory, I thought he was organic and had spoke of its environmental requirements. Some dairies have stopped farms shooting calves, it isn't too big a stretch to consider some might stretch their contracts to cover a whole host of other things. I was only trying to be helpful and highlight a potential problem.

Yep, I'll pull the trigger too, though I see your point if a "profit" is derived from it.

Shot land has more conservation features than unshot land. Shooting encourages more biodiversity through planting and predator control. The OP has said nothing about agri-environmental schemes, so your comments are irrelevant here. :)

Fair enough but it seems likely that his fields are 'unshot land'.
Who said it was a rough shoot?
Go start your own thread and don't hijack mine please.

I thought 'bringing in the hedges' alluded to it, but as I don't often shoot, I don't know.

I've hardly hijacked the thread, maybe I've just touched a nerve......

Edited to say:

Bye. *leaves thread.
 
Last edited:

MrNoo

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Cirencester
Was offered a 50 bird day in exchange for sporting rights on 150ac, large commercial shoot that it is reckoned puts down circa 30k birds, this has now been upped to 150 bird day plus trimmings but I am not interested. All the French they put down have driven what remaining English we have/had away, even back at the home farm nearly 3 miles away but we do benefit on our small shoot from wandering birds as I'm sure they benefit from ours wandering to a much lesser degree.
So if we work that out at £45/bird it would equate to roughly £45/ac that they have offered, although not sure what they charge per bird on a bought day.
 

Fossil

Member
If you look at the research done by GWCT all the evidence shows that managing land for shooting benefits wild bird numbers due to feeding, habitat improvement and predator control.
I can understand why people would conclude that shooting is bad for wildlife, but the fact is that most species benefit from it.
Look at the GWCT website for the facts.
And in the same newsflash, reasearch undertaken by turkey’s suggests Christmas is a bad idea.
 

Fossil

Member
Was offered a 50 bird day in exchange for sporting rights on 150ac, large commercial shoot that it is reckoned puts down circa 30k birds, this has now been upped to 150 bird day plus trimmings but I am not interested. All the French they put down have driven what remaining English we have/had away, even back at the home farm nearly 3 miles away but we do benefit on our small shoot from wandering birds as I'm sure they benefit from ours wandering to a much lesser degree.
So if we work that out at £45/bird it would equate to roughly £45/ac that they have offered, although not sure what they charge per bird on a bought day.
Someone convince me how putting down 30000 birds and feed that would not naturally be there is good for the environment...
 

Surgery

Member
Location
Oxford
Not sure on value but I Catch about 20 magpies and crows each year and control fox and deer numbers - this farm isn’t shot over.

Tell me which is better for the wildlife in general, my involvement or not?

New enviro schemes ought to include payment for Corvus control if the ground nesting birds are truly going to benefit.
Thought your land has thousands put down on it over the motorway?
 

tr250

Member
Location
Northants
Have a neighbour want to put some guns out in couple of our fields, up to 8 days a year, and to bring in the hedges on some days.

Going to have a written agreement.....but need to agree a value per acre for access. Of which i have no idea...

Has anyone done similar.
Is he a good neighbor and are they walking only or driving across your land. If only walking a couple of hundred pounds in your pocket a year and say no more. You might want to go his side to clean your ditch un block drains one day or he may even come and offer you his ground first if he retires who knows
 

MrNoo

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Cirencester
Someone convince me how putting down 30000 birds and feed that would not naturally be there is good for the environment...
It is quite a "small" commercial shoot compared to a few others down this way, quite agree with your sentiment however and it'll be only a matter of time before it will become socially un acceptable, if it isnt already.
We put down 150-200 a year and have 4 days + beaters day, we tend to shoot nearly 200%
 
If you look at the research done by GWCT all the evidence shows that managing land for shooting benefits wild bird numbers due to feeding, habitat improvement and predator control.
I can understand why people would conclude that shooting is bad for wildlife, but the fact is that most species benefit from it.
Look at the GWCT website for the facts.

Unless the game is taken home and eaten its all for nought though.
 

B'o'B

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Rutland
And in the same newsflash, reasearch undertaken by turkey’s suggests Christmas is a bad idea.
I have to say I do have a lot of respect for the research undertaken by GWCT. I say this as someone who doesn’t really like pheasant shoots and only recently started clay shooting. A trip around their research farm at Loddington may be time well spent (or not if your mind is closed).
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 79 42.5%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 65 34.9%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 16.1%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 75-100%

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

    Votes: 6 3.2%

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

  • 1,287
  • 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