Arable to grazing land

[horseclover]

Has anyone converted arable land to grazing? I know there will be planning permission involved for change of use but I was more after some advice on how long before the land can be used for grazing.

The land in question currently has a crop of what looks like wheat or barley planted. If that crop gets ploughed in and grass seed was down by spring, would it be good for grazing the same year or next year at the earliest?

Thanks

 

[blitznbobs]

Arable is agricultural, grazing is agricultural… no change of use.

 

[FestiveFuzz]

Arable is agricultural, grazing is agricultural… no change of use.

I’m not sure this is strictly true. When we were buying we looked at a house with arable land. We were told to use it for horses we’d be required to change usage from agricultural to equestrian. In terms of time frames, it was estimated it’d be 18mths to 2 years before we’d be able to use it properly for horses. We ended up buying elsewhere in the end, so no idea how much hassle it would have been, but it sounded like a lot of work.

 

[Merry neddy man]

Are you changing it to make hay / haylage or to graze sheep / cattle or graze horses? For horses it needs changing to equestrian from agricultural

 

[Hackback]

I think it depends on if you are just grazing on it. If you intend to do anything else, eg feeding on the land, riding or rugging horses, it changes the status to equestrian. It does in our area anyway.

We bought an arable field behind our house in 2020. Because of the timing we didnt get to clear the land - it had been left fallow for a year so was mostly weeds - and sew the grass seed until October. We put down some more seed in spring 2021. On the advice of the farmer who did it for us we didn't spray for weeds before we seeded because it wasn't growing season and there was no point. We were so worried last year when all these weeds started growing, there were more weeds than grass. However we had it cut regularly and the grass started to outperform the weeds.

Still not ready for the horses to go on - I'm told that even when it looks ready, because its so new the roots won't be strong enough. We've been advised by different people to get sheep on, not to get sheep on, take a cut of hay before putting the horses on etc.

I am hoping that if we have it tillaged and some more seed down in spring we'll be able to fetch the horses home in early summer. It's been a long time but I don't want to undo all the work that's gone into it so far.

Assuming all goes to plan it will be 18 months + for us. Our neighbours who bought the other part of the field have put down some fast growing grass which is much thicker and lusher than ours. Theirs is for cattle though - I deliberately chose a mix made for horses, which I guess isn't as fast growing as some other types.

 

[honetpot]

I would not plough, it will take the ground longer to firm up. If you can get someone to direct drill grass seed in to it, and they spray or mow to control the weeds, that would be the quickest to get a usable crop. If you graze some livestock on it, you will not need planning unless you start leaving things like jumps up, or feeding horses over winter outside. Some areas are stricter than others, especially in National Parks.

 

[horseclover]

It would definitely be a change of use as I’d plan to put stables on (I’m a civil engineer so I know how to building them) plus possibly some liveries. I know there’s not much of any profit, it’d be more for having other people on the yard.

So realistically if seed went down this spring I’d be looking at back end of 2023 or early 2024 before putting horses on.

Thanks for the advice on weeds. That’s definitely not what I need to happen ?

 

[blitznbobs]

I’m not sure this is strictly true. When we were buying we looked at a house with arable land. We were told to use it for horses we’d be required to change usage from agricultural to equestrian. In terms of time frames, it was estimated it’d be 18mths to 2 years before we’d be able to use it properly for horses. We ended up buying elsewhere in the end, so no idea how much hassle it would have been, but it sounded like a lot of work.

Grazing is agricultural- you can graze horses on agricultural land if you dont do anything other on it mote than 28 days a year. Feeding and rugging are a grey area as to whether they count or not. Once you ride on the land etc it is then equestrian.

Eta If you have a lot of land change as little as possible to equestrian as equestrian land is subject to inheritance tax where as agricultural land is not.

 

[blitznbobs]

Duplicate post

 

[Polos Mum]

Planning covered above but I can help with the physical change.

We bought 12 acres that was a standing barley crop when we bought it - farmer harvested in autumn and sowed grass seed with professional kit for us (drilled I think). The first year was thin and we just grazed it for a week or so in rotation - it churned up really easily and hardly any grass grew. We over seeded every year and kept 3-4 horses on it - lots of the time turning out only on the field margin strip around the outside.
in 6 years it was just about usable but only really for 4 horses, we moved and bought somewhere that had been cattle grazing / hay crop for 100+ years and I've vowed never to try and re-instate grass again. the soil structure took years to stabilise from regular ploughing - we used cambridge roll often which helped a but but it's a fine line between firming the ground and making it airless.
We used sheep to good effect to gently fertilise and pad down - again hardly any per acre as the ground wouldn't take it.

If you go ahead I would triple the amount of acreage per horse from normal grazing for at least 4-5 years.

After five years the field could just cope with 4 horses on it. In one good year here I kept the same 4 horses on 1 acre for 4 months and the field looked amazing.
It's really hard work so make sure it's a long term investment for you, - I definitely wouldn't bother on rented land.

 

[Errin Paddywack]

The 23 acres I use was ploughed for around 20 years. First ploughed up in about 65/66 and then finally put down to a three year lay a couple of years or so before my BIL bought it in Jan 92. At this time it was let out as summer grazing, I think it had cattle and sheep on it. We moved on with about 8 horses/ponies and some sheep. We really didn't understand the land and soon found out that it was heavy clay, very wet despite being on a hill and due to the fact it hadn't been down to grass very long and not a permanent mix at that that it wouldn't tolerate heavy winter grazing. It has taken many years and a significant reduction in horses for the grass cover to get dense enough to provide decent grazing year round and that has to be carefully managed. One problem is that with 20 yrs of having heavy machinery on it it had developed what I think is known as 'claypan'. This is where it gets compacted just below plough depth so water cannot get through to the drains. It really needed mole draining or sub-soiling but my BIL wouldn't allow it as he was afraid it might damage the drains.
So, be prepared to treat it very carefully until it has established a good sward. Sheep are good as they don't cut it up too much and fertilise as they go.

 

[rabatsa]

Sheep are really good for new grass leys. Their small feet do not damage the soil structure, they spread manure behind them and as they graze the grass will tiller and thicken up quicker than if left for mowing as hay.

 

[Sprig]

I was about to say exactly what Rabatsa said. I would put sheep on it for the first yr at least before you let horses near it (and preferably keep them as part of your rotation after that, being v careful not to damage the land with the horses in the first few yrs).

 

[horseclover]

The surrounding fields are grazed by horses so would this be a good indicator for long term suitability?

 

[FestiveFuzz]

Grazing is agricultural- you can graze horses on agricultural land if you dont do anything other on it mote than 28 days a year. Feeding and rugging are a grey area as to whether they count or not. Once you ride on the land etc it is then equestrian.

Eta If you have a lot of land change as little as possible to equestrian as equestrian land is subject to inheritance tax where as agricultural land is not.

We were told feeding additional feed (either hard feed or hay) and rugging would tip us into equestrian usage. How much it’s actually policed I don’t know, but it wasn’t a risk we wanted to take.

 

[FestiveG]

We feed our sheep hay and hard feed, in the field, I really can't see that feeding horses is any different. Our land had horses on it before we got here, but there had never been an issue

 

[Polos Mum]

We were told feeding additional feed (either hard feed or hay) and rugging would tip us into equestrian usage. How much it’s actually policed I don’t know, but it wasn’t a risk we wanted to take.

The risk is only that you get a letter and have to apply for retrospective planning (which cost the same and is same forms as doing it in advance).

All council services are totally overwhelmed at present - we have a local house that has been built in quite the wrong place (vs. the plans submitted) and on enquiring with the planning department they said it might be 2 years before anyone can visit to inspect for a single house matter.

I would imagine feeding horses in a field will be even further down their list of priorities.

 

[PurBee]

great advice already given, so wont repeat.

1 field i re-seeded, that is soft peatier soil in a wet climate, old rough meadow-type…mainly moss growing!, i spring-time re-seeded (after doing major drainage works previous yr) started with a 3-6 inch rotorvate, to lightly plough in what was growing, seed sown very generously @ 20kg per acre, mixed horse pasture seed, rolled and rolled to firm - then waited.

The next summer i grazed 2 horses on the 2 acres re-seeded, 15 months later. It had grown thick by then. Was firm etc.
I had done a late autumn cut of it the year i re-seeded. Then wild deer grazed it over winter. It was very short to start the next spring, but came back well. That next spring i also added calcium/magnesium pellets due to lack.

I grazed them on it for just 3 weeks, pulled them off, then on again for 3 weeks…didnt want them to graze it below 2 inches. Help the young grass have chance to develop strength/roots.

The horses galloped around when first let in there…gits! They had been walked past the field for over a year seeing nice green grass growing and really wanted to get in…so when they did, they were very excited! ?
I didnt expect it, but grazing that field really made them look fab. Older black mare got a very dark black coat, shiny. Hoof growth fab. They really do thrive on fresh mixed meadows.

So although i grazed on it 15 months after sowing, i was very careful not to use it as full-time grazing. So expect to, as stated above, lightly graze initially.

The cow farms spring sow gm ryegrass seeds, which establish fast and can be grazing it lightly with cows later that year. Its remarkable technology of grass genetics but very unsuited to horses. Thats why you might find agri re-seeding guides online stating spring sow/autumn graze. For mixed heirloom grass seeds - they take much longer to establish, but worth it!

 

[blitznbobs]

We were told feeding additional feed (either hard feed or hay) and rugging would tip us into equestrian usage. How much it’s actually policed I don’t know, but it wasn’t a risk we wanted to take.

Councils say all sorts of things that aren’t true … the law is very grey and as someone else says it is ok to feed sheep so why not horses. The law allows for welfare measures for grazing animals so rugging and feeding horses can well be argued for this. The risk is only that they will make you apply for planning but they cant not allow just because youre already doing it — thats not how planning law works. On the whole planning law is really weakly worded.

 

[PeterNatt]

If you intend grazing horses on the land and the horses are going to be fed, ridden in the fields or are for racreational use then you will require planning permission for change of use from Agricultural to Equestrian. I have done this numerous times. The first thing you need to do is to get a soil test carried out to determine if there are any difficiencies in the soil. Then you need to carry out Total Kill of the crops, weeds and grass at the begining of the growing season and wait for 3 months to see what happens. You may need to do it again if weeds come up. Then install any drainage pipes and then water pipes (mole drill). Then direct drill the grass seed with a grass that you require. Once the grass has grown then cut and collect it to get it to dense up about three times in the growing season. Then roll it. Fence the fields and install the water troughs. Hardcore all the gateways with a liner underneath using three grades of stone with fines on the top. Best to leave horses off the fields for at least 1 if not 3 years to get it established. You are best to use a specialist Grassland Contractor. Good Luck.

 

[Errin Paddywack]

We were told feeding additional feed (either hard feed or hay) and rugging would tip us into equestrian usage.

We have been doing this for the last 27 years along with sheep grazing it and never been challenged.

 

[canteron]

Mine took a year to establish well enough to be grazed ‘normally’. I did graze it lightly the first year (it was a hot year so needed the grazing) and also put some sheep on it which helped.
The second year I also looked after it well ( didn’t overgraze and topped regularly) and now it has a really good dense coverage.

 

[rextherobber]

If you are a Facebook user, there's an excellent group run by Dr Lisa Schofield - Land management fir himself owners.