Getting land ready for grazing - What to do & when?

P

PinkSwoon

Well-Known Member
Joined
24 November 2012
Messages
61
Visit site
Evening everyone,

Long story short, about to acquire almost 3 acres of land previously agri but was used as set-aside for some time. It's not perfect by any means (horses are going to be neighbours with the M18 & it's an odd triangular shape) but it's in the quiet, historical village I grew up & still live in, smack bang next door to the huge village wood I know like the back of my hand, over the road from a livery yard with an outdoor school & a 5 minute hack away through the wood to another yard with great facilities like regular clinics & a solarium.

Obviously at the moment it's massively over-grown & riddled with ragwort (which I think has been sprayed as last time I went to look at it it had all turned black - will this just die & rot away or do I have to remove it?). Now I've never done this before does anyone have any advice on what needs doing first!? There is already nuclear war proof post & rail fencing (preferably needs a thick hawthorne & another lot of post & rail fencing in front topped with electric down the motorway side!) but in terms of the actual land, what needs doing first? eg: topping, seeding etc. Would I be better off getting a contractor to look at this as I don't want to have it topped then put the horses straight on it then to figure out for example that it should have been reseeded first.

Am I thinking too much into this? Any help much appreciated!
 
When are you planning to move your horses onto the land? If the ragwort has been sprayed you need to let it disappear completely before you need to put the horses on. If there are loads of weeds you'll need to top it. There's no point reseeding at this time of year, the temperature of the soil needs to be at least 6 degrees for grass to grow, and that's a constant 6 degrees, not 8 degrees in the day and minus 1 at might.

If you can wait and prepare your land properly you'll reap the benefits. Top and reseed in the spring. Let the grass establish then spray when the weeds are actively growing. I'd probably be thinking about having my horses on the land, say, June/July next year. But, of course, this may not be possible. If you need your horses on now, get rid of the ragwort and fence sections of the land off so that you can treat as necessary.

In an ideal world, once you've reseeded wait until you've got a cut of hay off before putting horses on to ensure the grass is truly established.
 
Slightly Foxed said:
When are you planning to move your horses onto the land? If the ragwort has been sprayed you need to let it disappear completely before you need to put the horses on. If there are loads of weeds you'll need to top it. There's no point reseeding at this time of year, the temperature of the soil needs to be at least 6 degrees for grass to grow, and that's a constant 6 degrees, not 8 degrees in the day and minus 1 at might.

If you can wait and prepare your land properly you'll reap the benefits. Top and reseed in the spring. Let the grass establish then spray when the weeds are actively growing. I'd probably be thinking about having my horses on the land, say, June/July next year. But, of course, this may not be possible. If you need your horses on now, get rid of the ragwort and fence sections of the land off so that you can treat as necessary.

In an ideal world, once you've reseeded wait until you've got a cut of hay off before putting horses on to ensure the grass is truly established.
Click to expand...

Exactly what I needed - thankyou so much! I was also thinking a similar time but I think realistically they will need to be on there before then so sectioning it off will be the way to go I think - current grazing is basically non-existent & I'd rather put the extra few grand I'd save on a new livery contract toward the land. Thanks also sparemare for replying - I currently have no equipment but down the line obviously will be looking at maintaining it myself
 
Pearlsasinger said:
If you can borrow some sheep, they will make a world of difference in a relatively short time and save the necessity for loads of equipment.
Click to expand...

LJR said:
I was going to suggest sheep too :) I would get rid of the ragwort by hand and burn, then bring in the sheep!
Click to expand...

Thanks for this! I had also thought it would benefit - although the idea of a crash on the M18 caused by one of the little blighters makes me shudder. If I got some sheep on I'd have to get some stock proof mesh to give me peace of mind, every time I drive past our local farmers paddock (he uses it as a wedding venue & has his sheep on there often) I end up having to return at least one to it's rightful place! :D thankyou!
 
If you have aa friendly local farmer I would have a word and take his advice. Sheep would be good - he might be able to put some temporary electric fence to keep them in.

It is too late to spray or probably even to top the field now. I would remove as much of the ragwort as you can see and perhaps let the horses graze it and review the situation in the spring. The more of the old grass that is grazed off the better it will grow in the spring.

You could fence into small areas and hay the horses on the floor - the grass seed will fall out of the hay and you will be amazed how much will grow back next year. Just keep moving the piles of hay around the area.

Good luck. We did 12 acres of totally overgrown land without even a tractor many years ago. From choice would rent a man with a tractor and equipment!
 
If it has been riddled with Ragwort then there will be Ragwort seed in the ground so you will need to be prepared to spray it each year once the Ragwort has come up, let it die off and then pull it up once it has died and remove it off site and burn it.

If it was my field I would see if it needs any drainage put in and put it in if required, then get the soil tested to see if there were any deficiencies. I would then use total kill and kill everything off, then let it grow again and kill it off again before dressing it for any deficiencies and then seeding it for grass (without ploughing it up) and letting the grass grow for at least one year, fertilising it, cutting and collecting it several times in the growing season to get it to dense up. I would not put horses on it for at least one full year but best to keep them off for 2 - 3 years if you want to establish it for permanent grassland.

If the field was agricultural before you will require planning permission for change of use from agricultural to equestrian.

I would use a specialist grassland contractor to do the work.
 
Top the fields and sub divide into 3 . Use as grazing over the winter and rotate the paddocks . In spring (early april ) spray two of the paddocks against broadleaf weeds . 4 weeks later chain harrow those two paddocks to within an inch of their lives . Suplement grazing in the remaining paddock as necessary with hay until mid may then rotate between two sprayed paddocks . Spray remaining unsprayed paddock.$ weeks later include sprayed paddock in rotation. Late August / mid september . Harrow one paddock hard then broadcast a suitable grass seed mix and harrow again .leave this paddock alone till the following May and rotate between the other two. Well ,thats enough to get you started in the right direction. The moral is "use what youve got and improve it slowly" Drastic and expensive programmes are not the way forward!
 
You will need change of use to equestrian to do anything apart from graze the horses. Even supplementing their feed will fall foul of that exemption. Even if its set aside it will still be agricultural.
Im sorry but I would be suspicious of why nobody has done this before especially as you say there is an establishment across the road. How are you aquiring this land ie buying or renting ? If renting it will most likely still be registered for payment so change of use will not be possible
The grazing will most likely be very poor as alsorts grow on setaside and the fertility will be prety much depleted. Be prepared for many years of removing ragwort and other weeds, If we take setaside out here for arable production it can take 5-6 yrs to get it back to 100% productivity do you have it that long or maybe the cynic in me suggests that the landowner will be using you to just tidy it up for them whilst also getting some cash.
 
Last edited:
Soil test to see what you need to do on that side .
On the ragwort ,sheep will cut down the labour you need to put in if it's doable .
Then it's a war of attrition against the ragwort I would get the whole lot topped and then divide into three .
Select one to be the first field they go into and that one is the one were you hand dig the ragwort and work to get it clean and into shape first .
I manage my land ( about 13 acres of grass ) using a a heavy duty ride on mower with a mulching deck for the topping I can then top exactly when I want too it's by far the best way for us .
On three acres you will need to poo pick and I would worm count a bit more regularly to see what's going on as you get to know your land .
You will need I think to pick a sacrifice pasture for winter you might not get the right one the first year so be prepared to change things as you get to know the land .
I have my own rollers but you will need unless your very lucky to get it rolled yearly in the spring so think about that when you divide the paddock .
If it has water I would consider building a fenced off area to lead the horses to the trough from each paddock .
If you have bought it and have Fatties consider a track system ( expensive on fencing ) if you have google you find lots about them .you have to think about how a track fits into your winter management I would want to know the land well before setting to do that .
It going to be a lot of work at first but it sounds great .
 
Mike007 said:
Top the fields and sub divide into 3 . Use as grazing over the winter and rotate the paddocks . In spring (early april ) spray two of the paddocks against broadleaf weeds . 4 weeks later chain harrow those two paddocks to within an inch of their lives . Suplement grazing in the remaining paddock as necessary with hay until mid may then rotate between two sprayed paddocks . Spray remaining unsprayed paddock.$ weeks later include sprayed paddock in rotation. Late August / mid september . Harrow one paddock hard then broadcast a suitable grass seed mix and harrow again .leave this paddock alone till the following May and rotate between the other two. Well ,thats enough to get you started in the right direction. The moral is "use what youve got and improve it slowly" Drastic and expensive programmes are not the way forward!
Click to expand...

Thankyou to everyone who replied for your sound advice! Thanks Mike for this though - it's got me going in the right direction!

popsdosh said:
You will need change of use to equestrian to do anything apart from graze the horses. Even supplementing their feed will fall foul of that exemption. Even if its set aside it will still be agricultural.
Im sorry but I would be suspicious of why nobody has done this before especially as you say there is an establishment across the road. How are you aquiring this land ie buying or renting ? If renting it will most likely still be registered for payment so change of use will not be possible
The grazing will most likely be very poor as alsorts grow on setaside and the fertility will be prety much depleted. Be prepared for many years of removing ragwort and other weeds, If we take setaside out here for arable production it can take 5-6 yrs to get it back to 100% productivity do you have it that long or maybe the cynic in me suggests that the landowner will be using you to just tidy it up for them whilst also getting some cash.
Click to expand...

Aware of change of use requirement. It's the corner of an existing field created by a motorway being built through it thus rendering the land pretty useless in terms of arable land hence being used as set-aside, which farmer is going to go to all that extra trouble just to farm an extra 3 acres? - we've had our eye on it for ages as a family friend worked for the landowner, years have gone by as they do and then little old me decided I'm sick to the back teeth of other peoples yards & just want a place of my own so I sent a letter to ask if he would consider selling. Also to be honest, in my local area not many people have a spare five figure sum to throw at land for a non-commercial use. As we're buying, no risk of him just using us just to tidy the place up but yes I'm fully prepared to deal with the ragwort although it does frighten the living daylights out of me - I guess that's a downside of land near motorways!
 
Mike007 said:
Top the fields and sub divide into 3 . Use as grazing over the winter and rotate the paddocks . In spring (early april ) spray two of the paddocks against broadleaf weeds . 4 weeks later chain harrow those two paddocks to within an inch of their lives . Suplement grazing in the remaining paddock as necessary with hay until mid may then rotate between two sprayed paddocks . Spray remaining unsprayed paddock.$ weeks later include sprayed paddock in rotation. Late August / mid september . Harrow one paddock hard then broadcast a suitable grass seed mix and harrow again .leave this paddock alone till the following May and rotate between the other two. Well ,thats enough to get you started in the right direction. The moral is "use what youve got and improve it slowly" Drastic and expensive programmes are not the way forward!
Click to expand...

We have approx 3 acres and that is great advice, very practical and depending what you spray the cost could come in at under £30.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top