Grazing for free/cheap in exchange for maintenance??

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Fleetstreet_sky

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Hi ?
First post here, please excuse any blunders! My father owns a bit of land (retired farmer) and he has a field that I used to graze my horse on a few years ago. Roughly 5 acres but it has been allowed to run wild (thistles, nettles, some ragwort, knee high grass, fencing in places not great). It isn’t used and won’t be in the foreseeable so my question is this;
Would it be possible to let the field to someone for horse grazing for a cheap monthly amount in return for maintenance (eg weed picking, topping, own electric fencing for boundary/strip grazing etc)? There is no electric supply but we have a river running through for water supply. Just seems a shame the field running wild when someone could make use out of it for a discounted rate. (I would be responsible for sorting it as father is typical grumpy, set in his ways, farmer ?) Not sure on legalities either, could anyone advise?
 
Irented a field that sounds like yours. We put up fencing, dealt with ragwort, brambles etc. It was quite labour intensive as we didnt have any labour saving equipment but also nice to see it improve. I am sure you will find people who would be interested. You mention a river. Does it flood at all?
 
It isn’t prone to flooding, although obviously if wet enough... just under half the field is on a higher level so there is always drier ground. No field shelter but plenty natural cover, overlooked by my neighbours house which always made me feel happier security wise. It was used for cattle before so fencing is barbed wire ?? and some of the boundary fencing hasn’t been replaced for some time and therefore would have to have electric installed. I am in East Lothian and my immediate neighbours on the other side have opened an Equestrian centre so quite well situated really. What would be a fair amount to charge for this sort of arrangement? It is something I would need to convince the boss about (he is not the biggest fan of horses probably stems from my younger years ??)
 
tiahatti said:
Irented a field that sounds like yours. We put up fencing, dealt with ragwort, brambles etc. It was quite labour intensive as we didnt have any labour saving equipment but also nice to see it improve. I am sure you will find people who would be interested. You mention a river. Does it flood at all?
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Did this arrangement work well for you? How much did you pay to let the field? I am really more concerned with getting the field back to scratch then how much to charge ?
 
I rent a field and do the maintenance althoough it did and does have a secure ring fence we do everything this year have fenced fertilised and sprayed for broad leaved weeds. at our expense. The ring fence needs repairs so landlord will bring posts but we will do the work. Works well for us although it has worked out expensive this year. It was £140 just for the fertiliser. It is just under 5 acres has mains electricity and water which is included in the rent which is £400 per calender month
 
windand rain said:
I rent a field and do the maintenance althoough it did and does have a secure ring fence we do everything this year have fenced fertilised and sprayed for broad leaved weeds. at our expense. The ring fence needs repairs so landlord will bring posts but we will do the work. Works well for us although it has worked out expensive this year. It was £140 just for the fertiliser. It is just under 5 acres has mains electricity and water which is included in the rent which is £400 per calender month
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That's pretty expensive if you have to do all maintance.
 
Ehm, a difficult one this.

You could charge someone a peppercorn rent say for the field, and leave them to get on with the necessary works to put it right.

So then what do you do? They've spent a lot of money and made the field good. So do you continue with peppercorn rent for a period, let's say 5 years or so?? or charge them (or anyone else) market value after a time? After the work has been done the field should be in good condition, and marketable! The tenant would naturally be seeking peace of mind about how long their tenure lasts and if/when the price might rise!

It would be easy to create a difficult situation.

Perhaps a way forward would be to discuss the matter with someone like an estate agents/letting agent, who specialises and/or has experience in letting rural locations like this. It may be there are some legal issues that you haven't thought about, and certainly any wisdom they can give would be invaluable.

Personally, I would be inclined to wrap the situation up within a legal framework from the outset; and it might be that an expert in letting rural land might be able to formulate some sort of written agreement.

Just my thoughts.
 
Frumpoon said:
sprayed with roundup inside a week?
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I wouldn't use Roundup. My sister has a spraying licence and uses Grazon on our land to try to control thistles. She wanted to spray down the side of our lane but as you have to keep dogs away from Grazon treated areas for 2 hours and it is a public footpath opted to use Roundup instead. Worked well eventually, slower to show results than the Grazon however she also sprayed nettles in the field and now we have bald patches where it did a better job of killing the grass than the nettles. If you want to graze a field don't use roundup or you will lose your grass.
 
Errin Paddywack said:
I wouldn't use Roundup. My sister has a spraying licence and uses Grazon on our land to try to control thistles. She wanted to spray down the side of our lane but as you have to keep dogs away from Grazon treated areas for 2 hours and it is a public footpath opted to use Roundup instead. Worked well eventually, slower to show results than the Grazon however she also sprayed nettles in the field and now we have bald patches where it did a better job of killing the grass than the nettles. If you want to graze a field don't use roundup or you will lose your grass.
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The point was....most farmers could put that field right inside a week...apart from taking down the barbed wire im not sure why maintenances is such a drama
 
windand rain said:
I rent a field and do the maintenance althoough it did and does have a secure ring fence we do everything this year have fenced fertilised and sprayed for broad leaved weeds. at our expense. The ring fence needs repairs so landlord will bring posts but we will do the work. Works well for us although it has worked out expensive this year. It was £140 just for the fertiliser. It is just under 5 acres has mains electricity and water which is included in the rent which is £400 per calender month
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That's pretty cheap if you were where I am as the electric standing charge and potential useage can mount up alone, water not (that) cheap either.

OP, neighbours rented theirs out after being empty for over a year, but made sure all the boundary fencing was up to scratch 1st. As owner of the land, they were liable for any stock straying out and 1 fence in particular was very dilapidated.
The incoming tenants had free 1st month and 50% off the next 2 months as there were internal fences to repair (landlord supplied posts etc, they did labour) and a hedge to cut back.
As is usual with any rental, the tenants are to keep it up to scratch and its inspected twice yearly.
 
I rent a field which was in a pretty shocking state when we just got it. The ring fence is barb wire with hedge behind and is secure. We do all our own maintenance. It is labour intensive but we enjoy seeing the improvements. Our went isn't peppercorn and is probably a bit higher than average for our area. But we're there as long as we want so it's a compromise. Paying that bit extra certainly makes you want to get the most out of the place.

I don't think you would have much trouble renting it out. An afternoon or 2 making the outside fence secure and then leave the rest up to the tenants.
 
Yes It s cheap but we keep it nice for them and also make sure it is always as tidy as possible. We have been there more than 10 years and do our best not to bother them
 
We used to rent a 7 acre field that had a river on one boundry, our own land on two other sides so only had to fence one boundry fence. We paid just £10 a month per horse, had three horses at the time. We sorted out all the weeds and drainage as was wet when we first had it. Bought it after renting for a year as owner sold up.
 
I think it would be a great idea to let it on basis that tenant does the maintenance and gets it in good 'heart' - say for the guarantee of rent at say 50% the going rate (look at local adverts or ask local farmerS) guaranteed for 2 years - that allows a long term tenant to bed in, then say 75% unless you repair the boundary fence to be totally secure. This would be great for most horse owners and would be nice to help fellow horse owners out. They can then choose if they fix the field manually or pay someone to do it!
 
I suppose the problem is most horse owners don't have the means for topping or boom spraying. I'd be inclined to stick a few sheep on it instead. That would be the ragworth sorted then just spray once a year with D50/MCPA at a 50:50 mix.

If I were the prospective horse owner coming to your land I'd be terrified that I would put a huge amount of time and money into it then you could just say thanks but we need the field back.
And if I were the landowner I'd want nominal rent anyway, and legal agreement drawn up. Sheep would be less hassle!
 
MiniMilton said:
I suppose the problem is most horse owners don't have the means for topping or boom spraying. I'd be inclined to stick a few sheep on it instead. That would be the ragworth sorted then just spray once a year with D50/MCPA at a 50:50 mix.

If I were the prospective horse owner coming to your land I'd be terrified that I would put a huge amount of time and money into it then you could just say thanks but we need the field back.
And if I were the landowner I'd want nominal rent anyway, and legal agreement drawn up. Sheep would be less hassle!
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Sheep not an option unfortunately as fencing not good enough to keep the buggers contained - it kept my ponies in (bar the Shetland who is an out and out Houdini) but not good enough for the sheep, hence why the field has been allowed to run wild. I would absolutely have some contract in place for tenant’s peace of mind - minimum term etc.
 
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