Valuing grazing land

MotherOfChickens

MotherOfChickens

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Hi
if a farmer offered to sell you a field you'd been using for grazing, but then asked you to come up with an offer-how would you go about it? Get someone independent to value it?

I've no idea how serious he was (lots of banter) and he also said it 'might' be worth a fortune if someone wanted to put a house on it (this would put us out of the running) but not sure if he meant it!. It had a steading there back in the early 1800s but its extremely wet so not sure how desirable it would be. 5 acres of old meadow-if you were going to design a paddock for horses it would be this one, they love it but its not useable Dec-March and you can't get machines on it. Its not contiguous to any other property and over the road from the rest of his-so he doesn't like using it for stock.
 
Start at 10k an acre and adjust according to what the land could be used for- arable worth more, rubbish wet land worth less. Look up recent land auctions in your area to see what similar land is fetching.
It may be worth more to you in which case you may offer top end of what you feel it's worth?
 
it really depends where and what it is, we have a field up the road, approx 8 acres they want 190k ish for it. this also comes with a % uplift if you improve it, which means more money back to the original seller.

this is the midlands
 
TheMule said:
Start at 10k an acre and adjust according to what the land could be used for- arable worth more, rubbish wet land worth less. Look up recent land auctions in your area to see what similar land is fetching.
It may be worth more to you in which case you may offer top end of what you feel it's worth?
Click to expand...

Arable about 10k grazing 7-9k values are dropping at the moment.
 
hollyandivy123 said:
it really depends where and what it is, we have a field up the road, approx 8 acres they want 190k ish for it. this also comes with a % uplift if you improve it, which means more money back to the original seller.

this is the midlands
Click to expand...

Yes well thats cloud cuckoo land they are flying a kite re price.. Uplift will only come in if the land developed other than equestrian or Agri. Nothing to do with improving the field.
 
20-30k for equestrian grazing this area! Crazy.
Good luck MoC, you need to get an independent valuation from someone who knows local area Id say
 
OP, try for 5k an acre unless you get it valued by district valuer of land surveyor (would better done in a wet January tho)

Think yourself lucky you are not in my area as any grazing land under 6 or 7 acres is commanding in excess of 35k per acre, more if stables already on it!
 
7 acres of really rubbish grazing on a slope just sold for 89k here in Somerset! Land is very scarce around here :(
 
My neighbour has just had a valuation on her 5 acres which was originally arable and is now grazing land with basic stabling on it for 3 horses, mains water but no other services. It was valued at £80k.

Edited to add that this is Lincolnshire/Nottinghamshire borders.
 
Have a look at your local land agency's, they will have land up for sale with guide prices which should help you. Land around us has been steadily going up in price since at least 2002, large blocks going 8k per acre smaller parcels for more.
 
thanks all-this is South Lanarkshire and I will try and find out some prices although from the sounds of it it will be next year (which suits us better). It's very wet and floods a lot in the winter but for summer grazing its perfect (and I have a bit of land, hard standing and stables at home 1.5 miles away). Its certainly no good for growing anything (a burn cuts it in half and half the field is flood plain) and the only improvement I would make is hardstanding in the gateway for the lorry :D
 
Some of the valuations being quoted here are crazy.
The parcel stated:
- has no road access
- is too wet for machinery (try topping/harrowing/ragwort pulling/fencing by hand - it's hard!)
- has no services

I paid £3.4k per acre for something like this a couple of years ago (with a spring fed stream, and complete with the largest collection of wetland orchids in the south of England). It's only worth more if there are a queue of people lining up to buy it. Local farmers won't be interested, and IME the 'proper' equestrians aren't either, as it's too wet - although it may well make lovely grazing if you can get them off in the winter.

Incidentally, what happened to it in the floods of 2013 - would you cope if your horses were on it at the time?
 
Some of the valuations being quoted here are crazy.
The parcel stated:
- has no road access
- is too wet for machinery (try topping/harrowing/ragwort pulling/fencing by hand - it's hard!)
- has no services

I paid £3.4k per acre for something like this a couple of years ago (with a spring fed stream, and complete with the largest collection of wetland orchids in the south of England). It's only worth more if there are a queue of people lining up to buy it. Local farmers won't be interested, and IME the 'proper' equestrians aren't either, as it's too wet - although it may well make lovely grazing if you can get them off in the winter.

Incidentally, what happened to it in the floods of 2013 - would you cope if your horses were on it at the time?
 
pennyturner said:
Some of the valuations being quoted here are crazy.
The parcel stated:
- has no road access
- is too wet for machinery (try topping/harrowing/ragwort pulling/fencing by hand - it's hard!)
- has no services

I paid £3.4k per acre for something like this a couple of years ago (with a spring fed stream, and complete with the largest collection of wetland orchids in the south of England). It's only worth more if there are a queue of people lining up to buy it. Local farmers won't be interested, and IME the 'proper' equestrians aren't either, as it's too wet - although it may well make lovely grazing if you can get them off in the winter.

Incidentally, what happened to it in the floods of 2013 - would you cope if your horses were on it at the time?
Click to expand...

It does have road access but it is remote-tbh many horsey types would turn their noses up for a variety of reasons but I've been using it for two plus years and the horses love it. It is not usable in the winter-even in our standard winters it will flood. The latest I've been on it is beginning of December so the horses would need to be elsewhere Dec-March although arguably they could go on it weekends/odd days weather permitting. I don't mind my horses being in for short periods of time-there's not much choice here tbh and I am now sorted for hard standing turnout and equipped to have them in.

Last time they had tractors on it was to repair the burn fence and it took two more to get it out again. I would think the only other person who might be interested is the farmer who's land surrounds it but without taking the fencing down, it's a bit small to be of use to her I'd have thought.

The whole field doesn't flood, only one half of it-the other half consists of a huge ridge/bank between the burn and the road which just gets wet and boggy.
 
Sounds very like mine... apparently there's a tractor still in there somewhere which sank without trace when they were building the adjacent bypass. The locals thought it was hilarious watching them trying to save the two they sent in to get it out!

Don't be bullied into paying over the odds - chances are you're the only on interested!
Get a few land agents out (pretend you're the owner, thinking about selling). Take a median value and then offer half. :D
 
Get a land agent to value it, they know the area and local market. There are 2 fields opposite mine, totally approx 8 acres up for tender,offers around £85,000,one ridge and furrow,one flattish. There has been loads of interest. We are in the East Midlands.
 
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