smstonypoint
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What type of fencing and its condition?
Steve
Steve
Bought a farm, now what?
- Thread starter cmaxwell
- Start date
Don't worry about what all those other blokes have been saying - you bought a farm, all you need is a comfy chair, a nice shady tree and a drink. Sit down in the shade, and watch the big bucks roll in!
(At least that was my plan, but there seems to be a couple of minor steps I missed out on between signing the contract and buying the chair! Maybe you should listen to what those other blokes are saying ...)
(At least that was my plan, but there seems to be a couple of minor steps I missed out on between signing the contract and buying the chair! Maybe you should listen to what those other blokes are saying ...)
jeff9366
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Which way you go depends are how much of a hurry you are in and what heavy equipment experience you have. If your heavy equipment experience is "0" do not discount the hazard you will avoid if a professional land clearing operation does the work. $40,000 will seem cheap if you are injured when doing work yourself and out of work for six months.
Most of the time I spend on my tractor involves tree work. If you have time to peck and are in GOOD PHYSICAL CONDITION, consider buying one or two Professional Quality chainsaw from Stihl for the bigger trees and a Brown "Tree Cutter" for your tractor, for clearing. Brown's are awesome. They are used for right-of-way maintenance along the Florida trail system, gas lines and under power lines. However, you would need at least an 80-horsepower tractor, which could be purchased used. Again, consider that chainsaw work is considered fairly hazardous. I have been using chainsaws for thirty years without an accident but the most common Emergency Room admittance for outside residential work is for chainsaw injuries. Not all from cuts.
VIDEO: BROWN TREE CUTTER - YouTube
LINK: Brown Manufacturing | 8.633.899 |
I probably would not buy a track loader for one year's use. Seems dead end in terms of accumulating useful farm/ranch experience.
Pretty cheap lease for the cow man. About $7.70 per acre. I speculate a cow or steer in Tennessee requires 2-1/2 acres per animal, unsupplemented by feed.
Last edited:
BrokeFarmerJohn
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I would kill for 65 acres of pasture lol. My jaw dropped when you said 65 acres of leased pasture, I would assume that's a $500 deposit?
I have been trying to rent pasture for some time, anyone around here with the fence for cattle usually say piss off to $30-$60 an acre because they can hay it or have horse people rent it for lots more money, pasture renting is basically just keeping the grass cut down by livestock, that's all.
If I was you, I would kick the farmer off, kill all the grass/weeds, disk it and drill new quality pasture grass seed, around here a timothy/ orchard grass/ alfalfa mix/ clover mix does best.
After it's planted in new grass I would either have a local farmer hay it or I would stick 40-50 head of cattle on it.
Cattle are easy to take care of, just give them 1-2 acres per head and fresh water and let them fatten, Finnish them on corn or whatever you prefer.
Having a hay field keeps you from having to cut it, the farmer usually cuts it 3 times per year for hay, depending on your grow season, you and the farmer can work out the split.
The property the farmer rents is generally his responsibility, he mends your fence, he manages the cattle and replants bald spots ext. he should cut the grass if it seeds, grass that seeds stops growing and dies, it should be bush hogged if it goes to seed because the cattle can't keep up.
He should manage the ground for proper pasture rotation, pasture needs to recover from cattle, in order to keep the grass growing good a pasture rotation is needed.
He should fix any and all damage done by the cattle, every few years the pasture should be rejuvenated with a pasture rejuvenator, cattle pack the crap out of the ground which stunts the grass growth.
He may wish to fertilize the grass during a rotation and spot spray weeds with 2,4-D or a stronger herbicide. He should treat his cattle with a insecticide to keep the flys down, I treat and have fly traps around the property.
You won't smell dung unless the cattle are overcrowded like in a barn, if he sticks to 1-2 acres per head it won't be a issue.
As far as clearing pasture goes, buy a 40hp+ tractor, bush hog everything under 4in, chainsaw the rest and bush hog the over growth, that's where I would spray it with round up of a strong herbicide to kill everything, disk/drill new seed.
For that you would need a bush hog, 6-10ft disk or tiller, rent or buy a drill to plant.
I have been trying to rent pasture for some time, anyone around here with the fence for cattle usually say piss off to $30-$60 an acre because they can hay it or have horse people rent it for lots more money, pasture renting is basically just keeping the grass cut down by livestock, that's all.
If I was you, I would kick the farmer off, kill all the grass/weeds, disk it and drill new quality pasture grass seed, around here a timothy/ orchard grass/ alfalfa mix/ clover mix does best.
After it's planted in new grass I would either have a local farmer hay it or I would stick 40-50 head of cattle on it.
Cattle are easy to take care of, just give them 1-2 acres per head and fresh water and let them fatten, Finnish them on corn or whatever you prefer.
Having a hay field keeps you from having to cut it, the farmer usually cuts it 3 times per year for hay, depending on your grow season, you and the farmer can work out the split.
The property the farmer rents is generally his responsibility, he mends your fence, he manages the cattle and replants bald spots ext. he should cut the grass if it seeds, grass that seeds stops growing and dies, it should be bush hogged if it goes to seed because the cattle can't keep up.
He should manage the ground for proper pasture rotation, pasture needs to recover from cattle, in order to keep the grass growing good a pasture rotation is needed.
He should fix any and all damage done by the cattle, every few years the pasture should be rejuvenated with a pasture rejuvenator, cattle pack the crap out of the ground which stunts the grass growth.
He may wish to fertilize the grass during a rotation and spot spray weeds with 2,4-D or a stronger herbicide. He should treat his cattle with a insecticide to keep the flys down, I treat and have fly traps around the property.
You won't smell dung unless the cattle are overcrowded like in a barn, if he sticks to 1-2 acres per head it won't be a issue.
As far as clearing pasture goes, buy a 40hp+ tractor, bush hog everything under 4in, chainsaw the rest and bush hog the over growth, that's where I would spray it with round up of a strong herbicide to kill everything, disk/drill new seed.
For that you would need a bush hog, 6-10ft disk or tiller, rent or buy a drill to plant.
smstonypoint
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Here's a sample pasture lease -- https://cleveland.ces.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2006/10/pasture_cashlease.pdf?fwd=no -- one of many available online.
Steve
Steve
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It'd be good if you could post some pictures of the property so we could better assess your needs. Thanks
MidTn Mark
Bronze Member
Well, none of us know what kind of time, financial, and health resources you have. For me I would tackle this the same way you eat an elephant: 1 bite at a time. I would decide what tractor will suit your day to day needs, get a grapple and rotary cutter for it and then hire a guy with a dozen and knock 1/2 of it down. Then take your time getting ready to cut the logs into firewood. Or, get the trees all limbed and rent a big chipper. You can never have too much mulch
AGRIMAN
Platinum Member
Frist of all, congrats on your purchase. I'm sure you are very proud as you should be.
Second, I do farm and rent/lease row crop, hay and pasture land. Now, $500 for 65 acres is cheap, but if I understood your comments correctly the majority of it is overgrown to the point it can't be cut with a bush hog.
That suggest to me that you currently don't have the best grazing, so the $500 might not be that bad for what grazing you have. With beef ranging from $1 to $1.30 per pound now, he is not getting rich on you.
Working agreements can vary, but generally the farmer handles the mowing, fertilizer and general maintance of the property. I have one leased hay field that the land own pays for all the lime. Why?, he says he likes the way we maintain his land and he just wants to help out some. It probably doesn't hurt that he needs a tax deduction.
On my rented pasture land, I will do general fence maintance and up keep, but if the fence is beyond repair and needs replacing, then I offer the land owner a few options as to how we can get it replaced.
If you haven't already, I would talk to the farmer and tell him your plans. If he is really interested in a long term lease, he may be willing to help you with some of the improvements you want to make.
Second, I do farm and rent/lease row crop, hay and pasture land. Now, $500 for 65 acres is cheap, but if I understood your comments correctly the majority of it is overgrown to the point it can't be cut with a bush hog.
That suggest to me that you currently don't have the best grazing, so the $500 might not be that bad for what grazing you have. With beef ranging from $1 to $1.30 per pound now, he is not getting rich on you.
Working agreements can vary, but generally the farmer handles the mowing, fertilizer and general maintance of the property. I have one leased hay field that the land own pays for all the lime. Why?, he says he likes the way we maintain his land and he just wants to help out some. It probably doesn't hurt that he needs a tax deduction.
On my rented pasture land, I will do general fence maintance and up keep, but if the fence is beyond repair and needs replacing, then I offer the land owner a few options as to how we can get it replaced.
If you haven't already, I would talk to the farmer and tell him your plans. If he is really interested in a long term lease, he may be willing to help you with some of the improvements you want to make.
BrokeFarmerJohn
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Whatever you do, don't get overwhelmed with the project, 65 acres of overgrown and thick pasture will prob take some time to clear, it won't be a fast process but a process that I personally would enjoy greatly.
You can now justify a large compact tractor or even a small utility tractor, quite a few attachments and maybe a new barn lol.
I would suggest unless your heart is in farming and tractoring not to tackle the project yourself, if you have no interest I would tell the farmer that I would pay for the diesel, seed, herbicide and fertilizer if he cleared the pasture, sprayed it and drilled it with new grass, then it would be quality pasture which will demand much more income.
It's one of those things that once it's done it will be good for years to come with minimal upkeep.