What to do...what to do?

[mjncad]

My wife and I own 35-acres about 60-miles drive from our house. We put 27-acres of the land in CRP (Conservation Resource Program) to lower our property taxes. As part of the CRP contract, I have to put 2.7-acres of the land in pollinator crop. OK, here's the rub; the Gummint has a hard-on for me to spray the existing vegetation to kill it for the new stuff to be planted in the fall. Due to the small amount of acreage, liability, and various regulatory BS, I haven't been able to find anyone to spray the land for me. Now if I owned a trailer, I could take my tractor and sprayer to our land and do it my self; but I don't own a trailer, nor do I know anyone to borrow one from, and what few I find to rent are 16' - 18' in length if I'm lucky. Buying a trailer is not in the budget at the moment, and our current HOASS would have a hissy fit if I stored it on our property where people may see it. Besides, if I run out of water, I'm hosed as I don't know my neighbors out there to refill my sprayer if need be. The calculations say I should be able to get two passes out of my 55-gallon sprayer; but I find that hard to believe. Driving my tractor out there is out of the question as that would be a 4 - 5 hour one way drive.

Now what I've been thinking is having someone lightly till, then immediately plant the pollinator seed using a seed drill. This I have a greater chance of hiring out. I'm hoping to do this in the mid September to mid October time frame.

Any thoughts or suggestions are welcome.

I WISH WE NEVER BOUGHT THE LAND NOW.

 

[Willl]

Ya butt, look at the money your saving by joining CRP.

 

[TripleR]

Have you tried renting a trailer, we can get them for $40 per day.

 

[Mark Page]

Check out UHaul. If you decide to spray use something with some horsepower or the old stuff will come right back. Have you tried putting an ad in the local paper for someone to do the work? Try Craigs List.

 

[vtsnowedin]

Your tractor dealership probably would do the hauling for you or have someone that hauls for them they can point you to. There are bound to be some small contractors out there that do backhoe work and have a beaver tail trailer for moving their equipment. I'd take all the water I need in plastic drums in the back of my pickup if there was no water on that land.

 

[Mechanos]

Move to the property... HOA's suck! :laughing:

I don't have any suggested solutions for you, but your predicament is precisely why I spent years looking for the right sized lot in the right location with right "rules"... or lack there of.

 

[mjncad]

Ya butt, look at the money your saving by joining CRP.

I'm still waiting for our first check to show up.

Have you tried renting a trailer, we can get them for $40 per day.

The three places that rent trailers have daily rates ranging from $78 - $100

Check out UHaul. If you decide to spray use something with some horsepower or the old stuff will come right back. Have you tried putting an ad in the local paper for someone to do the work? Try Craigs List.

The CRP folks have a list of nearby people who do small acreage work and none of them will spray due to the small amount of acreage; but mostly due to liability, and state and federal regulations. So if I spray, I'm stuck doing it myself.

Your tractor dealership probably would do the hauling for you or have someone that hauls for them they can point you to. There are bound to be some small contractors out there that do backhoe work and have a beaver tail trailer for moving their equipment. I'd take all the water I need in plastic drums in the back of my pickup if there was no water on that land.

I like the plastic drums idea.

Move to the property... HOA's suck! :laughing:

I don't have any suggested solutions for you, but your predicament is precisely why I spent years looking for the right sized lot in the right location with right "rules"... or lack there of.

No argument from me about HOASS' being worthless.

Anybody want to buy some Colorado plains land with utilities? :banghead:

 

[Mechanos]

No argument from me about HOASS' being worthless.

Anybody want to buy some Colorado plains land with utilities? :banghead:

I have family in that area... where is this land located?

 

[TripleR]

I'm still waiting for our first check to show up.



The three places that rent trailers have daily rates ranging from $78 - $100



The CRP folks have a list of nearby people who do small acreage work and none of them will spray due to the small amount of acreage; but mostly due to liability, and state and federal regulations. So if I spray, I'm stuck doing it myself.



I like the plastic drums idea.



No argument from me about HOASS' being worthless.

Anybody want to buy some Colorado plains land with utilities? :banghead:

We can rent a trailer here for $40, so it is cheaper than keeping up with one my brother already owns.

You sure won't make money on CRP, but it helps offset land you want for other purposes, we are doing wildlife habitat, reforestation and warm season grasses.

We tried to get someone to spray ours too and now have a $2000 spreader waiting to be picked up Monday.

We love owning and working on the land, so the expense is essentially paying for very expensive recreation; well worth it though, but we live on one of the farms and my son lives on another and they are only four miles apart.

 

[vtsnowedin]

How much you want for it? Any pictures? Because the rule here is no pics= it doesn't exist.
Now if money is really tight, and it's getting that way for a lot of people these days, you could just spray 2.7 acres with a back pack sprayer or one on the back of a 4 wheeler. It would take a few hours or maybe even more then a day but it is just walking. Every bit of New England hayfield used to be cut with hand scythes every summer one swing at a time.
What is growing on it now that needs to be killed and what pollination crop do you intend to plant?