10 acres of farm land - what to do with it?

boatbuilder

Just throwing this out there...

I have 11 acres of farmland adjoining my home......I have been renting it out to my brother up to now (he put cattle on it, made hay in the summer etc) but that has come to an end for the foreseeable future.

So....what use could I make of it? Its all tractor driveable, has had sheep and cattle on it for years and hay/silage made on it too.
I should say that I grew up on a sheep farm, but I'm now a full time teacher so I don't have any sheds or even a tractor or any machinery.

LostCovey

boatbuilder wrote: »

Just throwing this out there...

I have 11 acres of farmland adjoining my home......I have been renting it out to my brother up to now (he put cattle on it, made hay in the summer etc) but that has come to an end for the foreseeable future.

So....what use could I make of it? Its all tractor driveable, has had sheep and cattle on it for years and hay/silage made on it too.
I should say that I grew up on a sheep farm, but I'm now a full time teacher so I don't have any sheds or even a tractor or any machinery.

It depends on how much time you have and how much of your salary you want to spend each year on farming it. Farming ten acres is an absorbing hobby, and should not cost you too much after the first few years.

LostCovey

caseman

you could buy 15 weanling heifer in spring and sell in autumn all you need is a cattle pen and dose once maybe twice

Bodacious

Is there much horsey people near you? You could split it up a bit and offer grass livery - money for old rope if its well fenced, no machinery, no herdnumber required, cattle crush etc

Mordy

Have you ever thought of Forestry?

It shouldn't cost you anything to plant and if your eligible for the Farmers-rate premium you could get a 20-year premium of about €2k/per year tax-free, that’s planting ‘diverse conifers’.

Very little hassle… if the land suits.

agcons

If near a town could consider renting out allotments, or growing some veg crops of your own for sale in the local farmers markets

boatbuilder

Mordy wrote: »

Have you ever thought of Forestry?

It shouldn't cost you anything to plant and if your eligible for the Farmers-rate premium you could get a 20-year premium of about €2k/per year tax-free, that’s planting ‘diverse conifers’.

Very little hassle… if the land suits.

Would have liked to go down the forrestry avenue but I'm not registered as a farmer, so there is no incentive for me to do it.
For example,, a farmer would get €515 per hectare for oak and beech, but as a "non-farmer", I would get only €195 per hectare......... which is why there are so few forests in Ireland

Or to take an 11 acre example..."farmer" gets €2291 per year....as a "non-farmer", I would get only €867.
So really I would be losing money on it by the time I pay to maintain the forest etc.

Mordy

The likelihood is that if you applied you could receive the Farmers Rate premium if you entered into a Joint Management Consent agreement with your brother who is currently farming the land. This is common practice in the Forestry Industry. Also the fact that you are renting the land actually counts as a farming income and they recently loosened the requirements of Farmer Status so chances are you could qualify in your own right.

The fact that the land is adjacent to your house, and producing hay at the minute means that it is most likely very suitable for broadleaved afforestation. This would maximise your premium and produce a forest which very valuable commercially, aesthetically and from a landscape and biodiversity point of view.

agcons

The definition of a farmer is much looser now than a couple of years ago. The % income requirement is gone. We got a couple of people qualified last year who would not have qualified previously. It could be well worth your while to get a forrester out to view the farm and give an opinion. Very few of them charge for the first visit