Cost of draining and reseeding

k mac

I have 4 acres that i was going to reseed but reckon it would be a waste of time as it is so wet.So think i will have to clean drains and open new ones, put in shores and reseed then or else all the rushes will be back.How much would this cost ? I would be paying contractor to spray off rushes, plough, power harrow and seed, and also a digger for draining and shoring, and would have to buy the seed and drainage chips and pipes.

Muckit

Go buy a lotto ticket

hedgecutting eddie

k mac wrote: »

I have 4 acres that i was going to reseed but reckon it would be a waste of time as it is so wet.So think i will have to clean drains and open new ones, put in shores and reseed then or else all the rushes will be back.How much would this cost ? I would be paying contractor to spray off rushes, plough, power harrow and seed, and also a digger for draining and shoring, and would have to buy the seed and drainage chips and pipes.

for de drainge 3k ish roughly that includes pipes and stone hard to put a price on it without seen de job!! for spraying,ploughing, etc 130acre not including seed

Figerty

hedgecutting eddie is pretty spot on , Did 2 1/2 acres last year. Would be about right on price...and the rushe are sticking their heads up again.. won't be for long though...Mortone on the way..

Got great silage out of it.. and if I had got at it early I may even have got a second cut. Bales with no rushes are worth two of bales with rushes.

JohnBoy

my gut says plant it. if it needs that much work how long will it take to repay the grand an acre investment?

plantinng it with mixed broadleaves would give you €778 per annum, tax free for 20 years.


just do your maths.

The Nutty M

JohnBoy wrote: »

my gut says plant it. if it needs that much work how long will it take to repay the grand an acre investment?

plantinng it with mixed broadleaves would give you €778 per annum, tax free for 20 years.


just do your maths.

Is that 778 for 4acres/year?

JohnBoy

yes, €481/ha/year for broadleaves

Recently revised rates and some other info here:
http://agriculture.gov.ie/media/migration/forestry/grantschemes/Circular102010010211.doc

JohnBoy

One argument against the forestry decision is that after 20 years the money runs out.

So I put together an excel spreadhseet.

IF one invested half the premium every year (and took the other half as cash) and then from year 21 onwards you withdrew half the premium amount every year the premium would actuall give a return of €240/ha for 51 years in total, at 2% interest, not allowing for dirt, or any other income the forest may bring in those 50 years.


Assuming you spent a grand an acre to fully reclaim, drain, seed, fence etc a gross margin of €240/ha would take 15 years to repay the investment at 5% borrowing.



I like playing with excel. it can tell you interesting things.

But sometimes it can be depressing.

sea12

I think it will cost much more than the 3k suggested. I did a few acres and i had budgeted for €1000 per acre but cost good bit more. A load of stones doesnt last long and your paying around €200 per load (20 tonne). It depends how many shores you are planning to put in really.
However was walking in on Saturday and it was a pleasure if thats the word to see all the water flowing out of the pipes and out of the field. I reseeded it also and it has a lovely green cue.

So my point is get your contractor to quote you for the job rather than on a per hour basis so give you a good estimate.

Best of luck with it whatever you do.

k mac

JohnBoy wrote: »

my gut says plant it. if it needs that much work how long will it take to repay the grand an acre investment?

plantinng it with mixed broadleaves would give you €778 per annum, tax free for 20 years.


just do your maths.

Thanks for the advice johnBoy and you are probably right, only problem is i have very little land as it is and if i plant it i will have less. What about the connaught agri pipe that does not need chips, would that work out any cheaper ? Or has anyone any experience with it ?

jeff greene

We have had good success with filling drains with pencil and no pipes, dig 4 foot wide box shape drain and fill to the top with pencil, ours is big pencil which is better, we have our own endless supply and it works better than anything

Figerty

The other way to look at it is how much does it really cost?

I make tax return on the farm and being a PAYE worker I can put the costs against my income, so getting the VAT back and the also putting the cost of materials against my PAYE income in TAX returns usually means that I get a tax refund having 'lost' money again on the farm.

So the cost isn't really the full amount I paid out at the end of the year.

Secondly, I made bales this year.,,being on wet land, the return on the quality of the silage is about 1.5 times that of a bale with poor grass and rushes in the bale. So the quality of bale after reseeding has to be factored in also.

I am going to try out the nnaught agri new pipe on boggy ground later in the year where pea gravel drains have become clogged in the past. I'd like to see how it works. I wouldn't use it on mud or clay ground where moisture movement through the ground is poor anway.

k mac wrote: »

Thanks for the advice johnBoy and you are probably right, only problem is i have very little land as it is and if i plant it i will have less. What about the connaught agri pipe that does not need chips, would that work out any cheaper ? Or has anyone any experience with it ?

k mac

that is true i would be claiming back the vat and also hoping to reclaim some tax as i am a paye worker also. I filled in my tax reform this year and as i had spent alot on the farm i made a fairly significant loss so am entitled to a refund, how long does this take to come through? All i got so far was the bill from the accountant !

JohnBoy

the tax treatment works both ways though, the forestry income is tax free.

Figerty

Normally pretty quickly, I got my Vat refund last week, filed the claim in mid december.

Tax refund on income came through about a month or two after filing account. My accountant files all accounts electronically through ROS so that may a factor.

k mac wrote: »

that is true i would be claiming back the vat and also hoping to reclaim some tax as i am a paye worker also. I filled in my tax reform this year and as i had spent alot on the farm i made a fairly significant loss so am entitled to a refund, how long does this take to come through? All i got so far was the bill from the accountant !