Tillage in Clare

ABlur

I know we have a lot of Banner posters on Farming & Forestry so heres a question. Would it be feasible to grow barley or oats in west clare i.e. are there any contractors who would travel that far to harvest it? I have some land there its 50 miles away from where I live, I dont like cattle much but it would grow barley. Only problem is no-one has grown any in that neck of the woods in 30 years. What do you think?

6480

ABlur wrote: »

I know we have a lot of Banner posters on Farming & Forestry so heres a question. Would it be feasible to grow barley or oats in west clare i.e. are there any contractors who would travel that far to harvest it? I have some land there its 50 miles away from where I live, I dont like cattle much but it would grow barley. Only problem is no-one has grown any in that neck of the woods in 30 years. What do you think?

if its good fertile land thats dry and not full of stones it should be ok , best bet to start with is to soil sample and u will no in terms of amout of lime, fert the crop will require , most contractors have ploughs and power harrows , an old corn drill would sow the crop for u at cheap money, spraying wpould need to be done at right times and rates so u need maybe another tillage farmer to do that for you , you would then need a man with a combine and to get someone the day u want could be hard , its cost alot to put in and get a good crop of grain out dry

jfh

ABlur wrote: »

I know we have a lot of Banner posters on Farming & Forestry so heres a question. Would it be feasible to grow barley or oats in west clare i.e. are there any contractors who would travel that far to harvest it? I have some land there its 50 miles away from where I live, I dont like cattle much but it would grow barley. Only problem is no-one has grown any in that neck of the woods in 30 years. What do you think?

There's a a guy in cratloe with maize, a lot different to West clare, think even he might have stopped, think you might be better off with some thing else.

Manoffeeling

Just give it to someone but you keep the maps. Zero money in what you want to do. Actually, it would be a miracle if you broke even.

jimmy G M

We don't know your full circumstances, however would it be crazy to suggest renting/leasing the Clare land out and spending the proceeds on renting land nearer to where you live and establishing your farm enterprise on that?

At least you would know some contractors locally and wouldn't have a 2 1/2 hour round trip going out to look at the land.

ABlur

Thanks for the replies. Really just interested in whether there are any contractors in Co. Clare who have a combine and would travel to west clare with it.

The land is good enough to grow barley or oats, I have a tractor, sprayer and a plough. It seems all farming in Clare revolves around beef cattle/sucklers which dont suit me at present as I dont live on the land. Years ago everyone grew some tillage in that area as well but not anymore
I bought the land, so wont be breaking even anytime soon. But wont be renting it to SFP 'formers' either unless diesel goes to €3 a litre!

Thanks ABlur

Manoffeeling

As long as you can make the repayments, that's all that matters. Best of luck regardless of your choices.

redzerologhlen

ABlur wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. Really just interested in whether there are any contractors in Co. Clare who have a combine and would travel to west clare with it.

The land is good enough to grow barley or oats, I have a tractor, sprayer and a plough. It seems all farming in Clare revolves around beef cattle/sucklers which dont suit me at present as I dont live on the land. Years ago everyone grew some tillage in that area as well but not anymore
I bought the land, so wont be breaking even anytime soon. But wont be renting it to SFP 'formers' either unless diesel goes to €3 a litre!

Thanks ABlur

Shane Nolan in Newquay/bellharbour is the only one I know that does any amount of tillage, has all the gear.