what to charge, without rooking somebody

El Kabong!

Hi,

Last year, I had a neighbouring farmer cut 4 acres of 5yo untouched grassland for me. I gave him the bales in return.

He took them all except 5 earlier in the year. A few weeks ago he took the last 5 as he had run out and they were all he had left.

I'm happy to let him cut the grass again and have the bales, but he is going to offer me something for them. He did last time but I told him not to worry about it.

I don't want to take much from him, I would prefer to build up some goodwill in case I ever need something doing (I'm not a farmer).

We did touch on it briefly... he mentioned he might be interested in making hay later in the year.

I think he has his own equipment for wrapping bales etc etc.... so I'm wondering....

1) if he makes round bales/grass.... what should I charge him? I'm thinking it would cost him 10 to make, and then I would charge him 10/bale... so he might be saving 33-50%????

2) if he is thinking of making hay I don't have a clue what the approach is....


The grass is growing pretty well. It is not fertilised. At the moment it is shin high, with the grass heads about waist high. Quite thick down low but his cut last year would have taken a lot of the thatch that had built up.

Maybe I should just make it easier and just ask for 150-200 no matter what???

Perhaps I am way off here and should just stick with letting him have it for nothing. I don't feel I am losing out as it's being kept under control.

Thanks.

lakill Farm

I hear of €250 an acre for Silage at the moment.

If you charged maybe €400 for 1st cut and maybe €250 for 2nd cut? Thats offering alot of goodwill

El Kabong! wrote: »

Hi,

Last year, I had a neighbouring farmer cut 4 acres of 5yo untouched grassland for me. I gave him the bales in return.

He took them all except 5 earlier in the year. A few weeks ago he took the last 5 as he had run out and they were all he had left.

I'm happy to let him cut the grass again and have the bales, but he is going to offer me something for them. He did last time but I told him not to worry about it.

I don't want to take much from him, I would prefer to build up some goodwill in case I ever need something doing (I'm not a farmer).

We did touch on it briefly... he mentioned he might be interested in making hay later in the year.

I think he has his own equipment for wrapping bales etc etc.... so I'm wondering....

1) if he makes round bales/grass.... what should I charge him? I'm thinking it would cost him 10 to make, and then I would charge him 10/bale... so he might be saving 33-50%????

2) if he is thinking of making hay I don't have a clue what the approach is....


The grass is growing pretty well. It is not fertilised. At the moment it is shin high, with the grass heads about waist high. Quite thick down low but his cut last year would have taken a lot of the thatch that had built up.

Maybe I should just make it easier and just ask for 150-200 no matter what???

Perhaps I am way off here and should just stick with letting him have it for nothing. I don't feel I am losing out as it's being kept under control.

Thanks.

Tipp Man

lakill Farm wrote: »

I hear of €250 an acre for Silage at the moment.

If you charged maybe €400 for 1st cut and maybe €250 for 2nd cut? Thats offering alot of goodwill

According to the poster the grass hadn't been cut for 5 years previous to last year - if that's the case then it is rough out and thoughts of 250 an acre are way off the mark

Firstly i'd never pay 250 an acre for silage and secondly if i did it would have to freshly reseeded and yielding about 20 bales to the acre

Username John

lakill Farm wrote: »

I hear of €250 an acre for Silage at the moment.

If you charged maybe €400 for 1st cut and maybe €250 for 2nd cut? Thats offering alot of goodwill

I think in a normal year, the numbers are 100/acre for first cut, and around 70/are for second - but IMO this would be for good grass... If your grass is old, I wouldn't think you could expect these prices...

Now - as we are not in an normal year, the weather is sh'te, and people are going mad for silage - you could ask for more... But not sure if would generate much good will...

OP - 2 years ago, I got 5euro / bale for similar stuff to what you talk about here. Or you could ask for a set price for 2 cuts, maybe 300 - 400 euro?

As an aside - I know you're not a farmer, so the fertility of the ground doesn't directly impact you - but you could ask him to put out slurry on it, to replace what he is taking off in the bales. It would be good for the field long term.

crackcrack30

Ask him what its worth to him money wise....maybe he dosen't want it at all, I wouldn't get too hung up on the goodwill thing....

El Kabong!

Thanks guys. I think I will aim for 200 for the year, whatever he can get from it.

I will ask him first though and if he offers less I'll probably just take it.

I'm confident he is a genuine person so I don't mind the good will aspect.

At some stage I might need a section ploughed/tilled so will ask him to do that etc.

moy83

Is the land fenced well enough for cattle ? It might be a big benefit to him at the minute if it could carry a few cattle for a few weeks while things are tight for fodder

eorna

don't forget he'll want the field as much or more than you want it tidied so agree a fair price that both parties are happy..don't over cook it but don't give it away either...;)

himwdah

do u ever feed the grass or are u only removing the crop, u have to feed it if u want it to continue growing, or else u will end up with a field of weeds, if u set it to hime id try to arrange that he has to look after it somehow.

El Kabong!

I have thought that it would be useful for his cattle, but I have .5 acre of willow planted that would need fencing.
Also, I do have long term plans for it, and I wouldn't want it ruined/soggy/torn up!

Next winter I need to plant another .25 acres.... plus I am starting an orchard (and nut orchard) on it.

I think it would be easier to just offer him the benefit of silage/hay from it TBH.

I don't really want the money from it, but at the same time it wouldn't go astray... would help towards my next bit of willow planting.

In the grand scheme of things he needs the grass more than I need it and bartering/donating fits in with my overall outlook for the field/life in general. I would trust that in future years he would be inclined to help me out if I needed it too. As I said above I might need help. I have a Massey135 but I am just going to use it for flail mowing, when the land is too planted on for his large tractor to get in and other things, but I do not really want to get into ploughing and tilling, which are probably art forms.....

lakill Farm

El Kabong! wrote: »

I have thought that it would be useful for his cattle, but I have .5 acre of willow planted that would need fencing.
Also, I do have long term plans for it, and I wouldn't want it ruined/soggy/torn up!

Next winter I need to plant another .25 acres.... plus I am starting an orchard (and nut orchard) on it.

I think it would be easier to just offer him the benefit of silage/hay from it TBH.

I don't really want the money from it, but at the same time it wouldn't go astray... would help towards my next bit of willow planting.

In the grand scheme of things he needs the grass more than I need it and bartering/donating fits in with my overall outlook for the field/life in general. I would trust that in future years he would be inclined to help me out if I needed it too. As I said above I might need help. I have a Massey135 but I am just going to use it for flail mowing, when the land is too planted on for his large tractor to get in and other things, but I do not really want to get into ploughing and tilling, which are probably art forms.....

Why not ask him to supply some willow in exchange for the grass?

El Kabong!

lakill Farm wrote: »

Why not ask him to supply some willow in exchange for the grass?

I am at the stage where I can supply my own from cuttings/coppicing from the last years growth. I do need to buy 500 protective plastic spiral guards each year, and this is about 200-250, so if I can have that more or less covered I would be happy! There are rabbits around and the willow shoots are like sweets to them!