Cost of renting bog plot for turf?

KTBFFH

I own a bog that will have more space than we can use to cut turf in this year and am considering renting out that extra space. Anyone have a rough estimate of what something like this is worth?
It produces good, black turf and I put decent money in already clearing out the plot to make more space and better airing overall. Would like to be able to recover some of these costs.

cute geoge

Thw way it works around here is you basically get in a turf cutting contractor to cut .He is x amount to cut a bin which is basically 8 sods wide x80/100 meters and you then sell each bin or y amount .The buyer turns.foots and draws away Ask around ,get prices for contractors they vary!!! Plenty of demand but try and get money for turf before it leaves bog

PoorFarmer

KTBFFH wrote: »

I own a bog that will have more space than we can use to cut turf in this year and am considering renting out that extra space. Anyone have a rough estimate of what something like this is worth?
It produces good, black turf and I put decent money in already clearing out the plot to make more space and better airing overall. Would like to be able to recover some of these costs.

I used to give €10 per bin to the lad that owns the bog and pay the guy cutting myself. IIRC they were 90 metre x 10 sod bins but it's been 2 or 3 years now since I got turf cut

KTBFFH

cute geoge wrote: »

Thw way it works around here is you basically get in a turf cutting contractor to cut .He is x amount to cut a bin which is basically 8 sods wide x80/100 meters and you then sell each bin or y amount .The buyer turns.foots and draws away Ask around ,get prices for contractors they vary!!! Plenty of demand but try and get money for turf before it leaves bog

Yeah that sounds like what happens here, except I think we call a hopper what you must call a bin!
We already have a contractor for cutting next month, we are lucky they will cut our bog quite early.

What I would like to do is have a price per bin/hopper for cutting on my plot. I don't have the time nor the money to cut a s**t load of turf, save it all myself and then try go finding people. It's just not worth the hassle.

KTBFFH

PoorFarmer wrote: »

I used to give €10 per bin to the lad that owns the bog and pay the guy cutting myself. IIRC they were 90 metre x 10 sod bins but it's been 2 or 3 years now since I got turf cut

Thanks for this, I am assuming a bin is a hopper? It's more difficult get a contractor in to cut in our area because its not surrounded by other bogs, they have to purposefuly come just to our so needs to be worth their while. So we would all be using the same contractor, as anyone else would not bother coming util the very end of the season.

J.O. Farmer

KTBFFH wrote: »

Thanks for this, I am assuming a bin is a hopper? It's more difficult get a contractor in to cut in our area because its not surrounded by other bogs, they have to purposefuly come just to our so needs to be worth their while. So we would all be using the same contractor, as anyone else would not bother coming util the very end of the season.

In that situation your probably best doing as Cute George suggested and sell turf on the flat.

What you do is sell it before it's cut as in people order 10 hoppers or whatever. Otherwise it's going to be difficult to get a contractor if they have to come and cut for several people and get paid by several people so you're going to end up as point of contact for the contractor anyway.

KTBFFH

J.O. Farmer wrote: »

In that situation your probably best doing as Cute George suggested and sell turf on the flat.

What you do is sell it before it's cut as in people order 10 hoppers or whatever. Otherwise it's going to be difficult to get a contractor if they have to come and cut for several people and get paid by several people so you're going to end up as point of contact for the contractor anyway.

Yes thanks, that would be the plan. My query is more about the price I should be charging per hopper for using the bog. What is a reasonable price to be asking per hopper?

J.O. Farmer

KTBFFH wrote: »

Yes thanks, that would be the plan. My query is more about the price I should be charging per hopper for using the bog. What is a reasonable price to be asking per hopper?

Depends on the size of the hopper, I think it could be around €1.10/ meter for 8 sods around here. I'd say ask around your area how much turf is to buy on the flat.

This is probably a stupid off-topic question but for someone with some bog is the objective to make money from the turf or the objective to exhaust the bog, get some income along the way and reclaim a few acres at the end?

KTBFFH

Deleted User wrote: »

This is probably a stupid off-topic question but for someone with some bog is the objective to make money from the turf or the objective to exhaust the bog, get some income along the way and reclaim a few acres at the end?

Only can give my perspective: we always just cut enough turf to heat our house and grandparents place, maybe cut extra to make sure you have enough to spare, and only one year did my father cut etra to sell, and we (personally) found it was not worth the extra work and costs.



I do know a few people locally though who cut loads and loads of turf, most of it to sell on. They would either have big operations paying cheapest labour possible, or locals with lots of storage space selling turf by the bag and delivering it throughout the year constantly getting paid in cash.

To me its a pretty niche market, and unless you have the bog, tractor, trailer, cheap labour I can't see it being worth someones while.

You didn't mention reclaim so is it a case that agricultural land in boggy areas doesn't command a high enough price to justify reclamation effort and Farmers reclaiming bogland are doing so for the "love" of their profession or their holding?

KTBFFH

Deleted User wrote: »

You didn't mention reclaim so is it a case that agricultural land in boggy areas doesn't command a high enough price to justify reclamation effort and Farmers reclaiming bogland are doing so for the "love" of their profession or their holding?

I'm probably the wrong person to answer this as I'm not up on any of that to be honest.

But I assume cost is a major factor. Our actual farmland and our bogland are completely different. Look at Bord na Mona bog pictures to see what I'm describing. For the size of our bog, and the marshy land it is, I just imagine it would never be worth it. Our bog is also far from the farm and down a horrible, rarely used 'road', so that would be another factor for us.



All the land surrounding that's not bog, was planted with trees and is now forest. There were decent grants available for this kind of stuff and I think the landowner made use of them to make it worth his while, still gets a return every year and will be allowed cut and sell the wood after a certain period, AFAIK.

TopTec

Just sorted a small bank for a new neighbour who wants to cut 2 or 3 hoppers this year. North Mayo. Bank owned by a local farmer friend who stopped cutting this particular one. Price agreed was 100 euro this season, only cutting up to 3 hoppers. Price is about right for this area. Suspect it varies depending on area.
TT

6541

TopTec wrote: »

Just sorted a small bank for a new neighbour who wants to cut 2 or 3 hoppers this year. North Mayo. Bank owned by a local farmer friend who stopped cutting this particular one. Price agreed was 100 euro this season, only cutting up to 3 hoppers. Price is about right for this area. Suspect it varies depending on area.
TT

Hi - So is that 100 for the right to cut the three hoppers and then another cost to the contractor to cut it ?

TopTec

6541 wrote: »

Hi - So is that 100 for the right to cut the three hoppers and then another cost to the contractor to cut it ?

Yep. 100 whether he cuts none or 3. Hoppers are 50 euro each here. Still getting the turf half the commercial price although he will find out how much effort it is. He's young though and 3 hoppers is a doddle!

TT

6541

TopTec wrote: »

Yep. 100 whether he cuts none or 3. Hoppers are 50 euro each here. Still getting the turf half the commercial price although he will find out how much effort it is. He's young though and 3 hoppers is a doddle!

TT

I am in West Mayo. Last year I got three hoppers for three hundred euro's. That's contractor and owner paid. is that about right ?

TopTec

6541 wrote: »

I am in West Mayo. Last year I got three hoppers for three hundred euro's. That's contractor and owner paid. is that about right ?

Well 2 hoppers here is a full heaped trailer load. Delivered price is 400 - 450. Depends on hoppers size I suppose. Here hoppers are 10 sods wide. If your 3 hoppers filled a trailer with sides then that is a good price. 3 of your hoppers on the bog for you to sort out and bring down is a bit pricey. Would be 100% Mark up here.

TT

Aravo

6541 wrote: »

I am in West Mayo. Last year I got three hoppers for three hundred euro's. That's contractor and owner paid. is that about right ?

I know a fella that gets a contractor to cut turf and he let's people in then to take x amount of hoppers and they save it themselves. He has to pay the contractor e50 per hopper and he sells off each hopper for e100. So that matches your amount of e300 for 3 hoppers. Each hopper would be a load of turf, no creels. And even at e100 per hopper he would get some cribbing amount the price. He would say to them to get e100 worth of oil and see how they get on.