[lizbristol]

Hi all,

I'm a development researcher for Tigress Productions, an independent television production company based in Bristol.

I'm trying to find out some more about the pitfalls and challenges that might face someone setting up a smallholding. So as well as searching all the 'beginner' guides I can find, I was hoping that some of you would be happy to give me some feedback!

What was the biggest challenge or pitfall that you faced when you were setting up your own smallholding? Was it government red tape, dealing with escaping pigs, facing angry local farmers, or even ending up with too many eggs to handle?

If anyone feels that they could contribute, I'd be delighted to hear from you. Please feel free to either reply to this post, or email me at [email protected]

Many thanks,
Liz

[pigsatlesrues]

Escaping pigs every time!! They are Houdinies - no matter how secure, how many extras you put in - they know, oh yes they know.  Is this called having fun with your pigs?  A very necessary back up for any woman on a smallholding is plenty of valium!! Sorry chaps, I am sure you have your moments as well, but they can never be as bad as ours!!

Kate 

[Fluffywelshsheep]

lol

[Rosemary]

Have a look at Pebbles post about planners.

[farmerswag]

Escaping sheep in my case, running down the road, round barley fields, jumping fences!! Its never boring though. Not sure what I would class as the biggest challenge, Lambing is definately a challenge but by far the most rewarding time of the year, its lovely to see lambs a few days old out jumping about, pity they grow up into sheep!!

As for angry farmers, well the farmer whos land borders my land is now my wonderful other half   
He does get angry and grumpy when my sheep escape and he gets asked to come and help round them up but he knows who cooks his dinner 

[lizbristol]

Thanks for all your replies - obviously escape-artist animals are a common problem!

I've been looking into planning and another question arises from that. I understand that to get planning permission, you need to prove that your smallholding is economically viable, and you need to prove that you have a need to actually live there all year round.

But what I'm not clear on, is why you need to prove these? I could understand if you needed special permission to keep cows in your garden - but why do the planners care if you're earning money out of your smallholding? and why do they care if you're living on the land or not?

Sorry if these are obvious questions - I'm just trying to get my head around where the problem lies.

Many thanks,
Liz

[doganjo]

I think you must be talking about building a house in which case the answer is quite obvious (playing Devil's Advocate I suppose here).  If every person who wanted to build a house in the middle of a field was given consent the countryside would be littered with houses and the amount of usable land would decrease considerably.  This is why criteria are set by Planning Laws as to why and where consent may be given.  I am presently awaiting time to go by so that I may apply for permission for a plot of land I own in a small hamlet.  The rules are nothing to do with being on green belt more to do with small communities and preventing them becoming too large to be viable.  Only 20% of the current stock in any Cohesive Group of 5 houses or more may be built in any 5 year Planning Period.  The current local plan extends till the end of 2010 so I just have to hope that no-one else in that community gets in with an application before mine.
Annie

[lizbristol]

Thanks Annie, that makes sense. I'm surprised that this is a common problem then, as I would have thought that the majority of people wanting to set up a smallholding would buy land with a house already on it, thus avoiding the problem. Does this mean that if you already have a house with land attached, that you can just go ahead and turn your garden into a farmyard? Or is there even more red tape in that situation?

Many thanks,
Liz

[Hilarysmum]

   Facing up to Hilary.  We both know who is boss now. 

and it isnt me.

[hexhammeasure]

red tape is the biggest problem we face. before we can move stock onto any land it needs to be registered with defra and trading standards.  movement licences, medicine records, animal passports, cross compliance forms, hazard checks, 5 year plans, environment assessments, waste register and the list goes on