[HHH]

Hi

Can I ask for some advice from those more experienced than me!

I have 13 acres at the front of my house that I bought 5 years ago (in West Sussex). I am not a farmer nor a smallholder. It's only purpose is to provide a setting for the house and a nice view.

I have until now let it out under a Farm Business Tenancy to a haylage farmer.  That tenancy has ended and I won't renew it as he pays no rent and needs constantly reminding to comply with his very few obligations (e.g. to cut the hedges). 

Going forward, all I want is to permit a different farmer (who is more pleasant to deal with and more respectful) to enter the field once or twice a year to cut the grass and remove it (it's up to him whether he bales it and sells it on).

I have read the entire internet and every forum but seemingly there is no standard licence template that is geared up for this.  There is a "grazing/grass keep licence" which, despite including the words "grass keep" is entirely worded to cater for animal grazing.

Question - any advice would be much appreciated please on how to formally (i.e. legally without just a risky verbal agreement) grant access to a farmer to cut the grass and remove it?

No rent is needed. I don't want the grass. He is not to have "exclusive possession" and can only access the land when I allow it.  If such an arrangement exists in the UK I can't find it and I don't want to grant an FBT again.

Many thanks for any advice.

[Bywaters]

I have no experience in this but offer the following tuppenceworth;

You are wanting to have a contractual agreement for a service; grass cutting and removal

I would think that you don't need a license, you need an "Order"
as in To Contractor (Farmer ) Please cut and dispose of grass at this location 1x or 2 x per year,
Payment £0 , Conditional on agreeing access arrangements with me.
Order to be agreed annualy
Yours etc

Would that work ?

 

[HHH]

Hi Bywaters

Thanks and, yes, that is exactly what I need, 100% but I don't think it would work.

If I wanted a tree surgeon to take down some trees in the orchard and dispose of them or a gardener to mow the lawn I would arrange that in a heartbeat, no problem. I would place an order (in the form of an email) pay them for the work and they would go, never to return.

The difference seems to be that agricultural land is treated differently under UK law to my garden/orchard. Neither the tree surgeon nor the gardener could come back a week later and claim that they have rights for the rest of their lives to my lawn/orchard. Or if they did they would be laughed out of court.

With agricultural land, if you don't have a watertight, legally binding arrangement in the form of a licence or farm business tenancy for the farmer to take your crop (even on a one-off basis) you immediately run the risk of them acquiring rights, potentially for life, leading to legal proceedings and a whole heap of cost and misery.

This is too great a risk as it has happened to a neighbour (albeit under different circumstances) and the farmer effectively now "owns" their land under a secure tenancy for the rest of his life.

I guess its a question for a lawyer and I'll have to pay for legal advice but I can't imagine that I am the first person to have ever encountered this conundrum in the history of British farming/land owning.

Many thanks though for your help and I'll see if anyone else has any suggestions. Cheers.

[Bywaters]

I wonder if a call to your local NFU office might yield something ?

As you say, you don't want to get it wrong

[HHH]

Thanks, good suggestion, I'll give that a go. 

[SallyintNorth]

Otherwise talk to the local agri sales agent, whoever sells farms and smallholdings and advertises farms for letting.

Depending on where in West Sussex, HJ Burt may be one such.  (Did a quick search for farms and land in West Sussex, and at a cursory glance, this one looks to be the sort of agent you'd want to advise you. If anyone in your area can recommend one, go with that - I know the area north of Hadrian's Wall, and southwest of the M4/5, so couldn't be much further away!) 

[HHH]

Thanks Sally

Great advice thanks.

In fact, HJ Burt were the agents who sold me the house and who I later used as a land agent to draft and execute the FBT's that I had with the farmer (the one I am not renewing).

I asked them to find me a replacement haylage farmer but they have drawn a blank only offering me sheep grazing opportunities.  It's weird because I am 2 miles from Hickstead which is very horsey and haylage here is pricey!

[SallyintNorth]

One factor may be that to only mow annually will gradually deplete the land.  You may like that - more meadowy and less monograss - and some horsey folks will appreciate hay/lage from a more mixed sward too, but it will make it less attractive to some of the operators, as yields and feed values will decline year on year.

Would you consider allowing grazing for a period in autumn or early spring each year, to replenish the soil?  Alternatively, allow a light application of artificial fertiliser every two to three years?  (Although this is an expensive alternative to grazing animals, but it may be the only option if the ground isn't fenced.) 

Might the fellow who's had it up to now be prepared to pay an amount annually if you relieve him of his non-mowing/grasscare obligations?  Sufficient to pay another contractor to trim the hedges and any other maintenance tasks? 

[HHH]

Yes, all great advice thanks Sally.  First farmer ploughed and re-sowed it 5 years ago and applied some fertiliser once since then so its in reasonably good health.

We've also had sheep on and off (for no more than a couple of weeks at a time) and that went well so I may revert to that if I can't find a replacement haylage farmer.

Sadly the relationship with the first farmer has broken down so we're not going that route even though it may make sense on paper.

Sometimes you have to take a principled stance in life; he took advantage of my goodwill on a massive scale.  At our first meeting he said "there's no money in haylage so I can't pay you any rent but I'll keep the fields looking nice and do your hedges".  He also refused to pay his half of the legal cost of the FBT because he said a tenancy wasn't necessary.

He then made as many excuses as there are blades of grass in the field as to why he couldn't do the hedges and cut a second "top-off" crop (necessary to keep it looking nice).  He's also lost a much larger 50 acres next door due to tack of respect for the land owner there (who has a vineyard) so he has form. If my business model was solely based on other people lending me their land for nought I'd make damn sure I showed them respect and complied with my few obligations.  Hey ho.

Thanks Sally!

[SallyintNorth]

Ach, he sounds a pain. 

I'd agree there's not a lot of profit in large bale haylage.  There's money in small bale haylage (for smallholders and horsey folks), if you have the staff to handle the bales, but it's incredibly labour-intensive to make, store and sell, so only works for a farming family who don't expect to be paid by the hour! 

I'd be looking for a family farmer who has sheep, and would love to make haylage for themselves from your field each year, then graze it for a while in autumn to replenish and keep it tidy.

[HHH]

Yes, I agree a friendly family farmer with sheep and an ability to mow would be perfect. Fingers crossed, Ill find one.  May have to do some door knocking!

[SallyintNorth]

Watch the fields while you're out and about.  Notice where sheep graze and hay/lage is also made - especially small bales, if you see any.  Stop in and help out when they're baling, that's the start point of many a rural relationship!