[SallyintNorth]

My neighbour has just brought me 8 round bales of hay - tho I am slightly worried as it is a bit damp and slightly warm in the middle 

Stand it on its side, with plenty of air flow around it - if it's not raining, outdoors.  It needs a bit more airing before you stack it.

[MelRice]

Considering we are the weird foreigners that moved into the village our neighbours have been fantastic. None of them speak English and my German is only improving slowly (No German when I came) its marvelous how well we get on.

[katie]

Our adjacent neighbours are horrible. Really, really horrible. The things they said about us in objecting to our planning application were so vicious that the Council had to blank out large parts of the letters. Other people in the community, though , have been lovely. Really interested in what we are doing and friendly and helpful. One took our sheep to the abattoir the first time and others smallholding sat when our daughter got married. Pity these don't live next door!

[benkt]

Our 'good neighbour' has been fantastic this year: he got us some leftover seed so we got half an acre of barley in; combined our rape for us; found a local chap with a small baler to do half of one of his fields so we could have a years supply of straw.
I've found the 'proper farmers' round here really helpful and interested in what we're doing - looking forward to being able to offer something in return as we get ourselves sorted out.

[mab]

I've got two neighbours that have offered to look after the animals if I need it and one who offered me the use of his paddock last year. Alas none of them are 'animal' people so there's a limit to what they can do, and it's hard to reciprocate such favors. They never complain about the state of the place (or me wandering round looking like a tramp). 

The only negative is that one neighbor's son has a very loud 2 stroke motorbike which scares the sheep    - but he does try to keep the noise down when he's near home and I think it's incumbent on me as a 'good neighbor' in my turn to just grin & bear it - the sheep are slowly getting used to it I think.

One of the neighbours is selling though and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the new people will be OK - you never know. 

mab

[Rosemary]

The sheep will get used to it - we live beside a railway and an army training camp and neither trains nor mortars bother ours now 

[SLI]

I live in a quiet rural road but right opposite the sea so none of my neighbours are farmers, however my neighbour opposite will always "chicken-sit" if we want to go away overnight. My OH works away 4 days a week and struggles with the up-keep of our large garden. Last week my neighbour came for two full days and weeded my whole garden. They're absolute gems; friends as well as neighbours.  

[Sylvia]

My neighbours (who are also my son and daughter-in-law ) came round last night with a bottle of four-year-old sloe gin in return for my help to them. That's what I call good neighbours (and the reason I've had to type this twice )

[Fowgill Farm]

Our neighbours are "proper" farmers,(incidentally their wives hate each other which makes parties quite difficult! ) the one on the left takes the proverbial, his cows and sheep graze across our land all year and we don't get so much as a lamb chop, he also borrowed our telescopic handler for nearly a fortnight and returned it with no diesel in it!! and made off as quick as he could when dropping it back over!
On the other side the farmer is ok but his cows keep getting out, his fencing is the shove a pallet in the hole kind of job! and then theres my sister's place, she is wonderful, pig & dog sits whenever i need her and looked after me when my back was bad. On the whole not too bad 
Mandy 
ps think i'm a good neighbour i'm forever out returning roaming dogs, rounding up wandering cows, saving unexpected lambs, fixing their fences, checking their water troughs etc etc!

[SallyintNorth]

I've got two neighbours that have offered to look after the animals if I need it and one who offered me the use of his paddock last year. Alas none of them are 'animal' people so there's a limit to what they can do, and it's hard to reciprocate such favors.

You have chickens (I bet they'd like some eggs) and grow veg (I bet they'd like some home-grown veg) and have a pony (if they grow their own veg and/or roses I bet they'd like some well-rotted horse manure!)   And maybe you put some of your wether lambs in your own freezer?

 

[Daisy]

Thank you SallyinNorth will give that a go 

[Millwood]

We have a wonderful couple a few doors down from our field; they keep bees (backing on to our land) and we sell their honey on our market stall, she volunteered to start opening up the chickens for us on a sunday morning so we get to have a lie in! Much appreciated! They also have one of our veg boxes every week, and we always make sure they get a little bit extra. Also the lady next door to our land (who we initially thought was against our 'polytunnel operation' - quote from the parish council minutes yes we get mentioned ) is alot friendlier these days, asked to pick some of our damsons & left us a few jars of damson jam & redcurrant jelly by the gate, think she's coming around now she realises we are quite serious about our Market Garden business!

[Corrie Dhu]

I have a really good neighbour.  He has done loads for me over the years and I find it hard to repay him as he is so competent and never needs any help!  I do bring his sheep in for him sometimes but he rarely asks me.

Recently he tubed my first ever calf for me and helped me save it's life, then he helped me get it back on it's mother and let me put them in his shed til the calf was strong enough to go outside, then he calved my second ever calf and I am sure it would have been a c-section if I had called the vet.  He's given me hay and refused payment and any time I try and give him money for anything he says "all debts are paid in whisky"!  Oh and he sold me an old crush for 50 quid, he wanted to give me it for nothing but I refused, it still is in working order and is a weigher crush as well!  Saw one on ebay that wasn't a weigher sell for 250, exactly the same as mine.

[SallyintNorth]

I have a really good neighbour.  He has done loads for me over the years and I find it hard to repay him as he is so competent and never needs any help!  I do bring his sheep in for him sometimes but he rarely asks me.
any time I try and give him money for anything he says "all debts are paid in whisky"! 

A bottle of Famous Grouse is practically farmer currency around here.  Some farmers you have to take two bottles as the first will be opened and drunk with you when you call round with your "thank you" ... hic!

[Corrie Dhu]

Yep that's the one