we bought 70 acres of woodland 10 yrs ago (13yrs old then) which was 70% covered in trees and i geniunely think the land is devalued.
land gets snapped up around here but this was on the market for over a year before we paid £1k an acre when other farm land was going for £4k an acre.
local farmers said planting my farm with trees was "criminal" as it was really good farm land before - it was bought by a non-farmer who made about £50k profit in grants by planting it (according to gossip) before we bought it.
we are left with a loads of trees and not eligible for any grants as the previous owner took everything possible in one go. the hardwood sections are a mess of 4ft thistles and ragwort. we have grazed it hard with ponies, sheep,cattle and pigs but its still a weedy mess. walking the dogs is tricky because of the weeds. i cant use a tractor between the trees so everything is done by hand with is exhausting. we have tried chopping the trees down but are left with stumps so dont under estimate the physical labour and time it takes to chop trees down and return to useable land - or how much it costs to pay someone (i was quoted £8k to chop down 5 acres of small trees without stump removal)
we are moving away for the management and the animals sake, we really need square grazing fields.
our mistake was at the beginning that the trees were small and we didnt really realise the extent that was planted. we got animals to tidy up the farm as it was so scruffy, but at the end of the day, the animals deserve better.
the fir trees areas are lovely now as we have cut walking tracks through - but it will need thinning at some point. girth wise they arent big enough to have much value except firewood but are still 40ft high, so how im going to manage without paying for someone to help is beyond me.
there is a wood not far from us that was cut down for timber and looks a real mess, but luckily they are close to the road where as my fields arent so large lorries would struggle with access. there is another wood which was completely burnt down, and another which are literally falling over full grown, roots and all, which has devalued the timber into firewoods as the whole woods are a health and safety hazard.
on our farm the centre areas were planted which was good dry ground- leaving any useable fields on the perimeter of the farm , which are all boggy ground. why they didnt plant the boggy ground and leave good grazing parks near the house, iv no idea. its a 30 min walk to check the farthest fields when there is livestock down there.
if you have livestock amongst the trees, if takes along time to find them as the trees obscure the view. so if an animal is sick or caught in a fence you can be looking for them in a panic, whereas in a grazing park, you can see them in an instant.
once you plant trees, the ragwort will come.
when we move we could rent the land out - but who wants to rent a wild over grown wilderness? (pm me if you do!!) it will quite possibly be left to nature which isnt a good investment of £70k. id like to give my kids the option of selling the land for building as we are in the centre of the village but how the trees roots would affect value is another matter as time is money.
not trying to put you off, but thats our experience.
on the plus side we have a big herd of wild deer (though im sure you have to agree to cull them in your application), plenty of hares, foxes etc.
having a few acres next to your house is premium value as people want a pony etc. investment wise i wouldnt plant trees.
the council-run woodlands around here are well ,managed and lovely but they have huge teams of employees that spray, strim, lay paths etc and have all the man power and machinery to do this. dont under estimate the effort if it is just yourself managing it.