[gardenrosie]

Hello all! 

We are in the process of buying a house with 8 acres of sloping land.  I am a professional gardener with an allotment but have never had that much land and am a bit scared... the garden of the house itself is about 1/2 acre so plenty of room to grow food for the family in there.

What is the most profitable thing to do with it, and is there a place I can get information on what sorts of grants/subsidies might be available from the government?  Its east facing, fairly sheltered from the prevailing wind though quite exposed, fencing is post with two runs of barbed wire.  I measured the perimeter of the three fields as 1km and we have very little money so new fencing is a huge investment. 

Is the best way to get a but of money (and get used to the idea of smallholding) to fence off a small area and keep a few pigs, or should we get sheep, or let the local farmer graze his cattle there to stop the grass getting too long? Or a pick your own flower farm?  Or some of lots of things?

Feeling very naive and scared - be gentle with me!

Thanks

Rosie

[Treud na Mara]

If you can give a rough idea of where in the country you are it would help. Also what is happening on the surrounding land, what are other folk doing ? And do you have any experience with animals ?

[Hevxxx99]

Offer it to a local farmer for now, until you decide what to do.  That way, you get to know the neighbours and will probably have a friendly bit of help on hand if you need it for fencing or when you decide to get sheep.

I also recommend starting with chickens on a small scale: 3 or 4 maybe, as a gentle introduction and fresh eggs which are out of this world (I was going to say "unbeatable", that makes them sound rather unappetising..) and they aren't hard to keep once you've learnt the basics.

[AndynJ]

Rent the land out, in the meantime read and research, the profit in smallholding is next to nothing if you do really well, If you have a job smallholding is a hobby.

[juliem]

The most profitable is renting out for horses ponies....but they will ruin your land.I have 12 acres which i rent out for sheep.The only reason that I am able to rent it is because I have good stock fencing..farm buildings..electic..auto water.My tenant is always being offered free grazing..but its a  lot of hassle for him moving them...so agree no money to be made.
Only grants I know are for solar panels

[honeyend]

Before renting anything beware making a farming tenancy before you have decided what to do long term. Depending on where you live the law is different and you could end up with a tenant who has the right to stay.
 Eight acres is actually not  a lot of ground, its only a lot when you need to mow it or put up fencing. I would pay someone to mow it and like all gardening look what other people are growing and why, then decide if you can make money from the land.
 Most of the grants available restrict you in some way and by the time you have filled out the paperwork you might as well cracked on with it.

[gardenrosie]

Hello

Thanks all

I have kept a few backyard chickens before so there will be a few of them in the garden, but am wondering what to do to manage the ground and have no experience of sheep or pigs let alone cattle

Its in Wiltshire and very steep - it has a few cattle on it through a grass keep agreement with a local farmer but I am keen to do something with it ourselves - maybe a combination of bees, pigs, sheep, glamping?  I am a landscaper but work from home so can spare a couple of hours a day for the land/whatever we do 

The fence is around 1km long around the site, post and two lines of barbed wire - is that enough for sheep or will they escape?  There is a dilapidated shelter about 5mx2m which we could re roof and four troughs which are maintained by the water company

Neighbours have sheep and cattle

In the few months we've been waiting to buy it docks and creeping buttercup have shot up across the fields

[Backinwellies]

Will need completely refencing.  .....  stock fence required for sheep and lower barb removed .... if having cattle you may need to keep a top strand of barb.

[Coximus]

You need at least 5ha / 12.5 acres to qualify for any grants or aid now under the new BPS system so their is nothing their.

Your best bet - rent it out if you can, but in some areas you cant - some places grazing is free as their are not alot of animals and alot of small landowners wanting land grazed........ Other areas you can get 50p a sheep a week - so £20 a week is doable on your land.

Watch and learn for 2-3 years before making your decision - but be assured, If many people can jsut about make minimum wage on 50 Acres.... you wont make much on 8! plus your costs will be higher... no scale economy!

[Backinwellies]

If you really want to make some money and you are a gardener ....  then plants is the way to go.  Depends on location.

[SallyintNorth]

You say Wiltshire... I lived in Wiltshire for nearly 20 years; much of the ground there is very very claggy when wet.  So don't rush in with any plans until you've seen it through a winter

(Just realised you'll know all about the ground, being a gardener!   )

If the local farmer is grazing it with cattle now, I'd keep on with that at first.  Make sure you have a proper agreement in place so that s/he doesn't gain permanent rights    And, if the fence is cattle-proof now, make sure the fencing is the farmer's responsibility.  Which may mean you get little money, of course, but you also get it kept grazed and the fence in good order .