Hi, i'm new here so if i'm posting in the wrong forum...sorry, but i still hope i get some answers (lol)
We (hubby and me) bought a small farm, we are in de process of renovating and one day we will live there permanently..but not yet.
In the mean time we spend every weekend (beside renovating) mowing the lawn but than we still only cut the lawns arround the house and garden.
We have some land rented out...but than still we have app. 10/15 acres with gras....LOTS OF GRASS.what we don't mow but we see its getting longer and longer, to keep the place nice and looked after we need help.
We would love help from some critters and that is my question: what kind of animal can help us keep the lawn trimmed but will be able to live there on their own and look after themselfs
A few sheep? 2 cows? we just don't know.
Need help/advice please
How far are you living from the property, how close are nearest neighbors and how often do you go there?
We are there every fridaynight, the whole saturday and sundayevening we leave.
As of next month when the kids have their summer of, we will stay there for 2 months after that it will be weekends again.
We life 85 KM away so to far to go there every night specially with today's gasprices.
We did meet some neighbours but only a quick hello.
have someone cut and bale it, then sell it.
Yes, I agree with Darius. We have 82 acres and my husband just built us a house here, so we're here full time. However, we don't have the money for all the equipment needed to hay the fields, so we hire it out. They come and do everything and then take two thirds of it for payment. Since we don't have any animals yet (hopefully we will by summer's end) we sell it. With the hay shortage (at least around here) we got $45/round bale (some places were charging twice that). We just put a classified in our local ag paper and got tons of calls from farmers wanting to do the exchange. Of course, they don't do it just as you would (no one ever can!) but it was good money for doing nothing, and it kept our pastures in great shape. Good luck!
If the land is fenced rent it for pasture. Even if it isent you might ask around.We had so much trouble getting hay this summer we rented the field nex to us and put up a fence,for a lower monthly rent.
2/3 seems like a steep price to me. I'd only agree to half.
Is there water on the land. You need permanent water if you want to have livestock grazing the grass down. Only going out once a week will not keep them in water. I have 20 acres of pasture that I no longer use. It grows up pretty fast in shrubs that kill out the grass if you do not keep it grazed. I let folks use it for their animals in exchange for them keeping up the fence. I have a good pond on it. The arrangement works out well for all parties concerned. Before you rent out land for grazing, check and see what your liabilities are as far as if the animals get hurt or if the animals get out and cause damage to your neighbors or an accident if they get out in the road.
If it's just a matter of keeping the grass down, find someone who will hay the land and let them keep the hay for their labor, thats what I do with an extra five acres I don't want to mess with. It not only looks better but also elimanates the fire hazard. Haystack
Just remember that everything you take takes something from the land too!! You will need to address putting back nutrients once you start taking them off. We cut and leave hay on the ground about 2 times out of 3 around here because our soil is depleted. It is coming back beautifully.