What to do...what to do?

[mjncad]

My wife and I own 35-acres about 60-miles drive from our house. We put 27-acres of the land in CRP (Conservation Resource Program) to lower our property taxes. As part of the CRP contract, I have to put 2.7-acres of the land in pollinator crop. OK, here's the rub; the Gummint has a hard-on for me to spray the existing vegetation to kill it for the new stuff to be planted in the fall. Due to the small amount of acreage, liability, and various regulatory BS, I haven't been able to find anyone to spray the land for me. Now if I owned a trailer, I could take my tractor and sprayer to our land and do it my self; but I don't own a trailer, nor do I know anyone to borrow one from, and what few I find to rent are 16' - 18' in length if I'm lucky. Buying a trailer is not in the budget at the moment, and our current HOASS would have a hissy fit if I stored it on our property where people may see it. Besides, if I run out of water, I'm hosed as I don't know my neighbors out there to refill my sprayer if need be. The calculations say I should be able to get two passes out of my 55-gallon sprayer; but I find that hard to believe. Driving my tractor out there is out of the question as that would be a 4 - 5 hour one way drive.

Now what I've been thinking is having someone lightly till, then immediately plant the pollinator seed using a seed drill. This I have a greater chance of hiring out. I'm hoping to do this in the mid September to mid October time frame.

Any thoughts or suggestions are welcome.

I WISH WE NEVER BOUGHT THE LAND NOW.

 

[Willl]

Ya butt, look at the money your saving by joining CRP.

 

[TripleR]

Have you tried renting a trailer, we can get them for $40 per day.

 

[Mark Page]

Check out UHaul. If you decide to spray use something with some horsepower or the old stuff will come right back. Have you tried putting an ad in the local paper for someone to do the work? Try Craigs List.

 

[vtsnowedin]

Your tractor dealership probably would do the hauling for you or have someone that hauls for them they can point you to. There are bound to be some small contractors out there that do backhoe work and have a beaver tail trailer for moving their equipment. I'd take all the water I need in plastic drums in the back of my pickup if there was no water on that land.

 

[Mechanos]

Move to the property... HOA's suck! :laughing:

I don't have any suggested solutions for you, but your predicament is precisely why I spent years looking for the right sized lot in the right location with right "rules"... or lack there of.

 

[mjncad]

Ya butt, look at the money your saving by joining CRP.

I'm still waiting for our first check to show up.

Have you tried renting a trailer, we can get them for $40 per day.

The three places that rent trailers have daily rates ranging from $78 - $100

Check out UHaul. If you decide to spray use something with some horsepower or the old stuff will come right back. Have you tried putting an ad in the local paper for someone to do the work? Try Craigs List.

The CRP folks have a list of nearby people who do small acreage work and none of them will spray due to the small amount of acreage; but mostly due to liability, and state and federal regulations. So if I spray, I'm stuck doing it myself.

Your tractor dealership probably would do the hauling for you or have someone that hauls for them they can point you to. There are bound to be some small contractors out there that do backhoe work and have a beaver tail trailer for moving their equipment. I'd take all the water I need in plastic drums in the back of my pickup if there was no water on that land.

I like the plastic drums idea.

Move to the property... HOA's suck! :laughing:

I don't have any suggested solutions for you, but your predicament is precisely why I spent years looking for the right sized lot in the right location with right "rules"... or lack there of.

No argument from me about HOASS' being worthless.

Anybody want to buy some Colorado plains land with utilities? :banghead:

 

[Mechanos]

No argument from me about HOASS' being worthless.

Anybody want to buy some Colorado plains land with utilities? :banghead:

I have family in that area... where is this land located?

 

[TripleR]

I'm still waiting for our first check to show up.



The three places that rent trailers have daily rates ranging from $78 - $100



The CRP folks have a list of nearby people who do small acreage work and none of them will spray due to the small amount of acreage; but mostly due to liability, and state and federal regulations. So if I spray, I'm stuck doing it myself.



I like the plastic drums idea.



No argument from me about HOASS' being worthless.

Anybody want to buy some Colorado plains land with utilities? :banghead:

We can rent a trailer here for $40, so it is cheaper than keeping up with one my brother already owns.

You sure won't make money on CRP, but it helps offset land you want for other purposes, we are doing wildlife habitat, reforestation and warm season grasses.

We tried to get someone to spray ours too and now have a $2000 spreader waiting to be picked up Monday.

We love owning and working on the land, so the expense is essentially paying for very expensive recreation; well worth it though, but we live on one of the farms and my son lives on another and they are only four miles apart.

 

[vtsnowedin]

How much you want for it? Any pictures? Because the rule here is no pics= it doesn't exist.
Now if money is really tight, and it's getting that way for a lot of people these days, you could just spray 2.7 acres with a back pack sprayer or one on the back of a 4 wheeler. It would take a few hours or maybe even more then a day but it is just walking. Every bit of New England hayfield used to be cut with hand scythes every summer one swing at a time.
What is growing on it now that needs to be killed and what pollination crop do you intend to plant?

 

[MapleLeafFarmer]

How much you want for it? Any pictures? Because the rule here is no pics= it doesn't exist.
Now if money is really tight, and it's getting that way for a lot of people these days, you could just spray 2.7 acres with a back pack sprayer or one on the back of a 4 wheeler. It would take a few hours or maybe even more then a day but it is just walking. Every bit of New England hayfield used to be cut with hand scythes every summer one swing at a time.
What is growing on it now that needs to be killed and what pollination crop do you intend to plant?

yup... sprayer on back of atv.... no atv... then sprayer on back of p/u.... no sprayer..... then how about a couple of plastic drums/small utility pump from the likes of Northern Tool/homemade plastic boom made of pvc-abs pipe from local hardware store/nozzles from local garden center.

Build it and test with plain water on concrete surface so you can see the coverage pattern and if you are unable to do the flow rate math just ask your local farm gurus (or here) and depending on the pump you buy once we know the flow rate of the tiny/tiny pump you need to buy we can calc. how many nozzles once you find a source and boom length to do the job yourself.

I simply do not see the problem... only a small amount of schemeing and could be quick/cheap and easy to do yourself.

 

[vtsnowedin]

Or you could hire one undocumented immigrant to do it with a watering can.

 

[mjncad]

I have family in that area... where is this land located?

The land is located just south of Byers, which is about 40-miles east of Denver. I do have a soils report for a house and outbuilding, along with two leach field locations. We bought the land to build our final house on; but it's looking less and less likely that will ever happen.

You sure won't make money on CRP, but it helps offset land you want for other purposes, we are doing wildlife habitat, reforestation and warm season grasses.

The only reason I got involved with CRP was to reduce our property taxes; otherwise I wouldn't have the Gummint involved what so ever.

How much you want for it? Any pictures? Because the rule here is no pics= it doesn't exist.

What is growing on it now that needs to be killed and what pollination crop do you intend to plant?

I'm not sure what a fair asking price would be as I've just started to think about unloading the land. I need to take pictures too on one of my trips out there. As for pollinator crop, I have no idea what grows well in a dryland situation in Colorado. I'll ask the CRP guy what I need to plant this fall.

 

[Mark Page]

Bite the bullet and find a second hand 16ft. landscape trailer. You'll be able to come and go as you please and when you finish building your house sell it. In these parts a decent one sells for about $1,200.

 

[mvwicker]

...

Now what I've been thinking is having someone lightly till, then immediately plant the pollinator seed using a seed drill. This I have a greater chance of hiring out. I'm hoping to do this in the mid September to mid October time frame.

Any thoughts or suggestions are welcome.

I WISH WE NEVER BOUGHT THE LAND NOW.

1. Could you spray from the back of your truck?

2. Can you use your 130L, and get it there in your truck bed?

3. Are there neighbors willing and able to help?

Best of luck!

 

[Dapolksjj]

My wife and I own 35-acres about 60-miles drive from our house. We put 27-acres of the land in CRP (Conservation Resource Program) to lower our property taxes. As part of the CRP contract, I have to put 2.7-acres of the land in pollinator crop. OK, here's the rub; the Gummint has a hard-on for me to spray the existing vegetation to kill it for the new stuff to be planted in the fall. Due to the small amount of acreage, liability, and various regulatory BS, I haven't been able to find anyone to spray the land for me. Now if I owned a trailer, I could take my tractor and sprayer to our land and do it my self; but I don't own a trailer, nor do I know anyone to borrow one from, and what few I find to rent are 16' - 18' in length if I'm lucky. Buying a trailer is not in the budget at the moment, and our current HOASS would have a hissy fit if I stored it on our property where people may see it. Besides, if I run out of water, I'm hosed as I don't know my neighbors out there to refill my sprayer if need be. The calculations say I should be able to get two passes out of my 55-gallon sprayer; but I find that hard to believe. Driving my tractor out there is out of the question as that would be a 4 - 5 hour one way drive.

Now what I've been thinking is having someone lightly till, then immediately plant the pollinator seed using a seed drill. This I have a greater chance of hiring out. I'm hoping to do this in the mid September to mid October time frame.

Any thoughts or suggestions are welcome.

I WISH WE NEVER BOUGHT THE LAND NOW.

Can't you rent a U-Haul flat bed and do your hauling? I know they rent carhaulers. Maybe a heavy equipment hauler could be hired. You might approach some of your neighbors and ask for help in refilling your tank. You'd be surprised how helpful they can be.

 

[cmore]

If u have a ATV, u could use it to pull a small trailer with a sprayer on the back. Both would fit in the back of a PU.
If u use a PU, be careful about stopping where the exhaust system can contact the veg, if dry. I have a friend who started a fire that way.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Since and acre is only about 208 x 208 feet, you arent looking at a lot of walking to spray it with a backpack sprayer. If you have an ATV, TSC has 25 gallon trailer mounted sprayers for a couple hundred bucks, or if you can drive your truck on the land, just put it in the back and have companion stand in back with the hand held wand and spray it. Keep your speed same as you go and it would not be too hard to calculate the water usage required to cover it. Does you acreage have to be in a solid block and can it be around the perimeter of the land. If so, just calculate the width x length of the land x 6 feet (the width of the truck) and just drive around the perimeter spraying till you get the required area (43,560 sq ft to the acre). A couple of passes around a 35 acre field would be more than enough

 

[mjncad]

Bite the bullet and find a second hand 16ft. landscape trailer. You'll be able to come and go as you please and when you finish building your house sell it. In these parts a decent one sells for about $1,200.

Buying and storing a trailer will cause problems with our current HOASS. Unlike the east coast, used equipment is not as plentiful here.

Building a house on the land is fast becoming an unreality for various reasons.

1. Could you spray from the back of your truck? No, as I have no way to power my existing 55-gallon sprayer from the truck.

2. Can you use your 130L, and get it there in your truck bed? No, as I'd need to buy a tow behind sprayer.

3. Are there neighbors willing and able to help? Possibly.

Best of luck!

Can't you rent a U-Haul flat bed and do your hauling? I know they rent carhaulers. Maybe a heavy equipment hauler could be hired. You might approach some of your neighbors and ask for help in refilling your tank. You'd be surprised how helpful they can be.

U-haul only rents car haulers here and the open bed isn't compatible with the tractor's track. If I need to refill the tank, I'll approach a neighbor out there.

If u have a ATV, u could use it to pull a small trailer with a sprayer on the back. Both would fit in the back of a PU.
If u use a PU, be careful about stopping where the exhaust system can contact the veg, if dry. I have a friend who started a fire that way.

I don't own an ATV.

Since and acre is only about 208 x 208 feet, you arent looking at a lot of walking to spray it with a backpack sprayer. If you have an ATV, TSC has 25 gallon trailer mounted sprayers for a couple hundred bucks, or if you can drive your truck on the land, just put it in the back and have companion stand in back with the hand held wand and spray it. Keep your speed same as you go and it would not be too hard to calculate the water usage required to cover it. Does you acreage have to be in a solid block and can it be around the perimeter of the land. If so, just calculate the width x length of the land x 6 feet (the width of the truck) and just drive around the perimeter spraying till you get the required area (43,560 sq ft to the acre). A couple of passes around a 35 acre field would be more than enough

The acreage is in a solid 2.7 acre block that the CRP folks laid out.

I asked the CRP folks if I could lightly till and plant this fall as I could hire a local guy to do the work, and they said no. If I don't spray, I'd have to heavy disk, smooth, then plant, which the local guy doesn't do.

So it looks like I'll be stuck renting a trailer, hauling my tractor and sprayer out there and doing it myself. What a pain.

 

[aczlan]

Do you have a generator that would fit in your truck along with the sprayer (I assume that you have a truck, if not this wont work)?
If so, you could get a motor such as: Surplus Center - 1/2 HP EMERSON 900 RPM AC MOTOR, put a 2" pulley on the motor, a 5" pulley on a jack-shaft and couple the pump to the jackshaft. Then you could run the sprayer out of your truck with a one time cost of not much more than a trailer rental.

Alternatively, put an ad in Craigslist looking for a trailer to rent for the day...

Aaron Z