My question is who do I need to help me and what am I asking them to do? I think I need a local farmer but I have no idea what to ask for just yet.

We have bought 5 acres in a rural area in the Southern Downs to build a home and be relatively self-sustained. The block is mostly flat, untreed and used in recent times for cattle pasture. The ground is churned up by hooves and covered in cow pats. It's overgrown with wild grasses, weeds and a few white and purple wild flowers that grow over a metre tall. I'd like to take the current cover right out, smooth the soil so it's not so treacherous, apply some nutrients and plant a ground cover over about half of the block that can be used later to feed a couple of llamas or alpacas. Something that grows maybe 10-15 inches and doesn't get out of control?

So is this something a local farmer might do for me between his own crops? What am I asking him to do? What crop should I be considering? It's cold in winter (sub-zero) with some frosts and hot in summer (up to 40) with little rain (mostly rains August-October). I'd prefer something that doesn't need to be replanted every year. Is that unrealistic?

Thanks, Tony