Agistment... How?

2 posts
Mon, 08/29/2016 - 13:33 #1

Member for

8 years 2 months
pwj.1964
Last seen: 03/08/2018 - 21:05
Joined: 08/28/2016 - 12:06

Agistment... How?

Hi there - A couple of months ago I purchased a beautiful home and pool on farm land (89 acres) at Mosquito Hill on South Australia's Fleurrieu Peninsular. I have been looking at buying a fam for some time and decided to go ahead when I found this beautiful spot. I am currently working mining FIFO to Indonesia and intend to continue for another 3-4 years. On returning to Australia, I will then look at being very involved in the farm life - cattle, fowl, other livestock, fresh produce etc...

 

What I am faced with at present is "what is the best option" for maintenance of the farm land until this time? I have 3 full dams and the property is well fenced into 5 paddocks... fencing in reasonable to good condition. My thoughts are that it would be best to offer the useable land (80 acres) to another farmer for ajistment - I don't feel too comfortable having animals while I am away, although my wife could possibly handle them with a little assistance.

 

The land is prime - I would like to keep the grass down and keep it up together well - I will purchase a tractor and slasher to help out...

 

What advice can you give me?

 

If I opt to ajist then how do I best attract interest in the land?

 

Any helpful advice wuld be greatly appreciated...

 

While I've a lot to learn, the move to this country property is so rewarding.

 

Regards Peter Jones

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Sun, 09/04/2016 - 00:10 #2
Jusfarming
Last seen: 12/19/2021 - 18:07
Joined: 06/05/2015 - 20:43
Hi Peter, Congratulations on your purchase! I was in a similar situation last year and went down a number of avenues to try and find the right answer to "what to do" What I discovered was a number of neighbours that wanted to lease the land off me - I was lucky enough to be approached by at least 5 different farmers wanting to lease the land, and others that dropped in to say hello and also expressed interest. Most of the farmers offered around the same amount to lease the land (100 acres), so I knew that was the ballpark figure (it will differ depending on individual characteristics of your land). In the end I decided to lease the land to one of the farmers, however after advice from an accountant familiar with farming I put a formal lease into place to protect the asset - there are many stories around of handshake deals that go sour with no formal agreement. It also doesn't hurt to visit any prospective leesee and see how they treat their own property! I made it very clear to the leesee that he was only going to get the property for a year as I wanted to take it back over - last thing you want is angry neighbours who sink money into a long term strategy only to have you cut it short. I liked the idea of sitting back for a year and watching the farmer 'do his stuff' and learn from him, without me making major rookie mistakes with serious financial consequences (have you seen the cost of cattle??). Since that time I have learned heaps about farming my land by observation, questions, and at the odd time helping the farmer out. I can now fix a fence or two! I have since discovered that your local ag stores are an absolute wealth of information, and would have been able to give me some direction in leasing to interested parties and/or people who could assist me in farming. I believe places likes Landmark also offer leasing/management if you want to go down that path. Don't forget to get advice from an accountant about your personal situation and how a lease may affect this, what you can claim etc. Also you will need insurance (eg. If the farmers cattle go through your fences and injure someone). In regard to the tractor/slasher if you are leasing then I would hold off on this purchase for a while - the farmer will take care of that for you (my leesee lets a few cattle in my house paddock when I ask to eat it down a bit) and do a cheap ride on in between if your house paddock is big. Good luck with it all, sounds very exciting for you. Hope this helps, Jus
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