Anyone here rent out grazing land to farmers?

[hussar]

I ask because the grazing I rent from a neighbour is primarily rented out to a nearby farmer who usually puts sheep on it (fine) but this year chose to put 50 head of Saler cows and calves on it and they have absolutely trashed the place - to the extent where it's quite dangerous leading spooky horses as wellies get stuck in deep mud and you can't move quickly enough to get out of the way.

My landlord says he can't specify sheep only on the rental agreement - I don't want to pry but is it likely that there would be some sort of financial consequence if he did? And he doesn't have a reparation clause either, so the fences the cattle have trashed, and any kind of repair to gateways etc would have to be at his expense. How common is this?

I don't know if the fact that we're in Scotland makes any difference legally, but I would be interested in other people's experiences.

[scotsmare]

Do you have your horses out with the cows then? We rent from a farmer and use it exclusively for the horses - I think he's being a bit cheeky if he's getting two lots of rent for it!

As for not being able to specify what uses it - that's nonsense - of course he can cos it's his land.

We don't have a contract as such but the understanding is that we do all the fencing repairs as necessary.

[luckilotti]

i always thought that they often charge 'by the head' for farmers hence i am sure he could say no to cows, i imagine the farmer can make more by renting it for the cows tbh. the farmers who i know who have rented fields for sheep etc have actually never had a written agreement just a verbal one, maybe this is the case here and he just doesnt want to seem like hes being 'funny' by saying no to cattle?
sorry - not much help but hope you manage to get it all sorted out.

[lachlanandmarcus]

I agree with the last post, of course if he had a written agreement he could specify.

Our local cattle baron (we are in Scotland too) wanted to put his cattle on our fields but I told him we needed it for hay as I suspected the cattle would trash it, hes a canny businessman! Actually we couldnt use it for hay as weve only moved here this year and I couldnt dig out all the ragwort in time, but I still dont regret not renting to him.

Sheep are good followers for horses, and cattle can be ok on well draining (esp sloping) land, but not on normal flat fields esp if there are boggy patches.

I really feel for you.

The only legal aspect is that I would think there would be some written agreement as if they are on there more than a year without some break or clause in agreement the cattle chap might acquire some rights to use the land.... :-(

[hussar]

Thaks for the replies.

Scotsmare - no, the horses are kept separate from the cows by electric fencing; if it's sheep they come and go under the fencing (but tend to keep away from the horses anyway). My difficulty is that the field I have to cross with the horses to get back to my stables is one that's been completely annihilated.

Luckilotti/Haffieliesel - there is a written rental agreement for the farmer and he does have to remove all stock for a certain period each year to avoid the 'rights' issue. I think my landlord is simply anxious to avoid any kind of a confrontation with the farmer, who's known to be a bit aggressive.

I think I will put some gentle pressure on the landlord to specify sheep only when the lease comes up for renewal in April. If he does get increased income from having cattle he's spending it all on fence repairs!