land conversion from timber to crop management

[dgfields]

I think I want to clear approx 50 acres in WKy so I can have a farmer share crop. Has mix of hardwood and pine on rolling land with some creekbeds.What should I figure cost to clear and prep land for crop cultivation? Been told what I'd get out of clearing is about half of cost to clear and prep. Is that pretty accurate? Should I work with my local farm service agency for guidance? Not sure where best to start.Thx-Don

[Ed_K]

Defenaitly call the farm sevice agency,they may have some funding.Around here land clearing starts at $2500.an ac.

[Autocar]

Not sure about your area but here in west central Ohio there has been some land clearing going on . Personnally I don't think they should be aloud to doz them off. Not to many years down the road and it will look like the great plains. Soil erosion is a all time high because the fence rows have been removed and there nothing to hold heavy rain back to drain away slow its just a mad rush across endless feilds. This summer we had a wind storm and as it came across the feild it looked like that movie The Mummy a wall of dust fothy feet tall or more. Ived lived in this area all my life and over the years I have heard number of guys say I wish now I wouldn't of cleared my woods off the grand kids want a place to hunt ect. Consider the whole picture before you remove it all. When you think about your life in time it is like looking at a gran of sand in a hour glass. But here again Iam a logger I like woods and all the plants that go along with it is important to me.

[mills]

I agree with Autocar.

The price of corn and beans over the past few years has been a big incentive to clear the back forty and put it in row crops. A lot of marginal ground has corn growing where there should be trees.

Its your land, but you might want to check to make sure that the creek bottoms are not listed as wet lands.

[Norm]

The NRCS is who you want to talk to about doing this before you touch anything. It's called sod busting and there's some new rules that you need to be aware of. FSA would be the 2nd one to speak to.