Paying farmers

Blacklab

Active Member
In my area deer stalking opportunities are few and far between . I'm in negotiations with a farmer who wants me to pay for shooting his deer . I'm not against paying but just wondered what fees any of you pay per deer . He recons there are roe and fallow in the vicinity.
 
None. They are a pest that farmers need controlled, just like any other pest.

I would reckon that halving any game dealer payments may suffice.

If he wants rent paid to shoot deer, then you should be entitled to take out your own clients to get some money back.
 
I agree entirely with Rake Aboot the only problem is if you don't pay you can pretty much guarantee there'll a que of guys willing to do so. If you get to keep the venison then it's got to be worth a few quid.
 
Slightly off topic but I would think that the Roe are in very short supply in that neck of the woods to be honest
 
Depends what you're paying for, exclusive shooting rights then it might be worth it. Unfortunately people seem to think venison is worth a fortune and they are missing out on a cash cow.
 
Opinions about deer being a pest and you shouldn't be paying to control a farmers deer as your doing him a 'favour' are irrelevant. If the farmers sees them as a comodoty and wants payment, he will get it from someone. And someone may well be prepared to pay over the odds for it. The rent on some sheep grazing hill near me goes for around 9k! Because Sika can be shot on it when they leave the woods on our ground. There is always some numpty willing to pay over the odds just to get a bit of land. My mates in Fife lost a lot of ground they were actually paying for because folk came in behind them and offered stupid money.

bottom line is, if the farmer wants payment, and you want the stalking, then best consider what its worth to you based on how many beasts you reckon you can take off it, not the acreage.
 
Jamross65 is, sadly, correct.
Put yourself in the farmers position, if you knew you could get money why wouldn't you exploit the situation?
I know i would, times are hard, especially for farmers.
It was a very sad day when the first stupid deer stalker offered money to a landowner, it opened the flood gates, christ i remember when a farmer offered to pay me to shoot his deer!
Back to your question, i can offer no advice as what arrangements i have are private, but if you must then pay what you can afford, someone will offer more one day in any case.
Cheers
Richard
 
Free market, supply and demand. Where there is a demand for something people will always pay, its the way of life
 
The days of free shooting are long gone, if you are still lucky enough to have some hang on to it it won't last
Regarding deer being a pest depends on the species some of the bigger species will certainly damage crops, Roe do practically no damage to crops , woodland is a different matter, however this can work in your favour as many farmers seeing Roe on a field of young grain think they are eating it when they are in fact picking out the emerging weeds, Roe are browsers not grazers and as such don't eat a lot of any one thing.

In any case deer are only a pest if the landowner sees them as such, in many cases the landowner will see deer as crop that can provides a financial return, especially if the lease holder can be depended upon to keep any potential
damage to a minimum, try to reach a mutually agreeable price for the ground,(everybody wants a bargain but don't try being a cheap skate have a look at what leases in your area are making as there is a bit of variation across the country,get it in writing and if you are paying for a lease you want exclusive rights, expect to increase your rent by around 2% per annum, try to get a five year lease on the ground rather than yearly ( but payed annually of course)

By doing all of the above the landowner will see that you are serious , the five year lease at least and the annual increase of payment though small goes someway to preventing the fly by night who might try to approach the landowner with the intention of taking your ground.

As the previous poster said try to come to an arrangement where you are paying by what you can realistically take off the ground rather than by the acreage though many private lets are by the acre.
 
And some farmers will take money from you even when they are only tenants so always get it in writing because farmers tend to walk away when it goes tits up.
 
I've got plenty of free shooting where I provide free pest control. Some ground I pay for I give the landowners half of what I collect from the game dealer. You have to pay what you feel comfortable with. Remember whatever you agree someone will be willing to pay more.
atb Steve
 
None. They are a pest that farmers need controlled, just like any other pest.

I would reckon that halving any game dealer payments may suffice.

If he wants rent paid to shoot deer, then you should be entitled to take out your own clients to get some money back.
This maybe the case in Scotland, but down south where there is a stalker behind every tree, with money to burn, you will have to pay.
What you pay is what it is worth to you, and what you are likely to shoot.
 
Farmer is talking of price per deer shot not leasing shooting rights. I don't know yet how many are on the ground or even the size of the land. Would you say £35/40 per deer is a good starting point for negotiations.
 
Well, it's your fuel, your gear, your time, your ammunition, your sweat to drag it, your time & energy butchering it, and all the other incidentals. Personally I'd offer him some of the meat as payment, but if stalkings hard to come by in your area & you'd be happy to pay it, then why not? :thumb:
 
"Roe do practically no damage to crops"
??
Haven't seen the mess they made of asparagus on a patch I shoot .... Actually watching them rattle into it with farmer but had to wait for a shot to present itself .....

What bout offering him half the carcass butchered & or half payments of any put to game dealer
Tell him he's getting summit out of it , your getting summit out of it without costing you much bar your time & see if he go for that ?
Paul
 
Farmer is talking of price per deer shot not leasing shooting rights. I don't know yet how many are on the ground or even the size of the land. Would you say £35/40 per deer is a good starting point for negotiations.

Depends on what species, and if you are intending to use the venison yourself, the average Roe is only worth about £30 /£35 at the dealers so you are getting the worst end of the deal, Roe make up to £3.00 a Kilo at the dealers
Some of the large species considerably less.

I would suggest you offer him half the venison value say £1. 75 a Kilo or every second beast Which ever he prefers if there are plenty about and you are going to shoot quite a few,then that might work out OK for both of you, if not and you are only shooting an odd one maybe not.

First you need to get some answers to the following questions, How big is the ground, a rough idea of how many deer are on the ground, are they resident or transient, and most importantly who else is shooting the ground and how often.
 
It's interesting that so many see deer as pests, rather than a desirable asset to the land.

Sharkey
 
Is everyone missing a point here last time I looked into it FC were expecting about 100 per deer culled that was in Scotland never mind middle England !!!
 
Got to agree with Rake about deer on crops will be seen as a pest Boggy is correct Roe are selective and will only take a small amount of everything and that includes weeds. They are not a pest round here and are seen as a bonus for all who shoot /stalk. We are lucky Farmers see the benefit of good all-round vermin control as payment for a few roe taken.
 
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