Top 10 toughest tasks on acreages

After an insufferably hot summer, fall sounds delightful. Bring on the cold front. As I write this, my family is stacking bales of alfalfa in the hayloft with a heat index of 105°F. The sheep will gobble up the delicious hay this winter, but they won't fully appreciate the hard work it took to harvest and store it.

Recently I participated in a small landowner focus group, representing folks living on 5 to 100 acres (there are hundreds of these acreage owners in my county). Everyone in the test group had different issues. One man raised cattle and had fencing and erosion concerns, one person was burdened with piles of junk left by a previous owner, and one woman had an algae-covered pond she needed to improve. I took a few notes as the panel members described their properties. One common denominator was this: Acreages are a lot of work. Based on my notes from this panel, here are the 10 Toughest Tasks.

Removing invasive trees (mainly cedar trees) tops the list of tough tasks.

Deer are a major problem for many acreage owners. They destroy fence and eat their way through gardens. One man in the focus group planted 900 trees on his acreage, and the deer at them ALL.

Building fence is a major chore, but when it comes to fencing, the work is never done. Constant maintenance is necessary to keep livestock in.

Whether the junk around your acreage has slowly accumulated over the years, or if you bought a place that came with a mess, the result is the same: removing junk is a pain. One man in the focus group has spent years hauling old vehicles out of his woods.

Weeds will take over an acreage if given the chance. From gardens, to lawns, to pastures, weeds are everywhere! One man in the focus group confessed he has weeds as tall as his barn!

A pond is a wonderful addition to any acreage, but maintaining a healthy pond is a real chore.

A pasture is more than just a piece of land. Your animals get their nutrients from the green grasses that grow in this space. So if you start to see weeds or overgrown areas, it may be time to reseed your pasture or to graze your animals differently.

Even a little stream on your property eventually reaches a large watershed, so you must control excess nutrients, erosion, and sediment.

Native flowers and grasses take a little different approach to establishment than do conventional plantings, but once the plants are established, they are tough competitors.

Acreage owners often find themselves neighbors with full-time farmers. Sometimes, that leads to helpful, wonderful relationships. Other times, it causes tension.

The focus group didn't touch on livestock and pets, but that opens up a whole other set of challenges, including keeping animals healthy. Let me know what you would add to your Toughest Tasks list. Email me at <a href="mailto:staff@livingthecountrylife.com">staff@livingthecountrylife.com</a>.<P>
<I>~Betsy Freese</I>