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How much do you pay for fill? Price per yard for fill dirt?

td25c

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 14, 2009
Messages
5,250
Location
indiana
All good advice . Another thing to consider is land value before & after the project . Good farm ground is at a premium now . Only thing I have to compare it to in our area is reclaimed coal mine ground . It gets farmed but does not produce as it used to . Farmer wont pay much rent for ground like this or go very high on purchasing the land . Massive amounts of poultry litter helps .

I suppose if it were me in this position I would try to narrow the boys down to getting the dirt off a 10 acre spread and as 712alberta suggested dig a big lake , and ......... Maybe level off a runway over here for the plane & new hanger .:)
 

CM1995

Administrator
Joined
Jan 21, 2007
Messages
13,250
Location
Alabama
Occupation
Running what I brung and taking what I win
All good advice . Another thing to consider is land value before & after the project . Good farm ground is at a premium now .

Couldn't agree more.:D

My first question would be what will the land be used for or useful for after 50K yards is removed? How is going to affect your land and what you plan to do with it afterwards? 50K yards is a fair amount of dirt.:cool2

Those questions should be answered first before a number is given as future opportunity costs may be more than a check today.
 

Acivil

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 30, 2010
Messages
154
Location
Tennessee
lowering 30 acres 1 foot would yield almost exactly what they need, but I don't know why you would give it away for 2 bucks... you're not in the materials business, you didn't propose this deal, they did... and they're not likely going to get it for less that 8-10 bucks a yard elsewhere. Your farm isn't going to produce the same for a long time after reclamation, the sub soil will be really dense and heaving from scraper traffic... I say let em dig a 3 acre lake 10 feet deep for 5 bucks a yard. Was it the county, or their contractor that approached you? If it's the government, I would require money up front, and sell them the dirt in an area laid out by a surveyor and given an actual legal description. Make them furnish a 2 or 3 year bond for whatever is planted after reclamation, and if it's a contractor make them give you a bond, or a copy of their bond for the project, along with having a nice tight contract, and no more than 15 day payment terms.
 

td25c

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 14, 2009
Messages
5,250
Location
indiana
Well said CM .

Crazy what some tracts of farm ground are going for . Was at an auction recently and watched my buddy buy farm ground at 11,200 an acre . We have seen it anywhere from 8,000 to 16,500 . This is Farm ground . The 16,500 an acre was in a river bottom subject to flooding .

I can only assume it's a cycle at it's highpoint about to change in the near future . I just don't know .:beatsme
 

Tinkerer

Senior Member
Joined
May 21, 2009
Messages
9,342
Location
The shore of the illinois river USA
If the field has drainage tile in it and you do allow them to lower the elevation, consider whether it can be successfully re-tiled or if you end up with a drainage problem. Especially if your neighbors have their tiles connected to yours.
 

joispoi

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 1, 2008
Messages
1,284
Location
Connecticut
I would look at it a few different ways to try to establish the value of the land before deciding if it was worth the hassle:

1. How much could you rent the 30 acres for as farmland? What would the income be over 10 years?

2. What will the financial loss be if you can't grow your crops for 3 years?

3. As said by others, yields will be less once you can work the land again. What does that translate to in terms of $?


The cost of fill isn't just what gets paid to the seller. Transportation is often the biggest cost. That's why they want your soil.

$2/cy sounds cheap. Think of it this way: they're willing to strip and stockpile 30 acres of top soil to access the fill. Then they're planning to put back the top soil and restore the 30 acres. They're willing to spend a lot of money to extract the fill. If you decide that it's worth selling, why give it away?
 
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