AIBU to be fed up with walkers trespassing on our land?

[Pricelessadvice]

We have a family farm that, unfortunately, has a footpath that runs through it.
The footpath turns and goes into some woods and off our property but many people ignore the turn and just carry on around our land. This is mostly dog walkers. They then let their dog crap on our fields and just leave it. We take a crop off the land- some years a hay crop, some years beans, others wheat- but people just don’t seem to care.
I am always polite when I see someone trespassing. I ask them if they know they have left the footpath and I point them back in the direction of it. 9 people out of 10 get really arsey about it. I get all the excuses in the book- “it’s just fields/I always walk here/I can do what I want/it’s just grass/other people do it”
Ive had off lead dogs chasing my liveries horses (who have permission to ride the headlands), sheep being worried, the list goes on.

There are plenty of signs telling people where the footpath is and where it isn’t, but they get ignored.

When I try to explain to people that they wouldn’t like it if I walked my dogs in their garden every day and let them poo everywhere, they just argue that it’s not the same coz “these are fields”
SIGH
The Covid year was a bloody nightmare with people wandering everywhere.
When did people get so entitled? AIBU to think that people just think they can do whatever the hell they want nowadays?

How annoying for you. I would go dump a whole pile of cow poo / horse manure at the top of the path. Once their dogs roll in that a few times they’ll avoid it in future hopefully.

I take your point, @TheGoldenOwl , but if ever I'm confused, or it doesn't quite match the map, I'll retrace my steps. I certainly wouldn't walk on crops or disturb animals.

Could you do some official looking leaflets highlighting the law and saying you have new CCTV installed that is being passed to police and have someone official looking hand them out on a Sunday day when you know there will be lots of idiots?

Also as someone else said, try to work out a way to make it too inconvenient for them. Eg cutting them off at the other end or using fencing or hedging to enforce a detour.

Not the same but we live next door to a campsite, usually ideal. Last year one family left the campsite, walked along the road, came in through our gates, and started their picnic on our garden furniture. They were most offended when I told them ours is a private house and they could have walked in the opposite direction to a pub. They didn't apologise. Campsite owner was mortified.

Where did I say I walk on crops or disturb animals?

I walk on a path in a field. 99% of the time that is the correct path. But not always. Not all paths are PROW and aometimes the OS maps app can be wrong.

I'm just saying it is nice to have lots of repeated signs for reassurance ... not that I trample crops and distrub animals.

Twisting my words there!!

Please don't twist my words.
I never accused you, personally, of anything.
Please read my posts.

@CatrionaBalfour you implied in your response that I walk on crops and distrub animals (otherwise what an odd thing to reply with....)

I corrected you for your erroneous assumption and now you're embarrassed.

We will have to disagree on interpretation of each other's language.

I realise I am very late to this party!!
@Pricelessadvice have you considered applying to permanently moved the PROW? Family friends who are farmers had a footpath through their garden, and had all sorts of issues. Moving the footpath was a difficult and lengthy processes, but they can use their garden in peace now. (This was about 30 years ago though).

Professionally, have applied for temporary footpath closures/diversions, and have been consulted (the organisation I work for is a large landowner, and we have a lot of tenant farmers) on temporary diversions/closures. It’s a fairly painless process for up to 2 years.

If walkers are trespassing onto land where tractors are used, I’d say there is a good public safety risk management reason for the diversion.

Some people do seem to have a cavalier attitude to open fields and walk where they like rather than where they should.
If fencing it off isn’t an option - which I imagine could be quite expensive - I’d put some signs up with arrows with a ‘public walkway this way’ and a ‘private land no access’ the other: Still means spending money but may help the issue. Could also have a trespassers will be prosecuted or a ‘bull loose in field’ sign too.

Id be annoyed too OP, with the dog poo situation and the entitlement of those that think it’s ok.

I didn't imply that you walked on crops 😂
I am not embarrassed in the least 😊 However, I shall clarify.
Some people walk on crops and disturb animals, rather than find out an appropriate path.
I hope that helps! ☺️

Absolutely true. Plus a lot of ignorance, it would appear.

If there's one particular spot that people turn off the path then focus on that point i do think an unfavourable animal is a good idea. Can you also have some sprinklers or store the shit there? Even if there's just one point along that loop that you can block easily for yourself.

It's hard because it's a space you use so you want it to be enjoyable for yourself. Reminding people that you are legally entitled to kill their dog if it is worrying livestock is not threatening. It is just a reminder of the law.

No a pony. Way more likely to be evil. Most will run at anything just for fun.

A flock of geese could also do the trick! A local sheep farm has that!

I am a little cautious due to an incident that happened to our neighbouring farmer. The footpath also runs across his land but people from the nearby residential road were cutting across one of his crop fields to access it. In desperation, he piled a load of logs/felled tree trunks at the hedge where people were coming through. Someone set them alight.
Fortunately I was around at the time and rang the fire service. The fire was bordering our land so I could see it from the yard. It was a decent fire and took a while to put out.
He has no proof who did it but he has his suspicions as he’d had a recent run-in with a local dog walking resident who kept crossing the field.

People can be rather unhinged and that does worry me. I have a yard of horses to keep safe, that’s always in the forefront of my mind.

@Pricelessadvice that's really worrying. As we've seen, people can get very angry and extreme. It's best to keep safe. You'd think the logs would be ok, but it just shows you.
Frightening.

OP has stated that a fence would make it difficult to harvest the crop and would waste land around the edges of the field. Hedges would have the same effect. I would go for more prominent signage. If OP runs a working farm expenses like this are tax deductable as they are "wholly and exclusively" to protect her business.

The problem with a ‘Private land - no access” sign is that there are always idiots who think that they are entitled to go where they like, that private land ownership is wrong, that they know better, that their dog is just friendly, that dogshit is fine in the countryside because it decomposes, that the ponies are cute, etc etc. As well as the psychos who will set fire to barriers just because.

Might be better to have a selection of signs made up that imply personal danger, and change the sign every month or two:

Pesticides in use - keep out.
Weedkiller season . This field is being sprayed. Keep out.
Lambing ewes - dogs off lead will be shot. (Add a url to the relevant legislation, just in case people don’t believe you can legally do so.)
Livestock in field - dogs off lead will be shot.
Dangerous bull - keep out.
Quarantine field. These animals are infectious. Keep out.
CCTV in use.

And so on. It does not matter if that is actually happening in the field. People who know are likely to treat the field with respect, anyway. Each sign should be a different colour, so that regulars do not tune them out.

Yet another job.

You have my sympathies @Pricelessadvice . People are idiots and ignorant, self centered ones at that. We have fields with footpaths close to our estate. I have seen loads of dog walkers ball flinging into crops fields and letting their dogs run about and shit wherever. I did once point out to a woman it wasn't grass, it was winter barley but she didn't seem to understand it was an issue.

Well that was one drip feed and a half.

The farm isn’t huge, but it’s a working farm and livelihoods depend on it.

I actually think if you put some version of this on your signage, it would be very effective.

I suspect you're right about people being arsey due to embarrassment, but I think the vast majority of people would be very sympathetic to not ruining crops and tromping across land and frightening livestock that provide for people.

I'm adding that I don't think being threatening or aggressive tends to get the best out of people. The sign someone posted above with work hard and buy your own land would put my back right up (and I'm someone who both respects other people's land and can afford my own).

I don't think so. It gives more context to OP's concerns, but fire or no fire it doesn't change what OP wants - to stop people trespassing on her land.

Not really. It doesn’t change a thing about what the OP has been saying, and it’s all things that happen wherever people think that they don’t have to consider others.

Really? What would have been the point of putting that in my original post and making it even more long winded for people?

I shouldn’t have to give a reason as to why I’m not rude and obnoxious to people, but given that I was being told basically what a pushover I was, I thought it worth mentioning that it’s not always that straightforward.

You are not dealing with ordinary dog walkers, you are dealing with a criminal arsonist. Setting fire to a pile of logs is not something ordinary people do and it would have required more than a box of matches - have you ever tried setting fire to a log? The pile of logs would need to be at the very least doused in petrol. There is clearly a psycho neighbour committing criminal acts. Arson is an extremely serious offence that can have huge consequences for the land, animals and human life. I hope that this has been reported to the police and that you take their advice as to how to proceed, not by trying to get people on Mumsnet advising about what originally seemed to be about ordinary dog walkers. Dog walkers are not arsonists.