Is it worth trying to make money from 4 acres?

[vitahelp]

We have approx 4 acres of land (2 x fields) which has been sat doing nothing for many years - it has been passed down the family. Well I say nothing, one farmer puts his cows on it for a few weeks a year and in exchange keeps the fences secure. But he is getting older now and may not be farming much longer.
We have been debating recently over renting it out to one of the local farmers. We have sheep and cow farmers nearby, some of which are renting more distant fields whereas ours would be more convenient.
Is it worth the hassle? Or is there a reason previous family members haven’t bothered doing anything with it?!

People round here fencing off and made secure 4 large fields. Decent fencing. Water bowls. Dog secure paddocks - they are always booked - we use them. Outside shelter for us, large black wheelie bin and water supply £10 an hour

If it's got water, which presumably it does if livestock use it, you'd be able to rent it to someone who wants grass turnout for a couple of horses.

Sell it to a developer for ££££.

It's a saturated market in many areas and can be costly to meet council demands during the planning process.

Find a local estate agent that deals with agricultural stuff, and get a valuation for renting the land out. That might help you to make a decision.

4 acres is going to fetch at most £400 per year. I doubt any estate agent will be interested.

Easier to ask around local farmers. See if one of them wants to rent it.

4 acres is a very small piece of land, tbh. Previous family members probably haven't bothered doing anything with it because the income wouldn't justify the time spent even thinking about it.

Having someone keep the fences in good order is not a bad deal, as fencers and fencing can be expensive.

Fields to rent - Field Lover
Renting out a field: A guide for rural homeowners | Strutt & Parker

Also, be careful re letting it for grazing that you don't inadvertently give someone rights over it. Speak to a lawyer who deals in agricultural law etc first. That will probably be your first year or two's income, but could save you losing the ground altogether.

Could you turn it into allotments and rent them out?
if it’s a horse area you might get £200 a month renting it for a couple of horses.
i like the dog exercise idea but that might be expensive to start up
with escape proof fencing

What area are you in? We’re in a national park, you can have a pop up campsite for something like six weeks a year, ten pitches, without planning permission.
might be worth a look?

Lots of the farmers round here use a field or two as camp sites in the summer. Or if you've got a few trees to provide a bit of screening get some shepherd's huts, yurts or big bell tents and let them out as "luxury rural airbnbs". The neighbours across the road have done this and they've only got 2 acres.
nb. If it's secluded have a naturist campsite or Caravan Club site - one of those near here and it's VERY popular.

Depending of where you are, you could also rent it to a dog trainer.

There is a real shortage of suitable dog training fields for things like hoopers or agility. Needless to say, there is equipment involved that ideally should stay at the field.

Land is ££££ to buy, but the returns are generally poor. Unless you get planning permission for change of use. Your land will have a defined use in planning, which limits what you can do with it.

Am horsey, but would be reluctant renting that much out for horses. They are shit grazers in terms of what they do to the land. And 4 acres is fine for 1 horse 24/7 (poor thing on its own) assuming drainage etc. Add more horses, gets tougher especially in winter to manage.

Do you want to make money or just maintain? The former, realistically it's planning permission and doing something non agricultural. The latter, hobby sheep and somebody to maintain boundaries. Maybe 2 ponies with strict rules.

I work with 2 estate agents and they would not turn it away. The quote for land rental could turn into sale of the fields and commission for them.

It would be a daft estate agent who refused to help them.