The Off Topic Topic

[Valmy]

Today I learned- an acre is around 1/2 a football pitch.
Now I can actually visualise acres.

That's cool. I have always pictured it as about 5 times the size of a suburban lot in the US. Half of a football...er...pitch is a little easier.

Do Brits still use acres? I figured you had moved to square meters...er...metres by this point.

[Sheilbh]

As ever, a mix

I feel like acres and hectares are used by people with land like farmers.

On property listings you have square metres and square feet.

Personally I have zero sense of area so I don't personally have a rough sense of either. Although the football pitch comparison helps, if I ever get into farming.

[Valmy]

As ever, a mix

I feel like acres and hectares are used by people with land like farmers.

On property listings you have square metres and square feet.

Personally I have zero sense of area so I don't personally have a rough sense of either. Although the football pitch comparison helps, if I ever get into farming.

My mother owns some of her family's land they took from native Americans during the Oklahoma land run. I manage it now. Which mostly consists of me contacting farmers and saying "hey farmer would you please farm my land? We will charge you basically nothing."

And then they are like "I don't know...farming basically free land is still kind of risky." Ah agriculture.

[Grey Fox]

Today I learned- an acre is around 1/2 a football pitch.
Now I can actually visualise acres.

That's cool. I have always pictured it as about 5 times the size of a suburban lot in the US. Half of a football...er...pitch is a little easier.

Do Brits still use acres? I figured you had moved to square meters...er...metres by this point.

That's 150 washing machines.

[Duque de Bragança]

Today I learned- an acre is around 1/2 a football pitch.
Now I can actually visualise acres.

That's cool. I have always pictured it as about 5 times the size of a suburban lot in the US. Half of a football...er...pitch is a little easier.

Do Brits still use acres? I figured you had moved to square meters...er...metres by this point.

Perhaps Josq uses the UEFA recommendations-complyhing football pitch .ie 68 x 105 m.  Free-kick distance line at 9.15 m and so on. 

[HVC]

Today I learned- an acre is around 1/2 a football pitch.
Now I can actually visualise acres.

That's cool. I have always pictured it as about 5 times the size of a suburban lot in the US. Half of a football...er...pitch is a little easier.

Do Brits still use acres? I figured you had moved to square meters...er...metres by this point.

At least In Portugal they've skipped acres and gone right to hectares if your a farmer, or sm if you're selling your farm.

[Jacob]

My mother owns some of her family's land they took from native Americans during the Oklahoma land run. I manage it now. Which mostly consists of me contacting farmers and saying "hey farmer would you please farm my land? We will charge you basically nothing."

And then they are like "I don't know...farming basically free land is still kind of risky." Ah agriculture.

Does it matter to you whether it's farmed or not if they're not paying you much anyways?

[Josquius]

Yes, I'd say it sounds like rewilding is the best option there.

[Duque de Bragança]

Today I learned- an acre is around 1/2 a football pitch.
Now I can actually visualise acres.

That's cool. I have always pictured it as about 5 times the size of a suburban lot in the US. Half of a football...er...pitch is a little easier.

Do Brits still use acres? I figured you had moved to square meters...er...metres by this point.

At least In Portugal they've skipped acres and gone right to hectares if your a farmer, or sm if you're selling your farm.

Not skipped, acres were never used. 
There were other old units, but some were converted to metric i.e cantâro or almude (the latter dedicated to you.  ). Before getting out of use, that is.
Not to mention the old canada.

[Valmy]

My mother owns some of her family's land they took from native Americans during the Oklahoma land run. I manage it now. Which mostly consists of me contacting farmers and saying "hey farmer would you please farm my land? We will charge you basically nothing."

And then they are like "I don't know...farming basically free land is still kind of risky." Ah agriculture.

Does it matter to you whether it's farmed or not if they're not paying you much anyways?

Yes it is actually kind of important. And while it doesn't cost a ton to hold on to, it does cost something. Besides I want to help out the little guy and keep that land out of the hands of big Ag...which is probably a fruitless effort but I still try.

And it is actually not that hard to find farmers who want to farm it. I was kind of making a joke about how dour and generally negative these farmers are. What makes it hard, to the extent it is, is I live all the way down here in Texas, a ten hour drive away from the community in question. If I knew all these people and lived up there it would probably be super easy.

[Valmy]

Yes, I'd say it sounds like rewilding is the best option there.

That won't happen. Oil and gas companies are operating on it.

[Tonitrus]

My mother owns some of her family's land they took from native Americans during the Oklahoma land run. I manage it now. Which mostly consists of me contacting farmers and saying "hey farmer would you please farm my land? We will charge you basically nothing."

And then they are like "I don't know...farming basically free land is still kind of risky." Ah agriculture.

Does it matter to you whether it's farmed or not if they're not paying you much anyways?

Yes it is actually kind of important. And while it doesn't cost a ton to hold on to, it does cost something. Besides I want to help out the little guy and keep that land out of the hands of big Ag...which is probably a fruitless effort but I still try.

And it is actually not that hard to find farmers who want to farm it. I was kind of making a joke about how dour and generally negative these farmers are. What makes it hard, to the extent it is, is I live all the way down here in Texas, a ten hour drive away from the community in question. If I knew all these people and lived up there it would probably be super easy.

For the longest times, my dad/aunt had shared ownership of a large farm property in his hometown.  But they were doing the "get paid by Uncle Sam to not grow anything" program.  Though even that still required a significant expense to control invasive plants/weeds etc.  It's been sold since to a local area farming family.