OT:dirt trading

[Dave from MN]

I have a knoll on my tillable ground which is very sandy and has a lot of gravel in it. An aquantance asked if I would be intersted in "trading" it for some heavier dirt. I guess he has some one that need a large area of black dirt, peat, something like that, and needs to have it excavated and a better base hauled in. This aquantance said he may be able to do a load for load, meaning he hauls a load of black here, takes a load of my "gravel" back, kind of a soil swap. Is there anything I should be worried about? The guy is straight honest so I know he would not screw me. How deep should a guy go, it would be great to get some good rich soil in there. Kinda clueless on this one.

 

[rrlund]

I trade the other way around now and then with my brother. He gets more for black dirt than he does for sand of bank run gravel from his pit,so when I get some feedlot dirt composted we trade one for one. But,the blackdirt being worth more,with his equipment and fuel being used,I would think it would be 2 for 1 the other way around. In other words,if he used his equipment to take my sand and hauled back blackdirt,I would expect him to take 2 sand for every one blackdirt he brought back.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Be certain you know where it comes from. The toughest thing about excavating these days is where to get rid of material. Nobody wants it for fear of contamination.

 

[Roger in Iowa]

If he wants to trade one for one, do it. Otherwise you end up with a hole if it is two sand/gravel for one of black dirt!

good idea to know from where the blackdirt is coming.

Roger in Iowa

 

[rrlund]

He's got a pit right next to one of my 60s,so not a problem for me.

 

[Brokenwrench]

Boy Dave,

If your on light soil like me, sounds like a great deal. I have a three acre knoll in my pasture that I`d love to do that with, especially if it ain`t my time or equip doing it.

Around here, even field run black dirt is worth more than pit run sand.

We built a shed behind our shop about 8 yrs ago, its pure sand around here. The guys that were preping the pad kept skimming off pure black dirt. Come to find out, when the golf course was built, our back yard was where the black dirt was stockpiled. What they were getting was all the black dirt that had been leveled off after they were done with the course. Needless to say, I had three or four loads hauled home, they traded the rest even up for the backfill and the cost of the site work..

I`d say go for it, if it don`t work out, I`m sure you can find more sand...

 

[big jt]

Sounds like a good idea. However don't expect it to grow good crops the first year. Disturbed soil takes a while to settle and then start producing. Will need to disk or level somehow for the first couple of years.

hth

jt

 

[teddy52food]

Check the county rules and regulations first. In this county you will need a mining permit before taking gravel from a hill (starting a pit).

 

[paul]

Here in southern MN they get pretty fussy on the leagal issues, permits & all. If this is more than 3 loads or so, best to get all that paperwork looked into.

If just dirt from a field, good deal I'd say. Be careful of getting debris, or getting gas/oil contaminated soil. It happens....

--->Paul

 

[John (MO)]

I`m glad that I live in a much less regulated enviroment. Of course asking a lot of questions anyplace can lead to a lot of other questions and then answers that you don`t want to hear.

 

[Mike (WA)]

I believe I'd do it, and not make any inquiries of government agencies. The old saying, "Its easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission" is probably more relevant here than usual, because this is not something you would expect to have to get a permit for. Just moving some dirt around- not "excavating" a pit, not filling a wetland, not building a building, etc. If anyone raises a fuss, feign ignorance but be cooperative, and you'll probably just have to get appropriate permits.

Your results may vary. No warranty, express or implied.

 

[MNGreybeard]

I think I would check on the price of a load of gravel vs a load of dirt. Good gravel is getting hard to find.