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Having had the misfortune to use a rotivator I would have to say that 60 Euros for five hours work would be very reasonable indeed. It can be extremely hard work.

[QUOTE=alex and lyn]Has anyone had someone in to rotivate their Olive grove and land. We've been quoted between 60 and 80 Euros a day ( 5 hours per day ) .Does that sound about right ?[/QUOTE]

Right? It sounds downright cheap. We had someone visit the house a few weeks ago who wanted to quoe for this work (he didn't realise we have a tractor and do it ourselves). I didn't inform him about the tractor, but we was asking EUR 50 *per hour*. I had to tell him gently that I don't get paid EUR 50 an hour in Italy.

[QUOTE=will]if that includes the rotavator and fuel it seems reasonable to me.
Out of interest, (im no horticultaralist) why do olive groves need rotavation?[/QUOTE]
You need to run a flail over the land several times a year to keep the weeds down between the trees. Ideally you shoudl plant something like l'erba medica under the lives to provide a plant that won't grow too high that smothers weeds and also that can be rotavated in as a green manure.

The land should be rotavated in autumn to break up the crust of the surface to allow rain water to penetrate. Otherwise it will simply run off and cause erosion of the land.

In reply to neilmcn, if the person doing the work has their head screwed on they won't be using a walk behind cultivator they will use a two metre wide rotavator attached to a cingolo and belt up and down the land in a few hours in (relative) comfort.

Thanks everyone,

You have put our minds at rest and we have taken up the offer, it is now 80 euros a day ( the English thing again, I suspect! ),but from the sound of it ,it will take 3 days , and that includes everything plus burning stuff as well. Seems a nice guy and as we have no equipment and have never done anything like this , and we're a bit long in the tooth for that sort of hard work, it seems it will be money well spent.

Umm that bit about "burning" doesn't sound like you are getting your land rotovated. Are you getting it cut with a flail (trinciatrici) rather than rotovated? A rotovator (zappa) is digging up the surfce of the land, the flail cuts the weeds and leaves them on the surface.

Yes , he is weeding the lot as well, land has been a bit neglaected in places and weeds knee high ( horrible prickly things which stick to all your clothes and the dog !!!!). The rotavator is here as well now, stored in our garage ready for him to start tomorrow at 5am.

Feel like we are becoming farmers !! (even if we can't manage the heavy work !!!) Beats sitting in an Office in Blighty any day !!!!!

One of our neighbours has offered to do the hard graft with the harvest ( young ½ûÂþÌìÌà Couple) . do you think we should still get a contract.?

We are quite happy for them to harvest etc and give us enough oil for our own use and they can do what they like with the rest because quite frankly, we aren't going to be able to do it ourselves. But I am concerned about this ' farmers rights ' thing.

We would rather do something like this than see the Olive Grove go to rack and ruin...just being realistic about what we can do ourselves and what we can't.

You need a contract, with a limit to the duration.

We had our land faremd by a good friend for a period of three years. *He* insisted on a contract, because it made both of us feel safer.

Thanks for the advise about the contract. We thought that would be the best route to take.
Just going to E-mail our lawyer for costs !!!

I have no useful info to add but I just LOVE the range of topics covered by this forum.

Maria Lucia

I agree with you Maria Lucia. I could spend hours just reading. Thanks to Italymag!

I am finding all the topics either essential "must-know" kind of info, or "perhaps I better save that text in case I need to know it in the future", kind of info, or "I know a friend who might want to know that piece of information as they are dry lining their cantinas" - hence I am becoming a mine of information - none of which I am sure that I will be able to lay my hands on should the need arise. By the way - sitting in a boring office in blighty can be quite useful - it gives you time to scribe stuff on Italymag Forums!