Pipelines

[cowman]

One more thing: I see this all the time: The oil/gas company has a clause in the agreement that they will control the weeds. Sounds good right? But if you aren't on top of things and complain long and hard...good luck! This problem is especially a problem in hayland where alphafa is present!
Many times the farmer doesn't recognize some exotic little weed and so doesn't take the precautions needed? A couple of years pass and our little "friend" has multiplied and spread itself just about all over the field! Just try to get the oil company to do something then!
Back in the mid eighties an ethane line crossed some crop land my old man owned. It grew a nice crop of green foxtail, which we had never seen before! The next couple of years it was all over the farm! In the end the Treflan to clean up the mess was more than he got for the pipeline!
Another true example: A local dairy farmer had 120 acres of new alphalfa that had a pipeline go across it? The company reseeded the pipeline to alphalfa. He noticed some little low plants with nice purple flowers but never thought much about it. Within two years these plants were all over the field. They were Storks Bill and his only solution was to spray out the hay field with Roundup and work it up. He then grew a barley cover crop and reseeded to alphalfa...it came back in just about solid Storks Bill! So down it went again and will probably be permanent barley silage land for a long, long time! But this isn't the end of his problem? Now his pastures have Storks Bill in them and it is going to cost him some major dollars to get rid of it! He doesn't have a lot of options as the weed inspector is after him and he's in a bind!
The gas company basically told him to go pound sand! I think it will cost him several thousands more than he ever got for the pipeline!

[GreenValley]

On pasture RW pipeline seeding to grass that has been drown and may need reseeding in small patch next year as they saying will do that, mark their words. They give me 225/ac for pasture. The company installed electric fence along RW pipeline but do not supply to run it. So I charge them 200 for maintenance, solar, battery, electric shocker. 2 hour handpack spraying 100. Disc workup 60. Fall harvest round up spraying 50. 1 hour tractor time to cover dirt for approach crossing on RW pipeline 100. The rest the company won't pay for inconvenience like cult, spraying, seeding, swathing combine cuz the field is divide into half from SW corner to NE corner angle. This condition make hard on machinery as each corner point has sharp each end. Instead paying 1200 inconvenience didn't what I asking 1800 for inconvenience (cult, seeding, spray, swath, combine due to sharp corner point) say no deal, too much sharp corners, want more money, so landman called company and offer me other raise 300 of which is total 1200. Perhaps would be better if no pipeline at all, they can go other way around go next neighbour. This BS.

[sawfly]

we are new to this , we had well

connector lines go across 5 qtrs. of land we cash rent in a Y 2 years ago.

they paid us crop damage and some inconvenince. that fall . this last spring , what a mess they had somebody cultivate it once.

lots of rocks , and rough, i heavey harrowed it about 5 times . didnt help so i went home and had to get a cultivator (which we never use) cultivated 4 times.
seeded and with all the rain i bounced over the lines with the hi clear twice. the crop was was less than 1/2 10 -15 feet from the pipe.

they said they would be back this fall , to settle up , but no sign of them yet.
I had better get on the phone.

i really appreciate the info in this thread thanks everyone

[coppertop]

If you live in Alberta, contact the Farmer's Advocate they can advise you on how to get the company back to clean up the mess.

[cowman]

Sawfly: Pretty typical of a "winter" pipeline? I assume they did it in the winter if it was so rough?
Sometimes farmers think they are getting one hell of a deal...but quite often the realities are quite different?
You don't disturb the land without some consequences? We still get a fresh crop of rocks every year on that old ethane line!

[sawfly]

actually they plowed the line days before combineing. its a hard ridge to get rid of. the hard clays must be pushed up to the surface on the edges.
then the soft center is alwawys settleing. its like the bump is under the surface. we are gonna have to work the snot out of it to get rid of it.