how does a guy go about getting more grass

[rRandel]

im pretty new on here, me and my dad have always had our cows together i have 18 he has 26. id like to add some more and so would he i guess, so he says if i want to add to mine i have to find my own pasture, the pasture we currently rent has room for more but like i said he evedintley is also looking to add some so he says i have to find my own. depending on what i find will depend on weather i leave the rest of mine with his or have all of mine in one spot. anyways was wondering how does a guy go about getting some more pasture ground to rent? Ive talked to a few guys and they are kinda watching out for them selves and didnt say much. does a guy go door to door and ask some land owners? run an add in the paper? i have put the word out and havent had much luck really, just wondering what you guys thought?

 

[Richardin52]

Do everything you said plus go see the NRCS and ask them. They will have a pretty good idea who's using what. Couple years ago I had someone come to me about using their land, a nice intervale. I asked if anyone was using it and they said no so I took a look. It was all planted to corn so I asked again. Come to find out they just wanted to make more money renting. The current guy was giving them what was a fair price already. I walked away. If you advertise you may get a lot of that.

 

[dgree]

It depends where you are. But I'd say yes to the door to door and ask, Communication is the key to success. Around my town farmers rent fields and pay the land tax. Due to no loyalty there's a lot of field swapping that happens, try and get a contract signed? You never know you may meet a land owner who would like nothing better than change renters. 20 miles away people want there fields taken care of and give it to there neighboring farm for free. So again it depends where you are.

 

[Banjo]

How many acres per cow are you running now? Are doing intensive rotational grazing? If not, you may be able to increase your numbers on what you got.

 

[dgree]

How many acres per cow are you running now? Are doing intensive rotational grazing? If not, you may be able to increase your numbers on what you got.

That's a good point. It brings up the million dollar question how many acres per cow. Please correct me if I'm wrong but with intensive rotation (every 3 weeks) would equal a 1/2 acre per cow? and if not 1 to 1-1/2 acres per cow?

 

[masteradeen2000]

craigslist at times gets responses, some realistic, some not at all.

 

[Brute 23]

Try offering people who may have connections some cash or some thing else in return for turning you on to a place.

 

[thommoos]

when you find some, ALways get a contract, VERY important.

 

[jasonleonard]

Watch those local obituaries. Sad but true. I buy standing timber, land, and sometimes cattle by watching the local papers. Most young people today would rather sell what grandpa worked hard for all his life, than to have his land or cattle cause them to break a sweat.

 

[Banjo]

How many acres per cow are you running now? Are doing intensive rotational grazing? If not, you may be able to increase your numbers on what you got.

That's a good point. It brings up the million dollar question how many acres per cow. Please correct me if I'm wrong but with intensive rotation (every 3 weeks) would equal a 1/2 acre per cow? and if not 1 to 1-1/2 acres per cow?

I don't know the calculations but I'm running about 3 ac. to 1 cow at one place and 2 ac. to one cow at another and I could easily run 10 to 15 more at each place......currently keeping heifers to do just that. I don't know where the cutoff point is.......I know some who are running 1.5ac to 1. That's about the same as getting another farm for free.

 

[greybeard]

about 3 ac to 1 here. I could run more this year, but both drought and flood have me gun shy.

 

[denvermartinfarms]

I run a pair to 3 acres, but more fence = more cows. Good luck on finding a place to rent it ain't easy, but you do have the right ideas on how to go about it.

 

[kenny thomas]

How many acres per cow are you running now? Are doing intensive rotational grazing? If not, you may be able to increase your numbers on what you got.

That's a good point. It brings up the million dollar question how many acres per cow. Please correct me if I'm wrong but with intensive rotation (every 3 weeks) would equal a 1/2 acre per cow? and if not 1 to 1-1/2 acres per cow?

Every 3 weeks is not intensive rotation. Every day is intensive, once a week is rotating some.

 

[skyhightree1]

I could get away with 2 per acre on my place but if all my pastures were close I could rotational graze and probably never have to bale hay. I only have 1 pasture at the house and one for calves and 2 4 miles away

 

[B&M Farms]

Hit the roads and look for pasture that might need a little attention and find out eho owns it. Asking people with cows doesn't work very well around here unless you find someone giving up a lease. If they knew of a decent place for lease they would already have it sowed up most of the time. If you find a place that needs a little work just get a lease that's long enough to let you make it worth it. I have a couple places leased for hay that I just have to pay the taxes but it took me a little while to get them back like needed to be.

 

[Banjo]

How many acres per cow are you running now? Are doing intensive rotational grazing? If not, you may be able to increase your numbers on what you got.

That's a good point. It brings up the million dollar question how many acres per cow. Please correct me if I'm wrong but with intensive rotation (every 3 weeks) would equal a 1/2 acre per cow? and if not 1 to 1-1/2 acres per cow?

Every 3 weeks is not intensive rotation. Every day is intensive, once a week is rotating some.

I took it to mean rotating in a 3 week schedule or in other words a 21 day recovery period which IMO is too short of a recovery time as well.

 

[dgree]

I could rotate daily but it would be a kinda tough. Up here on the Canadian border of VT the "Green Mountain State" grass grows on trees, with severe snowy, cold winters.

Every 3 weeks we move the cows over to another pasture, then we drag and bush hog the pasture they just left. It takes about 3 weeks for a pasture to come back, depending on rain.