I'm going to meet a man tomorrow about possibly leasing a 25 acre piece of pasture. He says it's in good condition and fully fenced with a pond. He just bought the property (with home on it) and is moving in next week. He is from Florida and was asking me what land leases for up here over the phone. I told him I would like to see it before I'm able to answer that question. He says it has really good grass and he thinks could handle 15 cows, I think that's a high guess and it would be more like 8 maybe 10 cows. Anyway, any suggestions on the leasing price or other agreements we could possibly work out?
Leasing questions
- Thread starter tncattle
- Start date
Central Fl Cracker
Well-known member
Our standard price here is $ 20 per ac but we can put more cows per ac than some area's.
haase
Well-known member
wow, twenty dollars an acre, up north with corn prices what they are If you can get it for less than one hundred dollars an acre your doing good, They tell you that they can lease it for corn or bean ground from 125 to 150 an acre.
Central Fl Cracker
Well-known member
If you lease your pasture to a watermelon farmer I think it goes for $ 150 per ac. also.
dieselbeef
Well-known member
does alot more damage than cows...bout 20-25 per here too
skyline
Well-known member
About $15 per acre for grazing pasture here.
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TheBullLady
Well-known member
I'd talk to him first and see what he expects from you in return. If you can just dump some cows out there and check them every week or so and they have plenty of grass and water, that's great. But if he's not a cattleman himself, he may not want the cows crapping the the pond.. or he may have a poodle that will insist on chasing the cows and calves around the pasture, and he may have toddlers that think it's okay to pet the cows. I've heard a lot of horror stories here lately from people that leased land from "city people". They have really high expectations!
haase
Well-known member
guess your right, I would take the 20 an acre for cows instead of 100 to 150 for corn.
TexasBred
Well-known member
tncattle":1sxv0z80 said:
TN around here the going rate is also about $15 an acre for grazing. If it were my land I'd limit the number of cattle you could run on it as well as insist that you control weeds, fertilize annually and maintain all fences in good repair. I'd also let you fish in the tank if you wished for a "mess of fish". ;-)
tncattle
Well-known member
I'll post pics soon, I went out and met the guy and took a mess of pics. It was better than I thought and has facilities inside a large barn to work the cattle. I also found out he did not buy it, he is just leasing the house and land from the real estate firm. I talked with the real estate agent and he said the guy has plenty of resources (money) and has no worries about him. A definite negative is about 32 miles from my house. I'll get to work on those pics.
tncattle
Well-known member
Critique as you can from the pics. I'm definitely no grass expert, but most of the pasture is at least knee high or midway up my thigh and I'm 6'2". Is it too high for cattle to graze? What can you see from the grass pic I put in there? That is what most of the pasture is, Fescue?
As far as the pasture goes, it looks good. Appears to have good grass, the barn is set up to work cattle and has facilities to hold a cow if she has calving problems. Didn't really get a good handle on how good the perimeter fences are. I don't know about stocking rates there, just be sure you don't spend too many dollars per head to graze the pasture and still breakeven/make money. :roll:
Being 32 miles from home, you will have to make the choice if you feel comfortable leaving the cattle there year round or not. If you could work it to take cattle there for the grass grazing season after they have calved, and then bring them home to calve, that could work. That is quite a ways from home to be checking on cattle during calving. And with the price of fuel......
Whatever you do, I would be sure that your lease from the individual leasing the pasture is good even if he defaults on his lease. Might check with the real estate firm on that. You don't want to have a lease with him, and then if he defaults, your lease could be null and void. This guy would have your money, and you could be without a pasture. Might want to get an attorney's advice/help on that.
Being 32 miles from home, you will have to make the choice if you feel comfortable leaving the cattle there year round or not. If you could work it to take cattle there for the grass grazing season after they have calved, and then bring them home to calve, that could work. That is quite a ways from home to be checking on cattle during calving. And with the price of fuel......
Whatever you do, I would be sure that your lease from the individual leasing the pasture is good even if he defaults on his lease. Might check with the real estate firm on that. You don't want to have a lease with him, and then if he defaults, your lease could be null and void. This guy would have your money, and you could be without a pasture. Might want to get an attorney's advice/help on that.
tncattle
Well-known member
My thoughts were to put about 8-10 steers or heifers or a mix on there for about 4 months and then sell them locally as grass fed beef to people who have already told me they want to buy them. I've got people that want grass fed local beef and want to come out and see what they are buying. I was thinking of buying steers/heifers at around 700 pds. and then selling at 1000 pds. at $1.50 a pd. on the hoof. There is a farm about 10 miles down the road that sells freezer beef for $1.75 a pd. This plan is subject to change with valuable input from y'all and others. Alright, point out my pitfalls and my beginner mistakes.
Oh and by the way my wife is having our 3rd child tomorrow! So I'll be a little busy for the next few days as we also have a 4 and 2 yr. old. New baby and maybe new cows!
Oh and by the way my wife is having our 3rd child tomorrow! So I'll be a little busy for the next few days as we also have a 4 and 2 yr. old. New baby and maybe new cows!
tncattle":3r40e9kk said:
Newborn, 2 year old, and 4 year old???? You ARE asking for it aren't you? :help:
I think your plan sounds like a good one. 4 months, they would need to gain around 300 pounds. That would be 2.5 lbs/day. I'm not much for growing calves on grass, but they might need a little more time to gain that much. Others might have a better handle on that. I say go with your plan if there is a demand for grass fed beef. Would be nice to have the calves sold before they are even purchased.
1982vett
Well-known member
Cons I see:
32 miles away = hour driving time for round trip.
64 mile round trip @ 15 mpg and $4.00 fuel = $17.00/trip
Mentioned planting alfalfa - moving equipment that far.
Only 25 acres for above expenses.
Barn might need a little maintenace.
Probably leasing the house until it sells. Might sell next month.
Pro.
Looks like good grass with water and working facilities.
$20.00/acre rent is cheap enought.
Sum of the parts
Long way to go to check a few cows on a few acres unless you already have a reason to be in the area.
32 miles away = hour driving time for round trip.
64 mile round trip @ 15 mpg and $4.00 fuel = $17.00/trip
Mentioned planting alfalfa - moving equipment that far.
Only 25 acres for above expenses.
Barn might need a little maintenace.
Probably leasing the house until it sells. Might sell next month.
Pro.
Looks like good grass with water and working facilities.
$20.00/acre rent is cheap enought.
Sum of the parts
Long way to go to check a few cows on a few acres unless you already have a reason to be in the area.
tncattle
Well-known member
Wow, what a difference a few hours make. I called the guy again and he told me he had drained his wife's bank account to buy this land/home. I said, the real estate agent told me you were just leasing and not buying anything. He proceeded to fly into a cussing rage on the phone saying I went over his head and he would never lease to me, blah ,blah etc. Well, he is probably still cussing as I just hung up on him in the middle of his phone tirade laughing. This was a blessing as he was onviously lying his tail off to me. I think he thought it will probably be hard to get someone to put cows on land he is leasing already. He is right, although I still would have been interested if he would have been honest with me. Again, a blessing and the guy was a nut on the phone. I wish I hada been there in person to confront him cause I guarntee his attitude would have been different. Oh well, a crazy day and our 3rd child is going to be born tomorrow morning at 10:30 C-section. Just pray for healthy mama and baby.
CUZ
Well-known member
tncattle":3rm66tqs said:
Now I'm no expert on this, but I was thinking I'd heard that you don't finish-out calves on fescue because it gives the meat a bad taste. Looked like a lot of fescue in those pictures, but then again I could be mistaken.
Good luck to you and yours tomorrow.
skyline
Well-known member
tncattle":2feysowm said:
Wonder why he needed to lie about it? Some folks.... Sounds like you didn't need to be doing business with him anyway.
We'll be praying for healthy baby and a healthy and happy momma. We've got 3 kids. You know, with 2, you and your wife could play man on man defense. Now with 3, you'll have to switch to a zone.
