What should I charge for cattle lease in Texas

[banjobiotic]

I am looking to sell someone grazing rights on my 36 acre property in Hays County Texas. It has year round water, very good condition fencing and good pasture interspersed with large oaks and pecans. I've got a couple of folks interested, Trouble is I have no idea what to charge or what other factors I should keep in mind when setting up this sort of arrangement. Any advice would be much appreciated.


Thanks.

 

[dimestorecowboy]

In our area it goes for 10 to 14 dollars an acre . But that's for big places and for cows . Might make a little more boarding horses . Even though they are hard on the ground .

 

[Lon]

25-30 a month for a pair here closer to 30 usually for summer pasture higher for wintering but this is south dakota. just thought would let u know how they charge here.

 

[B&M Farms]

i lease 40 acres of pasture down the road to put heifers on. Cost me 7 dollars an acre a year.

 

[E in PA]

In our area it goes for 10 to 14 dollars an acre . But that's for big places and for cows . Might make a little more boarding horses . Even though they are hard on the ground .

:nod:

if you have a barn. a girl i work with pays $160 a month to board her horse.

 

[TexasBred]

i lease 40 acres of pasture down the road to put heifers on. Cost me 7 dollars an acre a year.

Sounds like you found an uninformed property owner. Pasture leases were $12 an acre 20 years ago in East Texas.

 

[banjobiotic]

It's starting to sound like something between $10 and $15 per acre per year would be fair. Does one usually calculate that to what it would be per month and then get monthly payments or is it usually done as a lump sum for the year? there any other issues I should watch out for or ask about when I am negotiating a potential lease?


Thanks so much for all your responses.

 

[LRTX1]

I would restrict the capacity of cattle to keep from overgrazing. Consider fence repairs and maintenance, fertilizer...etc. Whatever you do, lay it all down on paper, who is responsible for what, and know exactly what you expect from each other.

 

[dimestorecowboy]

Most of the time the lease is paid for the year in one payment . Also like it was said before make sure you have your expectations on paper . People seem to for get .

 

[cowboy43]

What side of Hays County are you on, The Balcones Fault runs down the middle like Interstate 35 every thing on the west side is rock and cedar 36 acres may support one cow, it is goat country the east side is farmland and ranch land you could run 5 to 7 cows without overgrazing.

 

[dimestorecowboy]

In that area if you are out of the city limits . I think I would let it grow up in goat weed and mow it about august 25 and day hunt it during dove season.

 

[jack1234]

http://recenter.tamu.edu/data/rland/ and click on "Texas Rural Land Value Trends"

I agree with cowboy43's comment. If you're east of 35, I bet you could charge $25-30 an acre per year. If it's weekend ranchers who live in the the city and will drive out to the place, they'll pay more for land closer to town as it saves them time and gas $. Also, cattle prices have jumped substantially meaning rents ought to follow.

Things to consider: stocking rate. Lessee's generally want to stock places they're renting higher than they would stock a place they owned. Over time, this is bad for your land--potentially real bad. The cows selectively overgraze the good grasses, eventually killing them out and leaving weeds. Soil compaction and erosion problems can also arise. That said-- you can stipulate a maximum stocking rate or charge by the head as opposed to by the acre. For even the best plot of land in Hays county, I don't think I'd stock heavier than 5 acres/cow (or cow-calf pair).

Also, don't let them make hay! If they do, they're robbing you blind. Hay contains nutrients from the soil which cost significant money to replace. One hay cutting alone could easily contain nutrients equal in value to several years lease payments.

 

[dimestorecowboy]

So mechanical harvesting of the grass is many times worse than animals harvesting it ? 30 bucks an acre for 7 cows . lol

 

[jack1234]

dimestore--I'm looking to lease some improved pasture somewhere in southeast Texas. It would be for just three months (Apr 1. -June 30) and would contain no covenant re: haying, as we both agree that is an entirely irrelevant consideration. I'll pay $7/acre. Wadda ya think?

 

[dimestorecowboy]

Most of it around here goes for 10 to 15 . I guess it depends on who you lease to . I personally wouldn't lease less than a 100 acres for cows .I would only lease 35 if it was a hay meadow not just pasture someone is calling hay field . And if I was leasing land to some one it wouldn't be short term . They have no incentive to take care of it short term. If you really were in a bind and needed the land for a few months I probably wouldn't charge . That's what neighbors are for .