What's a fair amount to pay neighbor per cattle head?

[TheDruid]

I have inherited 320 acres of land and 73 cattle in South Dakota and am thinking of using 240 acres of the land to grow alfalfa. I want to keep the cattle but do not have the capacity to keep them all in the same property if we decide to grow alfalfa. My neighbor has offered his property to charge me $18/head per month. Is this a fair amount I should pay?

Thanks in advance for your replies.

 

[TheDruid]

Any feedback would be appreciated..

 

[fitz]

Welcome to the board. I'm too far away to help you with the question. I just know what I pay here. Have a piece of property that adjoins me that is real nice pasture. They keep up the fence and do most of the bushhogging. Little steep, but I pay 35.00 per acre per year and I determine how many head I run on it and when. They apply lime and I may put down a little fertilizer, again, my choice. Good luck.

fitz

 

[expensive hobby]

How did he come up with $18.00 head/month? I would say that $216.00 per year per head is kind of high, particularly if he is including the calves too. How many head are you planning to run on his/her property? So many factors to consider: water? good fencing? good grasses or weeds? how many acres of pasture available? is he going to sew any fields? is he putting any other stipulations on this lease? Is he going to pull out on you once you get your animals there? If there is fence, is he/she going to repair or will this be your responsibility? Nothing like fixing up all this fence just to be told that there has been a change of plans. Just some things to consider if you do decide to do a contract.

 

[backhoeboogie]

Any feedback would be appreciated..

There is not enough information to make any kind of credible advice or feedback.

Is this a good person? What kind of shape are the fences in? Are you willing to pay that and does it pencil out for profit? Why that much alfalfa? What exactly are your long term plans and do they include cattle? I could go on.

If your long term plans do not include the cattle and they are not a highly specialized breed with a current program, I'd dump them.

 

[mlazyj]

Like what has been stated , there isn't quite enough info to give a real good answer . What kind of cattle are they ? ie. cows , yearlings , heifers . What is your plan for the cattle ? Do you plan on getting more ground so you will have control of everything ,or are you going to be paying for grass forever . Is the ground already in alfalfa or are you going to have to break the ground up? Do you have corrals on your land ? Do you live close enough to your land to manage it ? With the cattle market running strong it mite be a good idea to get the cows down to a number your 80 acres can handle without having to pay rent , and go raise some hay .

 

[randiliana]

I would say, that that sounds like pretty cheap rent. Here we pay from $0.80 - $1.25/day/head for the grazing season. So $18 per head per month is pretty cheap.