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Livestock Pasture
Rent vs. Ownership
Comes July. . .1*11 have been In Rappahannock eighteen years. During this time pleasurable experiences have overshadowed those that were disagreeable. Also, I feel successful undertakings have out numbered those that failed, however there is one failure which continues to prick my pride. This thorn-ln-the -flesh has been our low pasture rental rates. Shortly after coming to Rappahannock I learned pasture rented from $1.50 to $2.00 per month per cow and calf. Some how I ve never been able to convince land owners, even back in the forties, that these are give-away rates? Rates loved by neighboring Dutch cattlemen and accepted by my farmers whom I‘m hired to help. _ PerRaps_ my approach has been wrong so lets try a new one. Fixed Costs vs Rental Rates. What are fixed costs anyway? They are ownership costs, or costs that do not vary annually. They are costs other than costs of operation 'such as: taxes, interest onin> vestment, depreciation, etc. Okay? Okay! Now lets consider a forty acre boundary of average pasture capable of^razlng l. cow and calf to every 3 acres-for a seven month period. What can we get from this land by renting the pasture. We don’t split cows but In this case grazing capacity comes to 13.33 cows. Thirteen and 1/3 cows at the high rate ($2.00) comes to $26.66 per month, or $186.66 per year for the boundary or $4.66 per acre. What about fixed, or ownership costs?By using the same land value taxes at our current rates come to $16.08. Interest at 6% adds $144.00. What about fencing costs? Here, for accuracy, you’d better use your own figures. Labor rates vary, material costs Vary, etc. Also the cheap, eat field to fence is one that
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