Growing Beef Newsletter
October 2024, Volume 15, Issue 4
Determining Rental Rates for Grazing Corn Residue
Erika Lundy-Woolfolk, ISU extension beef specialist
In 2024, Iowa farmers planted 13.1 million acres of corn. With approximately 810,000 head of beef cows in the state, there is enough corn residue acres to winter the Iowa cow herd for almost 6 months and still only utilize half the acres available.
With this readily available feed resource, here are some considerations for negotiating a fair cash rental rate for grazing corn residue.
The Ag Decision Maker’s annual Cash Rental Rate Survey is a resource to help determine the going rate of grazing corn residue is your local area. However, this is meant to be a starting point, and price should be negotiated between the landowner and livestock owner based on field size, crop yield, and specific resources including water, fencing, and additional forage available.
The reported 2024 rates for grazing corn residue range from $9/acre in Southwest Iowa up to $34/acre in Southeast Iowa with a state average of $19/acre. As a reminder, this data is generated from an annual survey of farmers, landowners, agricultural lenders, and professional farm managers. The survey asks that respondents supply information based on best judgment of cash rental rates in the areas rather than specific rates paid on individual farms.
While price per acre is the most common way, there are other methods such as pricing per animal unit or animal per day. These alternative methods may be more attractive if the grazing period is restricted by things such as severe weather, muddy conditions, or water limitations.
Two of the largest limitations for grazing residue acres across Iowa include insufficient water availability and fencing. Due to the time commitment, rental rates are often lowered if the tenant must haul water or build and remove fence. Access to rural water is becoming more common, and if utilized by the livestock is generally an additional expense to the rental rate.
Historically, Iowa has followed a “fence-in” law where livestock owners are responsible for keeping cattle in their designated field; however, neighboring landowners with no livestock may be required to maintain a partition fence if a request to do so is made in writing. The Iowa fence law has several options for a legal fence, with the most common one for livestock purposes being a minimum of 3-barbed wires. Fence viewers, typically township trustees, have authority to settle fencing questions between neighboring landowners. For additional information on Iowa fencing laws, visit Iowa State University’s Center for Ag Law and Taxation website.
Years with extreme weather patterns altering yields also may warrant rental rate adjustments. Because yield and residue biomass are positively correlated, a common thumb rule for estimating grazing days is that every 100 bushels of corn per acre will last a spring-calving, gestating cow approximately one month. Therefore, high yielding fields will provide more feed for the cow herd compared to poor yielding fields.
Additional considerations for negotiating a corn residue grazing price might include the presence of other forages in the field, including waterways, terraces, and alfalfa fields, as these are valuable feed resources for cattle.
Once a rental rate is agreed upon, putting it in writing and outlining responsibilities is a good practice to avoid any future disagreements between the two parties.
Editor’s note: In case you missed it last month, the beef extension teams from Iowa State University and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln partnered to host a webinar discussing various considerations when grazing residue. See the webinar recordings on the Iowa Beef Center YouTube Channel’s Grazing Corn Residue playlist.
This monthly newsletter is free and provides timely information on topics that matter most to Iowa beef producers. You’re welcome to use information and articles from the newsletter - simply credit Iowa Beef Center.
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