|
niobrara nebraska | I know you have your heart set on buying some good pasture. But I would suggest buying more farmland. It is much easier to pay for with a cowherd. Yes it costs more but it can do multiple things for you. Raise a cash crop, provide residue feed, cover crops for spring feed etc. for the cow herd. It is also a place for the cattle to come to once they come home from 5 month summer leases. I've found it much easier to pay for at a higher price then a pasture that is worth half the price. Here in our part of Nebraska the taxes alone on pasture are nearly 150 a pair to not overgraze the pasture and keep it in good shape. Farmland is about 20 an acre. Pasture is usually pasture for a reason. Down here right now pasture and farmland differ by about 1.5k per acre to even less. Pasture rents for about 30-50 an acre and farmland is 150-200. That alone makes my choice pretty easy. Another thing to think about is pasture productivity has not really changed all that much in the last 100 years. Yes you can interseed, fertilized, etc. but if the land is too rough to farm and in pasture it is hard to do much improvements. Farmland on the other hand has become 50-60% more productive in my career. I'm a little older then you at 38. Technology/genetics/etc. have allowed that to happen and I expect it to continue to become more productive as my career goes on. I wish I could say the same for pastureland. The hardest payment I have is for a farm that is 2/3 pasture and 1/3 farmland. The pasture just doesn't provide that much cash flow income as it is only a place for the cows for 6 months and the farmland has to provide for them the rest of the year. Everyone has there own ideas and what works. This is just my 2 cents. | |
|
Ag economy strategies
