Leopold Center project fosters custom grazing in Iowa

Thanks to new grazing tactics, a win-win situation on southern Iowa’s pastures soon could be a reality. Custom grazing, or contract grazing, can be a positive solution for landowners, cattle owners and the environment.

“Custom grazing means that the grazier provides grass and management but does not own the cattle,” said Joe Sellers, ISU Extension beef field specialist. “The grazier is paid a per-head, per-day rate to graze, feed and manage the cattle.”

On land with poor soil conditions or where the terrain makes it difficult to produce row crops, grazing makes good sense. Unlike row-cropping systems, grazing land aids in keeping soil and water where it belongs. Grass-based agricultural systems help preserve nutrients and sediments, reduce water loss and increase biodiversity opportunities for more profitable business ventures. And as Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contracts expire, this land may be used for grazing.

“There is a dramatic increase in demand for grass-fed meat and dairy foods, and high corn prices have raised the costs of industrial livestock production,” said Jeri Neal, who leads the Ecology Initiative for the Leopold Center. “And cellulosic energy provides interesting future opportunities for mixed perennials to become profitable. We finally have encouraging economic signals for grazing.”

Interest in grazing isn’t limited to Iowans. The Leopold Center and Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI) are members of Green Lands, Blue Waters (GLBW) consortium, a basin-wide initiative whose mission is to integrate more perennial plants and other continuous living cover into the agricultural landscape in the Mississippi River Basin.

“A Green Lands, Blue Waters regional working group is being organized around the topic of grazing,” Neal explained. “Both PFI and the Leopold Center will play key roles in bringing Iowa’s grazing issues and opportunities to the GLBW table.”

Connecting cattle and field
Iowa ranks among the top 10 states where beef cattle are raised. For cattle owners, a shortage of available and affordable land can hinder their business growth. For young producers, purchasing large tracts of land can be financially difficult. Custom grazing can be a way to build capital for both these groups. For landowners who do not own livestock, leasing the land to graziers can be profitable as well.

“Custom grazing arrangements can help the younger, or undercapitalized producers get into the cattle business,” said Sellers. “Well-grazed pastures can compete with other land uses on southern Iowa farms.”

The Leopold Center awarded a 2007 competitive grant to Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI) to research custom grazing in Iowa. One goal of the project is to connect landowners with existing cattle owners who are looking for grazing land. The project included an evaluation of existing grazing arrangements, distribution of tips and examples of good contracts to landowners and graziers, and facilitating networking among producers for successful business arrangements.

With help from the Iowa Beef Center and ISU Extension, PFI surveyed 50 Iowa producers who currently have livestock grazing under some form of contract. Prior to the grazing study, little was known about custom grazing in the state, except that a large number of informal or unwritten contracts existed, posing legal risks for both parties. The survey showed that a wide range of grazing operations and agreements exist in Iowa. The results were broken down into three major areas: demographics and management practices; stocking rates, fees and services; and grazing strategies.

Getting it in writing
Contracts for custom grazing are important for both parties to protect land and livestock. Participants in a contract need to get the terms in writing. Things to consider when drawing up a contract include location of pastures, terms of payment, movement of cattle, animal care and death losses, feed, time frames, and more. There also could be third-party arrangements that include the landowner, cattle owner and a cattle caretaker. A fourth fact sheet being developed will provide information on what should be included in a contract as well as a sample agreement.

Another objective of the project was to reach landowners, livestock owners and young producers to provide information about custom grazing. PFI hosted two summer 2007 field days; one featured custom grazing on the Mike and Laura DeCook farm in Monroe County and the other showed work at the Adams County CRP Farm. ISU Extension also facilitated a panel discussion on custom grazing at the November 20 Iowa Forage and Grassland conference, which will be repeated at the PFI annual conference in January.

Sellers said one area for growth are three-party management agreements. These agreements include an absentee landowner renting the land to a caretaker, who then manages stocker cattle or cow-calf pairs owned by a third party. Several such agreements will be modeled and discussed with focus groups in 2008. Other growth areas for custom graziers include grazing on publicly owned lands, supplying markets for grass-fed beef, and use of flexible payment arrangements.