Agistment

3 posts
Tue, 08/20/2013 - 18:35 #1

Member for

12 years 3 months
Matala
Last seen: 08/20/2013 - 18:44
Joined: 08/31/2012 - 20:45

Agistment

For the past 12 months we have rented out our farm house and left the 140 acres vacant, but now however we will be relocating to the farm house at Christmas and we are looking to agist some of our acres, given we will be there to keep an eye on things and also to help raise funds for our own stock.  What is the current agistment rate for cattle and horses in the Tamworth area?

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Sat, 08/24/2013 - 17:22 #2
barb
Last seen: 09/17/2019 - 18:07
Joined: 11/23/2011 - 09:38

Hi there,

I am sorry but I don't know what the rate for agistment would be in your area. However around here, in coastal S E Qld, depending on the season it varies between $1.50 - 2.00 per head per week. However, there are a couple of things that I would suggest you do before the cattle arrive on the property.

1. Make sure there are no noxious weeds on the property and that there is enough water and feed available for them.

2. draw up an agreement stating the cost per week to be paid monthly, in advance and when requested of the owner, how soon you want them removed from the property i.e. one week, two weeks, one month etc. The latter is because when the pasture gets down to less than 6 cm the soil will begin to dry out because it is exposed due the short grass and then as grass roots grow in response to the volume of grass on the plant, the roots will start to die back  and it will take the plants much longer to recover after the spring rains.  

3. Tempting though it is to put more stock on the property because of the money you can earn, be careful that you don't overstock. It is surprising just how much pasture cattle and horses can consume in a short space of time.

Regards and best of luck,

Barb

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Thu, 11/07/2013 - 12:52 #3
Temple
Last seen: 03/08/2018 - 21:05
Joined: 11/06/2013 - 15:46

Hey there!

Agreed with Barb that there's a lot to think about when you're taking stock on agistment - here's an older Farmstyle forum with some great tips and things to consider: http://farmstyle.com.au/question/leasing-or-agisting-livestock

And here's one about horses and cattle: http://www.cyberhorse.com.au/dcforum/DCForumID5/967.html

Also, where I was up the beef road in QLD the rate was closer to $3 a head, and $4 for a cow-calf pair. Given the drought in most of Eastern Aus right now agisting cattle on your property would be a great help to a lot of people and, I agree with Barb on this one too, you've got to be very careful not to overstock your property, because a LOT of people will want to send you their cattle right about now, I'd imagine.

Here's a great site to find cattle up for agistment: agistment.net.au

How many days of feed do you think you have on your 140 acres? If you take a slightly smaller number and opt for rotational or cell grazing rather than set stocking you could probably run the cattle on your property for a longer period, and it's easier to keep track of how much feed you still have. Rotating the cattle around your property in a high-density herd is slightly more time consuming but, from what I've read, it can greatly improve the quality of your pasture over time, so it's well worth it. The plants are eaten and trampled more uniformly, and so undesirable plants and weeds get taken back and don't become dominant, the ground is constantly covered by either live growth or litter and so holds water better, and the even distribution of manure puts nutrients back into your soil and encourages bugs and microbe life under the soil surface and more and better plant growth above.

When are you expecting your first rain? Be careful not to turn the stock back onto a piece of land too soon after taking them off of it - like Barb said, the grass and the roots will need time to recover - maybe a few months depending on your climate and how quickly your grasses grow to maturity.

Hope this helps!

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