By Andre Bonneau, PAg, Range Management Extension Specialist, Prince Albert
April 2025
Recently, Ministry of Agriculture specialists have been getting inquiries about calculating pasture costs. While specialists are careful not to influence private grazing fees, we encourage landowners to calculate their own costs. Once costs are identified, landowners are in a better position to negotiate.
Determine Carrying Capacity
Forage production on pasture can be difficult to determine. If the pasture has been rented before and it isn’t overgrazed or damaged, assume the carrying capacity is correct.
On pastures where forage production is uncertain, note that in general, one cow will consume and waste her own weight in dry matter forage in one month. By this logic, a 1,400 lb. cow will consume and trample 1,400 lbs. of forage. This generalization will serve as a starting point when determining carrying capacity. Nursing calves are usually ignored until they are weaned.
Determine Costs
On the cost side, calculate the municipal taxes, return on investment, depreciation of fencing and water development, forage seeding and other costs associated with maintaining the pasture. The depreciation period, as well as the return on investment, are variables that can be adjusted.
Putting Them Together
The costs can be broken down in a variety of ways, but in this exercise we will calculate costs for the pasture by the acre or the cow/calf pair per day.
Table 1: Calculations based on 160 acres of tame pasture, 40 cow/calf pair, 4 months grazing. Costs per day are calculated by dividing the pasture cost by the number of cattle (40) and the number of days (120).
| Item | Assumption | Cost | $/Pasture | $/Acre | $/Cow/Day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taxes | $960 | $960 | $6 | $0.20 | |
| ROI 3% | $160,000 (land value) | $4,800 | $4,800 | $30 | $1 |
| Fencing | 20-year depreciation | $18,000 | $900 | $5.63 | $0.19 |
| Water | 20-year depreciation | $3,000 | $150 | $0.94 | $0.03 |
| Forage | 10-year depreciation | $12,000 | $1,200 | $7.50 | $0.25 |
| Fee | $8,010 | $50.06 | $1.67 |
It is important to determine your own costs as these calculations simply determine the grazing fees needed to break even. Our document provides more details to consider when negotiating lease agreements. The Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC) website also has many helpful planning tools including a .
For more information on grazing fees or other pasture-related topics, contact the Agriculture Knowledge Centre at 1-866-457-2377 and they will connect you with a local specialist.