{"id":211,"date":"2026-03-31T21:52:02","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T21:52:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/?page_id=211"},"modified":"2026-03-31T21:52:02","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T21:52:02","slug":"ag-articles","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/?page_id=211","title":{"rendered":"Ag Articles"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Summer Pasture Rental Rates<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Pasture rental rates in Nebraska continue to be at a premium compared to the rest of the country. This author is unaware of anywhere else that has a higher price per pair per month, when compared to Nebraska\u2019s summer grazing rates.
This means that summer grass in some parts of Nebraska is actually more expensive on a per ton basis than current hay prices (Spring 2026). This article shows how to compare apples (summer grazing) to oranges (baled hay), by converting both into air-dried forage per ton.
Nebraska pasture rental rates continue to be higher in the eastern Sandhills area compared to other parts of Nebraska. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln conducts yearly surveys of cash rental rates across Nebraska. The report for 2025 pasture rental rates can be viewed at https:\/\/cap.unl.edu\/realestate\/ .
ESTIMATING COW\/CALF CONSUMPTION
When grass is readily available, of excellent quality, and the rate of passage is rapid, consumption of grass will be higher as a percentage of a cow\u2019s body weight than later in the grazing season when quality declines. Grass consumption by calves generally increases throughout the grazing season as calf size and rumen capacity increase. This occurs simultaneously while cow milk production decreases.
Estimating the amount of forage consumed by the cow is just that, an estimate. Recent research from Oklahoma State University of cows eating medium quality grass hay has shown tremendous variation in forage consumption within a herd, even when cows are of similar size and weight.
SUMMER GRASS VERSUS PRICE OF HAY
Estimating the value of the grazed forage on a per-ton basis allows a person to compare grazed grass directly to what it would cost to buy hay. In this calculation, no labor, waste or machinery cost is accounted for when moving, storing, or feeding the hay.
Let\u2019s use an example to value the grazed air-dried forage going into the cow on a per ton basis. For our example, the following assumptions are used.
One Animal Unit Month is an estimate of how much a 1,000 pound bovine would eat in a month, and the estimated consumption is 780 lbs. of air-dried forage per month.
A cow-calf pair is made up of a 1350 lb. cow and 400 lb. calf. These weights convert to 1.75 Animal Unit Month (AUM), averaged over the 5-month summer grazing period.
To figure the pounds of air-dried forage consumed in one month of summer grazing, take 1.75 Animal Unit Month (AUM) multiplied by 780 lbs. of forage to get 1365 lbs. of air-dried forage per pair. (1.75 x 780 = 1365)
The price of summer grazing per pair and what the estimated hay price would be per ton. (Remember our pair is a 1350 lb. cow and 400 lb. calf).
Converting Summer Grazing Rates to Equivalent Hay Price
Summer Grazing Rate Per Pair (1.75 AUM)\/Estimated Equivalent Price for Hay (per ton)
$50 per pair\/month\/ $73 per ton
$60 per pair\/month\/ $88 per ton
$70 per pair\/month\/ $103 per ton
$80 per pair\/month\/ $117 per ton
$90 per pair\/month\/ $131 per ton
$100 per pair\/month\/ $147 per ton
CONSIDERATIONS
Currently hay can be bought in Nebraska for a cost per ton equivalent, that in many cases is equal to or less than the cost per ton for grazed forage rates paid for cow-calf pairs.
The quality of grazed grass early in the grazing season will likely be equal to or better than good quality hay that can be purchased. In the later summer and fall, the quality of the hay based on energy and protein basis may be better than grazed forage.
If hay is to be fed versus grazing pastures, most medium quality hays will not meet the nutrition requirements of a milking cow with a calf. Another feed resource that would enhance the quality of a roughage diet, and readily available in Nebraska, are ethanol coproducts. Currently, dried distillers grains can be purchased at approximately $160 ton at the plant. Distillers grains supplemented with medium quality hay could meet a milking cow\u2019s nutritional requirements.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summer Pasture Rental Rates Pasture rental rates in Nebraska continue to be at a premium compared to the rest of the country. This author is unaware of anywhere else that has a higher price per pair per month, when compared to Nebraska\u2019s summer grazing rates.This means that summer grass in some parts of Nebraska is<\/p>\n

READ MORE<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-211","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nAg Articles -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/?page_id=211\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ag Articles -\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Summer Pasture Rental Rates Pasture rental rates in Nebraska continue to be at a premium compared to the rest of the country. This author is unaware of anywhere else that has a higher price per pair per month, when compared to Nebraska\u2019s summer grazing rates.This means that summer grass in some parts of Nebraska isREAD MORE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/?page_id=211\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Cattle-Grazig-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/?page_id=211\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/?page_id=211\",\"name\":\"Ag Articles -\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/?page_id=211#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/?page_id=211#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Cattle-Grazig-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-31T21:52:02+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/?page_id=211#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/?page_id=211\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/?page_id=211#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Cattle-Grazig-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Cattle-Grazig-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1920},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/?page_id=211#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Ag Articles\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/\",\"name\":\"Farming Tool Magazine\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Farming Tool Magazine\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/cropped-siteicon.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/cropped-siteicon.jpg\",\"width\":500,\"height\":99,\"caption\":\"Farming Tool Magazine\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Ag Articles -","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/?page_id=211","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Ag Articles -","og_description":"Summer Pasture Rental Rates Pasture rental rates in Nebraska continue to be at a premium compared to the rest of the country. This author is unaware of anywhere else that has a higher price per pair per month, when compared to Nebraska\u2019s summer grazing rates.This means that summer grass in some parts of Nebraska isREAD MORE","og_url":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/?page_id=211","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1920,"url":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Cattle-Grazig-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/?page_id=211","url":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/?page_id=211","name":"Ag Articles -","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/?page_id=211#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/?page_id=211#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Cattle-Grazig-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2026-03-31T21:52:02+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/?page_id=211#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/?page_id=211"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/?page_id=211#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Cattle-Grazig-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Cattle-Grazig-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1920},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/?page_id=211#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Ag Articles"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/","name":"Farming Tool Magazine","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/#organization","name":"Farming Tool Magazine","url":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/cropped-siteicon.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/cropped-siteicon.jpg","width":500,"height":99,"caption":"Farming Tool Magazine"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/211","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=211"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/211\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":231,"href":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/211\/revisions\/231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/farmingtoolmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}