Hello My Name is Steve

I run 20 acres in manawatu, to generally look after race horses. I have been here 2 years and there have been many new learning curves.

I would like to know what prices we can expect to pay and get for balage plse.
I have been asked by a sheep breeder to lease some acreage, what is the going rate?

help most appreciated thanks

HI and welcome to the LSB cyber family
Lets hope for some rain in the Mighty Manawatu this afternoon and tomorrow as its getting a bit dry .. hows your place ?

Hi Steve. I will presume that these are two questins, so will give my opinions separately. Only opinions because you have to pay for advice.
1. Balage price? That depends. How easy is the grass to get to? If the contractor is going to have to go slow because the ground is rough, the paddocks are small, he has to change lots of mower blades because of stones he has hit, the slopes are steep, etc will all add to the cost of making the balage. Are there any hazards in the paddocks- fencing gear, holes, drains, tree stumps, swamps? If a piece of machinery gets broken from your hazard, expect a bill of $2000 or more. We baled some grass on leased land and it had waratah standards lieing in the paddock. The damaged mower cost $20,000 to repair. How good is the grass/crop? What sort of grass, it's fertility history, is it lucerne or clover, has more than 10% of the grass seeded? This year, for average pasture grass with few weeds I would expect to pay $1 to $1.50 per haybale equivalent, so $10 to $15 for a big cubed, $15 to $20 for a big round, for the grass.
2. Leasing for sheep grazing. What is the fertility of the soil, and pasture mix of the grass? Low fertility soil (for pasture species) means less grass grows, it grows slower, and more weeds grow. Are you leasing short term or long term? If long term, the current extraordinarily high prices are unlikely to remain, so the high price that you negotiate now will need to be reviewed. If you lease the land, then it becomes inaccessible and unusable to you. Can you handle this?
This year, for sheep, you should be able to get $200 per acre. I prefer to pay on the number of animals that I can run on the property, on the basis that I get half the value of any income, and the landowner gets the other half. So if I can run 4 sheep per acre for the whole year on your place, and I get 1 lamb per ewe, and each lamb is worth $100, then you get $200 and I get $200. I would expect you to maintain the fertility and weeds from your $200. If you wouldn't then I would not be able to run as many animals next year.