Returning cropland to pasture?

[Texarkana]

The never-ending real estate nightmare yielded another “doesn’t tick all the boxes but maybe we can make it work” property.

(Side bar: we really aren’t picky people. Yet finding a habitable house with a modest amount of land suitable for pasture within a reasonable commute from our jobs for under half a million is surprisingly difficult even though we live in the middle of nowhere where real estate is fairly affordable.)

This place has acreage, but it was all in corn this past season.

I’ve perused the state resources on replanting pasture, but what I found was vague and not particularly helpful. I’ll call the ag extension if we truly get serious about this property. In the meantime, I wanted to learn about people’s experiences with this. Specifically:

What did it entail? Roughly what was the expense? How long did it take before you had pasture that could hold up to regular horse use?

If the stars magically align and this all worked out, the horses would probably need to move on to the property sooner rather than later, so I’d likely consider installing a dry lot for the interim.

[Bluey]

We put some farm land in pasture thru the local USDA Farm Service Agency Natural Reserve program.

Check with them in your area, is free, your taxes at work.
They may even have some program you may qualify for that has a cost share feature, where they help pay for the seed, if it is the kind they approve for your area and for sowing it.

We put ours in thru a program with the seeds that are recommended for migratory birds.
That program then was directed by the Fish and Wildlife, Department of the Interior office.

There are so many programs out there, even if you don’t want to participate in any, they will advise you free, go pick their brains.

[trubandloki]

Pasture grass is just like planting another crop instead of the crop that was there. So talk to any local farmer and ask what they would charge you to do that. Including having the soil tested and treated so it will happily grow whatever you are seeding your pasture in.

We let the pasture grow a full year (with regular mowing) before putting horses on it. Dry lot with hay until then.

[Simkie]

I swear we’ve had a couple good threads about this fairly recently, but wasn’t able to turn up much with search. Did snag this one, which does have some good info:

https://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/forum/discussion-forums/around-the-farm/277127-turning-farm-land-into-pasture

Good luck, how exciting to have a potential place!

[Bluey]

Afraid to edit, but on the cost, thru the program we followed, they cost shared 50%, so paid for half the seed and the fellow that did the sowing, it required a special drill we didn’t have for that.

There was a requirement that the land won’t be reverted to farmland for 5 years, after that they send you a release from that contract.

We put that land in over a decade ago, the grass did beautifully, is now regularly grazed pasture like our native grass pastures and don’t intend to farm it again, had been farmed for some 100 years previously.

Now, here, farmland is more valuable, being grass will lower the value, something to consider.

[eightpondfarm]

we did this, 18 years ago. Turned crop into pasture/hay fields. All in roundup ready crops…and it’s amazing what grows there the first few years without herbicides inhibiting the growth. We are organic and we use grazing (manure) to generate our good pastures. Selectively seeded for grazing and selectively brushhogged to discourage some and encourage other growth. We have a 80% native warm season grasses and introduced tall growth legumes now and fat fat sheep and cattle! Horses have to follow one of the other herds because it’s so rich…

[Texarkana]

@Simkie

I swear we’ve had a couple good threads about this fairly recently, but wasn’t able to turn up much with search. Did snag this one, which does have some good info:

https://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/forum/discussion-forums/around-the-farm/277127-turning-farm-land-into-pasture

Good luck, how exciting to have a potential place!

Thank you! I had similar troubles: I knew this had been discussed, but couldn’t turn up much.

I’m not getting too excited because I have a feeling we will lose out to cash buyers yet again. But… we’ll keep going through the motions and maybe one day something will work out… hopefully… maybe it will be this place, probably not…

[Texarkana]

T

@Bluey

Afraid to edit, but on the cost, thru the program we followed, they cost shared 50%, so paid for half the seed and the fellow that did the sowing, it required a special drill we didn’t have for that.

There was a requirement that the land won’t be reverted to farmland for 5 years, after that they send you a release from that contract.

We put that land in over a decade ago, the grass did beautifully, is now regularly grazed pasture like our native grass pastures and don’t intend to farm it again, had been farmed for some 100 years previously.

Now, here, farmland is more valuable, being grass will lower the value, something to consider.

That’s wonderful so much of the cost could be offset through the program! I had no idea such programs existed. Although agreeing not to use the land for 5 years would be prohibitive for us. It’s not so much land that we could get by without for that long.

If anything ultimately comes of this, I’ll have to see what, if anything, is available in our area and for our type of situation.

[Bluey]

@Texarkana

T

That’s wonderful so much of the cost could be offset through the program! I had no idea such programs existed. Although agreeing not to use the land for 5 years would be prohibitive for us. It’s not so much land that we could get by without for that long.

If anything ultimately comes of this, I’ll have to see what, if anything, is available in our area and for our type of situation.

You can use the land as grazing, the requirement is not to break it up again for farming for the time of the contract, for us it was 5 years, sorry that was not clear.

Not grazing grasses is counterproductive, as grasses thrive when grazed properly, get too much old growth shading new and all you get is clumps, not turf.

[Leather]

Our local Extension did a FB Live this spring on establishing a pasture from a tilled/prepared seed bed (rather than renovation through over-seeding). She mentions later on in the video that this is applicable to either tilling up an existing pasture or starting from cropland. I’m in MN so it’s focused on our growing season, but she does mention a few things for southern states.

https://fb.watch/1mNmn854zR/

One other thing that I’ve seen mentioned elsewhere is to know what herbicides have been sprayed on the fields in the last few years since they can persist and impact what you’re trying to grow.

[Texarkana]

@Bluey

You can use the land as grazing, the requirement is not to break it up again for farming for the time of the contract, for us it was 5 years, sorry that was not clear.

Not grazing grasses is counterproductive, as grasses thrive when grazed properly, get too much old growth shading new and all you get is clumps, not turf.

Ooooh, I thought you meant it had to sit idle so wildlife could use it or plants could be established or whatever their intention was. AKA no grazing. You were clear, my mind just assumed using it as a pasture counted as being used as farmland. Being able to use it for grazing definitely makes it viable!

[Texarkana]

… and the buyer already accepted another offer. Well, that was fun to think about for a few hours!

[trubandloki]

Sorry to hear it fell thru.

When we were shopping (lots of years back) we could not find anything like what we wanted either so we finally just bought a piece of land and started from scratch. Our house is not big or fancy but it has the few features that Mr. Trub really wanted. My barn is not big or fancy but it keeps my horses out of the weather.

[Texarkana]

@trubandloki

Sorry to hear it fell thru.

When we were shopping (lots of years back) we could not find anything like what we wanted either so we finally just bought a piece of land and started from scratch. Our house is not big or fancy but it has the few features that Mr. Trub really wanted. My barn is not big or fancy but it keeps my horses out of the weather.

We actually started that process working with our realtor to find land and a builder in the area. We got a quote to build and were finalizing the financing when the builder canceled our quote because of lumber costs. The new quote he came back with was almost double, putting it outside our budget. So we had to walk away.

Now lumber prices are leveling off, but the piece of land we wanted has sold, and there isn’t anything else available.

Mr. Texarkana is slow to commit to anything. Whenever he finally finds something he is willing to say yes to, something ALWAYS happens. It’s been over THREE YEARS. Sorry for the screaming, but I’m just so over it.

[trubandloki]

It sounds like it has been very frustrating. You have every reason to be screaming at this point. I am sorry this is not going well.

I will add another silly bit of advice. We could not find any land that worked for us listed. We placed a stupid ad in that free little advertising paper that goes to everyone (we call it the penny saver here), stating we were looking to buy a piece of land. A local farmer called us up and told us a few parcels he was willing to sell if we were interested in any of them.
Heck, it is worth a try, right?

[Texarkana]

@trubandloki

It sounds like it has been very frustrating. You have every reason to be screaming at this point. I am sorry this is not going well.

I will add another silly bit of advice. We could not find any land that worked for us listed. We placed a stupid ad in that free little advertising paper that goes to everyone (we call it the penny saver here), stating we were looking to buy a piece of land. A local farmer called us up and told us a few parcels he was willing to sell if we were interested in any of them.
Heck, it is worth a try, right?

Thanks for listening!

And that’s good advice. I’ve done similar on our local FB group from time to time. Actually, I just did it recently and was so frustrated with the (lack of) results I started a thread in Off Course about people who can’t read for comprehension! :lol: I probably need to try it in some other resources, and many people selling land or properties aren’t necessarily on local FB equestrian groups…

[Bluey]

@Texarkana

Thanks for listening!

And that’s good advice. I’ve done similar on our local FB group from time to time. Actually, I just did it recently and was so frustrated with the (lack of) results I started a thread in Off Course about people who can’t read for comprehension! :lol: I probably need to try it in some other resources, and many people selling land or properties aren’t necessarily on local FB equestrian groups…

Are you leasing now?
Here some lease and then if they like the place let the owner know if they want to sell they would be interested and sooner or later they may get it bought, at times at a reasonable price and no bidding war in the better places also.

Around here there is practically no land for sale, people that sell already have buyers before they do and sell directly, some of those buyers may have been custom farming or outright leasing from them.
Buyer knows what is buying and if it is worth what is asked and any that needs talking over in the sale, seller knows buyer and that is doing things right and both are not dealing with strangers.

Maybe try finding such a situation to lease into?
That may fit DH way of doing things better anyway, so everyone happy.

[Simkie]

@Texarkana

… and the buyer already accepted another offer. Well, that was fun to think about for a few hours!

What a bummer, I’m sorry

”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹

[HungarianHippo]

Aw bummer.
I know it’s a moot point now, but for the benefit of future COTHers, here’s my experience. In my former job we leased ag fields (corn or soy) and planted a perennial biomass energy crop, which was a type of grass. So, this isn’t too dissimilar to converting it to pasture. After about 2,000 acres of learning, the best way to ensure first-season success with the new grass was to 1) take up as much corn residue as possible off the field, i.e. basically scalp the field and bale the corn stover for cattle farmers, 2) plant an oat cover crop that will grow fast in the fall and then die into a dense mat for the winter, and 3) as soon as the soil can be worked in late winter/early spring, deep till the field to break up the corn root mass, and 4) plant your grass seed when indicated by frost, etc.

I know deep till is not fashionable, I know the risks for soil loss / erosion, etc. But you do have to balance all that with the reality that if you have to re-seed an entire field after your grass fails to establish, you’re burning 2x the gas, compacting the soil even more, etc etc. We had a team of environmentally-minded agronomists advising us and what I learned from them is that there’s a huge environmental benefit to getting it right the first time.

Soy fields didn’t need much work to convert to grassland, since it doesn’t have the woody plant/root structure that corn does.

[Horsehusband]

@HungarianHippo

Soy fields didn’t need much work to convert to grassland, since it doesn’t have the woody plant/root structure that corn does.

Can you walk me through what is needed for soy? Farmer just recently harvested and we’re looking to convert as soon as possible, but guessing there isn’t much we can do until April as we’re in the midwest.

Thanks!