Cash, Dennis

Johnson, James B.

Patrick, Glenn

English

Research Papers in Economics

B R I E F I N G 
Briefing No. 66              April 2004  
Managed Haying and Grazing of CRP 
 
James B. Johnson, Glenn Patrick, and Dennis Cash 
Agricultural Marketing Policy Center 
Linfield Hall 
P.O. Box 172920 
Montana State University 
Bozeman, MT 59717-2920 
Tel: (406) 994-3511 
Fax: (406) 994-4838 
email: ampc@montana.edu 
website: www.ampc.montana.edu 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Objective  
 
Analysis 
 
for Informed 
 
Decision Making 
 
 
Contact: 
 
James B. Johnson 
(406) 994-5606 
jamesjohnson@montana.edu 
 
Glenn Patrick 
(406) 587-6880 
glenn.patrick@mt.usda.gov 
 
Dennis Cash 
(406) 994-5688 
dcash@montana.edu 
Introduction 
 
Producers with Conservation 
Reserve Program (CRP) land are 
authorized to conduct managed 
haying and grazing on such cropland. 
This expands the forage base for 
producers with CRP land or access to 
such land.   
 
Managed haying and grazing was 
authorized by the Farm Security and 
Rural Investment Act of 2002. Some 
managed haying and grazing was 
conducted in Montana  in the 2003 
crop year under initial provisions. 
 
Final provisions applicable to 
managed haying and grazing of CRP 
in Montana were announced in 
February, 2004. 
 
For purposes of CRP haying and 
grazing, the Montana State Farm 
Service Agency Committee 
established the primary nesting and 
broodrearing season as May 15 to 
July 15. 
 
Any haying or grazing of CRP 
during the primary nesting and 
broodrearing season is a violation of 
the terms and conditions of the CRP 
contract and could result in 
termination of the affected acres. 
 
Managed Haying Provisions 
 
The managed haying period is 90 
days.  In Montana CRP can be hayed 
under managed haying provisions 
from July 16 through October 13.  
 
Managed haying of CRP is 
authorized on the same field one out 
of every five years.  After the cover 
on CRP acreage has been certified as 
fully established for one year, a 
producer may harvest up to 50 
percent of a field or contiguous field.  
Haying will be limited to one cutting 
per year.  All hay bales must be 
removed by October 13.   
 
There are minimum heights after 
cutting (stubble height requirements) 
for each grass species hayed.  For 
instance, the minimum stubble height 
for crested wheatgrass is two inches 
whereas it is 6 inches for 
intermediate wheat grass (Table 1). 
 
Managed haying and grazing is 
restricted to the following types of 
CRP cover practices: CP1, 
Permanent Introduced Grasses and 
Legumes; CP 2, Permanent Native 
Grasses; CP 4B, Permanent Wildlife 
Habitat (corridor), noneasement; CP 
4D, Permanent Wildlife Habitat, 
noneasement; CP 10, Vegetative 
Cover–Established Grass; CP 18B; 
Permanent Vegetation Cover to 
Reduce Salinity, noneasement; and 
CP 18C; Permanent Salt Tolerant 
Vegetative Cover, noneasement.   
 
Managed Grazing Provisions 
 
 The managed grazing period for  CRP in pubescent wheatgrass.  
These acres would provide an 
estimated 150 AUMs of managed 
grazing (0.75 AUMs/acre x 200 
acres = 150 AUMs). 
 
The final provisions for managed 
grazing of CRP in Montana also 
contain animal unit equivalent 
values (Table 3).  For instance, 
heifers in the 18 to 24 month 
range  would have an animal unit 
equivalent of 1.00. 
 
Reconsider the example of 200 
acres of CRP that was estimated to 
Produce 150 AUMs of grazing.  
The producer has 100 head of 
heifers 18 to 24 months of age to 
graze.  The producer wants to 
determine the number of months 
that this 100 head could be grazed 
on the 200 acres of CRP.  Each 
heifer is equivalent to one animal  
one grazing period can not be use in 
another grazing period. 
 
Per acre animal unit estimates by 
grass species and annual 
precipitation levels are included in 
the final provisions for managed 
grazing of CRP in Montana (Table 
2).  For instance, pubescent 
wheatgrass in an area with 10 to 14 
inches of precipitation would be 
expected to provide 0.75 animal 
units per acre whereas in a area with 
over 18 inches of precipitation there 
would be expected production of 
1.50 animal units per acre.  These 
production estimates assume that 
actual precipitation is realized within 
the ranges specified and do not 
reflect drought conditions. 
 
Consider as an example that a 
producer in a 10 to 14 inch 
precipitation area has  200 acres of 
CRP is limited to no more than 120 
days per year.  The established CRP  
grazing periods for Montana are: 
Spring Grazing Period, February 15 to 
May 14; and Summer/Fall Grazing 
Period, July 16 to November 12.  
Producers may not graze the same 
acreage during the spring grazing 
period and the summer/fall grazing 
period. 
 
Managed grazing is allowed on the 
same field once every three years and 
100 percent of a field or contiguous 
field may be grazed.  Livestock must 
be removed from a CRP field when 
the calculated number of animal unit 
months (AUMs) have been utilized 
(irrespective of the number of days 
livestock have grazed).  But all 
livestock must be removed by May 14 
for spring grazing period or 
November 12 for the summer/fall 
grazing period. Unused AUMs from 
Table 1:  Required Height after Cutting of  
                CRP Lands Managed for Haying 
Height after Cutting 
(in inches) 
Grass Species 
2  Crested Wheatgrass 
Siberian Wheatgrass 
Russian Wildrye 
White Clover 
3  Kentucky Bluegrass 
Timothy 
Red Clover 
Cicer Milkvetch 
Birdsfood Trefoil 
4  Smooth Brome 
Meadow Brome 
Orchardgrass 
Alfalfa 
Western Wheatgrass 
Green Needlegrass 
5  Tall Fescue 
6  Pubescent Wheatgrass 
Intermediate Wheatgrass 
Tall Wheatgrass 
Slender Wheatgrass 
Reed Canarygrass 
* Several of these grass species, including White Clover,  
   Tall Fescue and Reed Canarygrass were seldom used  
    in grass mixtures for CRP in Montana. 
Table 2:  Estimates of the Production of Animal Units per Acre for  
               Managed CRP Grazing, by Grass Species and Annual  
               Precipitation Range 
Grass Species  10-14 Inch  
Precipitation 
15-18 Inch 
Precipitation 
Greater than 
19 Inch  
Precipitation 
Crested Wheatgrass  0.70  1.20  —— 
Siberian Wheatgrass  0.70  1.20  —— 
Pubescent Wheatgrass  0.75  1.25  1.50 
Intermediate Wheatgrass  1.00  1.25  1.60 
Tall Wheatgrass  2.00  2.50  —— 
Slender Wheatgrass  0.40  ——  —— 
Smooth Bromegrass  ——  1.30  2.00 
Orchardgrass  0.80  1.20  1.50 
Russian Wildrye  0.60  1.00  —— 
Timothy  ——  1.00  1.50 
Western Wheatgrass  0.70  0.90  1.00 
Alfalfa  1.00  1.40  1.60 
White Clover  ——  0.60  0.75 
Bluebunch Wheatgrass  0.65  0.80  0.90 
Green Needlegrass  0.75  1.00  1.10 
Thickspike Wheatgrass  0.75  0.80  0.90 Consider as an example a contract 
where the annual CRP rental rate 
per acre is $40.  The payment 
reduction for haying or grazing 
would be $10 per acre ($40/acre x 
0.25 reduction).   
 
Before a producer enters into an 
agreement with the Farm Service 
Agency to use the managed haying 
and grazing option, the producer 
needs to consider how much 
harvested or grazed forage they 
obtain for a 25 percent reduction in 
the annual CRP rental payment. 
 
Consider a managed grazing 
example.  The producer has a CRP 
cover pubescent wheatgrass in a 10 
to 14 inch precipitation area.  An 
acre is expected to produce 0.75 
animal units of grazing.  If the 
annual CRP rental rate is $40 per 
acre, this producer will have the 
rental payment reduced by $10 per 
acre.   The grazing cost per acre 
would be $10 if fencing and 
watering cost, etc., were negligible.  
The costs of grazing per AUM 
would be $13.33 [($10/acre)/ (0.75 
AUM/acre) = $13.33/AUM].           
 
Producers need to remain cognizant 
that under drought conditions 
production of AUMs will likely 
decline but the costs incurred per 
acre would likely remain 
unchanged. 
 
Producer Decisions Relative to 
Managed Haying and Grazing of 
CRP 
 
Several factors need to be 
considered by CRP contract holders 
making decisions whether to hay or 
graze CRP lands under managed 
haying and grazing provisions, 
especially in light of continuing 
drought.  The first factor that may 
receive consideration is which CRP 
lands should be hayed and grazed.  
Another factor is the actual cost per 
AUM of grazing or per ton of hay 
derived from the managed haying 
and grazing of CRP land.  And  
dates for initiating spring grazing, 
haying or fall grazing.      
 
Existing CRP contracts must have a 
Conservation Plan Modification form 
completed and signed by all 
participants on the CRP contract to 
add the managed haying and grazing 
option.  This includes the most recent 
contracts under which cropland was 
just enrolled in CRP and contracts 
modified in the 2003 crop year under 
initial provisions to allow managed 
haying and grazing. 
 
Costs of Managed Haying and 
Grazing 
 
For a  CRP contract approved for 
managed haying and grazing,  each 
acre hayed or grazed will incur a 
reduction in annual CRP equal to 25 
percent of the scheduled annual CRP 
rental payment.   
 
unit (per Table 3), so 100 head 
would require 100 AUMs per month 
(100 head x 1.00AUM/head = 100 
AUMs).  The producer could graze 
the 100 head for 1.5 months on the 
200 acres of CRP (150 AUMs/100 
AUMs/month = 1.5 months). 
 
Producers may not hay and graze the 
same CRP acreage in the same crop 
year. 
 
Approval for Managed Haying 
and Grazing 
 
The final provisions require a 
producer to have a haying or grazing 
plan and written approval through 
the county-level Farm Service 
Agency office  before haying and 
grazing can begin each year.  So 
producers contemplating either 
managed grazing or haying need to 
take action through their local Farm 
Service Agency offices prior to the 
Table 3:  Animal unit Equivalents by Animal Class and Kind for  
                Utilization of CRP Land Managed for Grazing 
Animal Kind/Class  Animal Unit/Equivalent 
Cow, Dry (1,000 lbs.)  0.85 
Cow, (1,000 lbs.) with calf to 4 months  1.00 
Cow, (1,100 lbs.) with calf to 4 months  1.10 
Cow, (1,200 lbs.) with calf to 4 months  1.20 
Cow, (1,300 lbs.) with calf to 4 months  1.30 
Calf, 4 months to weaning  0.30 
Yearling cattle, 7-12 months  0.56-0.65 
Yearling cattle, 12-17 months  0.75 
Heifers, 18-24 months  1.00 
Bulls, 12-24 months  1.20 
Bulls, mature (1,850 lb. Average)  1.50 
Horse, yearling  0.75 
Horse, 2-year old  1.00 
Horse, mature  1.25 
Sheep, mature lactating ewe, with lamb, 
less than two months 
0.17 
Sheep, non-lactating ewe  0.15 
Lamb, 2 months to weaning  0.06 
Lamb, weaned to yearling  0.12 of the annual CRP rental rate is 
divided by the adjusted per acre 
carrying capacity to determine the 
cost per AUM.  Through these 
calculations the producer has some 
basis for comparison.    
 
Producers will evaluate what other 
alternatives are available for 
livestock feed if the consideration is 
feed for their livestock.  For 
comparison, the recent quoted 
AUM rate for private treaty grazing 
was $15.10 (often with fencing and 
water distribution the responsibility 
of the landlord).  Similar price 
quotes can be obtained for hay by 
major types.  These comparisons are 
also useful to CRP contact holders 
attempting to market hay and/or  
grazing to other producers. 
a  producer can determine the 
estimated AUM output under the 
pertinent precipitation range.  If a 
producer is making these 
determinations under drought 
conditions, the tabled values may 
need to adjusted downward to reflect 
an adjusted  carrying capacity.  
Improved estimates of forage 
availability can be obtained by 
weighing representative areas in a 
CRP field contemplated for managed 
grazing. Refer to the AUM analyzer 
at the following website: www.
montana.edu.wwwpb/pubs/mt9704.
html.  Next the producer will need to 
calculate the cost per acre as 25 
percent of the scheduled rental rate 
(and include other costs such as 
fencing and livestock watering when 
such are incurred).  This 25 percent 
another factor is the cost of 
alternatives for providing feed for 
a producer’s livestock. 
 
In the recent drought-impacted 
years CRP lands were hayed and 
grazed in many Montana 
counties.  But in each of these 
counties many more acres of CRP 
land were neither hayed nor 
grazed; such acres may be the 
acres considered for managed 
haying and grazing. 
 
As a process for a producer to 
assess the advisability of managed 
grazing, it will be useful for a 
producer to determine the 
predominant grass species in each 
CRP field.  Then by referencing 
the appropriate column in Table 2 
The programs of the MSU Extension Service are available to all people regardless of race, color, national origin, 
gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or family status.  Issued in  
furtherance of cooperative extension work in agriculture and home economics, acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in  
cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Dr. Douglas Steele, Vice Provost and Director, Extension  
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Managed Haying and Grazing of CRP

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