Stock-handling facilities
An inspection of stock-handling facilities on the agistment property to assess:
• access;
• ease of working during unloading and loading; and
• suitability for routine management procedures; will give an indication of the time and labour involved.
It is advantageous if the property under consideration has efficient stock-handling facilities.
A written assurance given by the resident manager of the agistment property that use of the facilities is permitted may be important.
Period of agistment
Whether or not there is considerable expense involved in moving stock to an agistment property, the licensee should seek to establish an agreed period of agistment with an option to renew the agistment agreement. Failure to establish an agreed period of agistment places the licensee in a position where the licensor has a right to terminate the agistment agreement at short notice. Clearly the uncertainty of no agreed period of agistment, and the possibility of disruption and inconvenience of termination at short notice, should be avoided by all stock owners seeking agistment for stock.
Fees
Fees expected for agistment will be determined by seasonal conditions. The fee per head paid by a licensee can be up to the point where it equates with hand feeding costs. Hidden advantages and costs influencing the agistment fee are:
• quality of feed
• nature of supervision
• provision of facilities
• method of payment
• duration of agreement
• stock numbers involved
• distance from home property
• cost of fodder for hand feeding.
As a guide, a common rate in June 2000 was around $2 per week for a dry cow, $3 per week for a breeding cow with a calf at foot and 20c to 30c per week for a breeding ewe. In times of feed shortages and high prices for supplementary feed, rates will be higher.
While it might be the generally accepted practice that payments of agistment fees are made by monthly payments in advance, stock owners who seek to agist stock should obtain a specific, written, agreement on the terms of payment of agistment fees, whether that be by monthly payments in advance or by other agreed terms of payment.
Feasibility of agistment
The main economic determinant in assessing whether the agistment option is to be taken up is the break-even time period for the cost of leaving stock on agistment compared with the cost of hand feeding at home. To calculate the break-even time, the following costs must be known:
Hand feeding
Feed mix @ $ /head/week
Labour cost @ $ /head/week
Fuel cost @ $ /head/week
Agistment
Transport cost to and from agistment
@ $ /head/week
Agistment fees
@ $ /head/week
Inspection costs/week @ $ /head/week
Note that inclusion of labour cost for the hand feeding option assumes that labour may be gainfully employed elsewhere on the property instead of being utilised for hand feeding.
Transport cost for the agistment option should include the cost of the return trip, or the cost of the trip to the saleyard, at the end of the agistment period.
Inspection costs for the agistment option include the time and vehicle costs involved in inspecting the stock. As a general guide, in 2000 the running cost of a vehicle would be around 25c/km to cover fuel, tyres and repairs.
Calculating weekly inspection costs
If a weekly inspection of agisted stock involved a round trip of 400 km and a total of 8 hours’ travelling and inspection time, the cost for 200 breeding cows for 1 week would be calculated as follows:
Travelling costs:
400 × 25c = $100 per week
Plus 8 hours’ travelling and inspection time at, say, $15 per hour:
8 × $15 = $120 per week Total inspection cost:
$100 + $120 = $220 per week Therefore inspection cost per breeder:
$220 ÷ 200 = $1.10 per week
Calculating the break-even period
Example
For a breeding cow:
Hand feeding
Feed mix @ $5.00/head/week Labour cost @ $0.40/head/week Fuel cost @ $0.20/head/week Total: $5.60/head/week
Agistment
Transport cost to and from agistment @ $15/head Agistment fees @ $3.00/head/week
Weekly inspection @ $1.10/head/week
