Pasture and Forage Minute: Partial Budgeting for Forage Changes, Grazing Bt Corn Residue

By Shannon Sand and Ben Beckman

When deciding pasture decisions for the season, partial budgeting can help evaluate whether replanting, rotating or renovating pasture is the most economical choice.

Partial budgeting focuses only on items that change as a result of a management decision. This makes it useful for forage improvements where costs and returns may shift over time. A simple partial budgeting includes four components:

1. Added Costs — new expenses such as seed, fertilizer, herbicide or custom work required to establish or improve the stand. 
2. Reduced Income — Temporary reductions in grazing or hay production during establishment or transition.
3. Added Returns — Higher forage yields, improved quality, or greater carrying capacity that increase future potential income. 
4. Reduced Costs — Savings from lower weed pressure, better stand longevity or fewer purchased feed needs. 

By estimating these values, producers can determine whether the expected gains outweigh the short-term costs. For example, renovating an older pasture may require upfront investments and some lost grazing time. The goal is that improved productivity could reduce feed costs and support more consistent performance over time.

Producers can use partial budgeting worksheets, enterprise budgets or the Ag Budget Calculator available on UNL CAP to create and compare different scenarios tailored to their operation. Taking the time to run the numbers helps producers or managers to ensure forage decisions strengthen both the pasture resource and overall financial resilience.