Lease your land for cattle grazing in Wyoming
Wyoming ranks 78/100 for cattle grazing lease — strong statewide suitability. Wyoming is a top-tier state for this use; provider competition is strong.
Lease your Wyoming land for cattle grazing — Powder River Basin, BLM allotments, stacking
Wyoming grazing leases run $20-$32/AUM at 0.05-0.20 AUM/ac. How private leases compare to BLM, what large ranches command, and stacking with wind, oil-gas, and hunting outfitter leases.
Wyoming is roughly 91% rangeland or pasture — the highest percentage of any state. About 30 million acres are privately owned, with another 17 million acres under BLM or USFS grazing allotment access. Carrying capacity is low (mostly 0.05-0.20 AUM/ac) but the acreage scale is enormous.
Per-AUM lease rates in Wyoming
- Eastern plains (Powder River Basin grasslands): $22-$32/AUM at 0.10-0.20 AUM/ac
- Big Horn Basin (central): $20-$30/AUM at 0.08-0.18 AUM/ac
- Southwest (sagebrush steppe, Sweetwater County): $18-$26/AUM at 0.04-0.10 AUM/ac
- Northwest (Yellowstone gateway, irrigated valleys): $30-$45/AUM at 0.40-0.80 AUM/ac
- Black Hills (Crook County): $24-$34/AUM at 0.20-0.35 AUM/ac
A typical 10,000-acre Wyoming ranch at 0.12 AUM/ac × $24/AUM = $28,800/yr grazing income. Without stacking other revenue, ranches at this scale are barely profitable — which is why Wyoming ranches almost always have stacked income.
BLM allotments — the multiplier
Like Montana, most working Wyoming ranches have associated BLM grazing allotments that effectively double or triple their carrying capacity at $1.35/AUM federal fee. When listing a Wyoming ranch for lease, the BLM allotment is often more valuable than the deeded acreage. Verify allotment transferability with the rancher before negotiating.
The wind royalty multiplier
Wyoming is in the top-3 US wind states by potential. Eastern Wyoming wind royalties run $12-$15k/turbine/yr — meaning a single section (640 ac) with 3 turbines generates $36-$45k/yr, often more than the section's grazing income. Top wind counties: Laramie, Carbon, Albany, Converse, Natrona.
Stacking with oil-gas and hunting
Wyoming's Powder River Basin, Green River Basin, and Wind River Basin all produce oil/gas. For surface owners (even without mineral rights), surface-use payments and pipeline easements run $1k-$10k/well-pad/yr.
Hunting leases on Wyoming ranches are premium-priced. Trophy mule deer, elk, and antelope outfitters pay $30-$120/ac/yr on quality units. A 5,000-acre Carbon County ranch with strong elk/mule deer can earn more from a single outfitter lease than from grazing.
A 10,000-acre Converse County ranch could combine: $25k grazing + $60k oil-gas surface use + $80k outfitter hunting lease + $40k wind royalty = $205k/yr.
Best resources
- UW Extension Range Management — county agents and annual lease surveys
- Wyoming Stock Growers Association — for producer connections
- Outfitter & Guide associations (Wyoming Outfitters & Guides Assn.) — for hunting lease intros
- BLM Wyoming State Office — for allotment verification
Next step
Run a free Landholder.com assessment — we score your Wyoming parcel and identify wind/oil-gas/hunting stacking specific to your county.
Quick reference — cattle grazing lease basics
- 1Determine carrying capacity
Stocking density varies wildly: 0.05 AUM/acre in Nevada to 2.5 AUM/acre in Florida pasture. Your county Extension agent or NRCS conservation planner can give a site-specific estimate.
- 2Find a rancher
Local cattle producers, county Extension, or commercial brokers (Tillable, AcreTrader) all help match. Many leases are word-of-mouth via the local livestock association.
- 3Choose a structure
Per-AUM (most flexible), per-acre flat (most predictable), or revenue-share on weight gain (rare). Most contracts run 1-5 years with renewal.
- 4Set ground rules
Spell out stocking density, water responsibilities, fence maintenance, weed control, and entry rights for inspections.
Providers serving Wyoming
7 providers in our directory serve Wyoming for cattle grazing.
Land valuation and marketplace platform with parcel-level analytics; ag-focused.
Nationwide ag lender with a recourse network for landowners seeking working cattle tenants and stocker grazing leases.
Largest farm management and ag real estate firm in the US. Lease management, auctions, brokerage.
Premier US ranch brokerage since 1946. Specializes in working cattle ranches, hunting properties, and large rangeland transactions across the West and Plains.
Largest US marketplace for rural and recreational land sales. Listings reach millions of buyers.
Major US land marketplace specializing in farms, ranches, timber, hunting, and recreation tracts.
Colorado-based ranch brokerage focused on Western working cattle operations, recreational ranches, and grazing leases.
FAQ — Cattle grazing lease in Wyoming
Animal-unit-month — the forage consumed by one mature cow with her calf in one month. Standard pricing unit for US grazing leases.
BLM federal rates run ~$1.35/AUM (heavily subsidized). Private leases run $18-$45/AUM in the West, $20-$50 in the Plains, $18-$35 in the Southeast.
Negotiable. Tenant usually maintains existing water infrastructure (wells, troughs); landowner provides existing infrastructure. New wells/fencing are negotiated upfront.
Yes — most grazing leases reserve hunting rights to the landowner, who can keep them or sublease as a separate hunting lease for $5-$60/ac/yr.
Free, instant assessment — across all fifteen monetization paths, not just cattle grazing.