We are in Texas and have found that larger tracts of land are absentee owners, and most grazing rights are very hard to come across. This is mostly because the land is just sublet, often in violation of contract terms. When the original tenant no longer needs the land their "brother in law" ends up with it. This causes most times for the landowner to receive less than they should because they do not increase their prices over time thinking they are still leasing to the same person. Demand is there. In our area of Texas the price per acre fluctuates drastically from $5 to $30 per acre. I have a website that is designed to help landowners market their grazing rights. We are trying to help set equilibrium for this commodity as well. Does anyone know how I can find surface owner databases or any other way to contact landowners? Right now we have plenty of potential lessees but are in need of landowners.
You might have already done or considered this, but I would say your best bet is to visit the appraisal districts in your prospective counties. Many appraisal rolls are now online, so you might start there. There are many databases, but I find trueautomation.com/index.php/Property_Search to be one of the better ones if the county you are looking for is listed there. But it will take you a little time to weed through all the people that own houses, or under 100 or so acres, to find the landowners that own a marketable amount of grazing land. Good luck.