The cash deal works the best if the cow owner has a few chips in his pocket. As far as shares goes, it might sound paranoid, but you really have to know how good the cows are. Splits around here (NE Panhandle) run between 60 and 72%, or so I hear. If you need to know how not to run cows on shares, p.m. me! Just started another deal, jury's still out.