Maintaining a Profit While Meeting Government and Environmental Demands: A Challenge for Rangeland Efficiency

Kenneth J. Crane

The livestock industry has been under siege in recent years. Poor markets, extreme climatic fluctuations, a deluge of invasive weeds, increased government regulations, and attacks from anti-grazing activists are pushing many range livestock producers, particularly those in the federally dominated western states, to the brink of annihilation.

Three areas affecting ranch profitability are markets, production, and operating costs. Marketing and productive rangelands are typically not considered to be closely related. However, even with the assault of environmental groups and outspoken activists, the majority of the general public is not prejudiced against the livestock industry: they simply want assurances that rangelands, particularly federal rangelands, are being well managed. Innovative marketing strategies highlighting products produced in an environmentally friendly manner are virtually untapped. Certification programs for natural or organically produced beef or lamb, and seals for environmentally friendly public lands beef emphasize products grown in an environmentally sensitive manner as well as products that are healthy for the consumer.

Although we may begrudge environmentalists causing turmoil in some resource industries, they have in some cases, brought to light relevant issues that were ignored because of the difficulty in addressing them or because of a lack of understanding of their importance to non agriculturists. Most ranchers understand the importance of healthy rangelands to the productivity and longevity of their operations. Highly productive range must be maintained if the ranch is to be passed to the next generation. After all, beef and lamb is only a by-product of the forage produced. There is sufficient evidence to believe that today, western rangelands are in better condition than any other time in the 20th century. This is due primarily to the improved knowledge of rangeland function in the arid west, and to ranchers adjusting management to accommodate this new knowledge. Increased rangeland productivity has provided many related benefits such as greater soil stability, improved wildlife habitat, greater quantities of high quality water, and in some cases increased stocking rates, as well as improved weaning weights and pregnancy rates.

It is fair to say that that there have been significant costs associated with much of the rangeland improvement as well. Many livestock producers, particularly on federal lands have taken drastic reductions in numbers or have made major changes in grazing systems to accommodate efforts to improve range conditions. Yet in far too many cases, reductions were not warranted and only served to satisfy draconian federal policies and bring added stress to already slim profit margins. Many operations can ill afford reduced numbers. In fact, today’s slim profit margins pressure many operators to increase herd size in order to maximize production or face loss of credit and insolvency. This is evidenced by the epidemic loss of smaller family farms and ranches to large corporate enterprises. At the same time, the need to maximize production emphasizes the importance of maintaining healthy, diverse, and productive rangelands. New government regulation, such as the Clean Water Act, has forced federal land management agencies to reevaluate management in an attempt to meet water quality objectives of Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) imposed by the Environmental Protection Agency and sister agencies within state governments. It is yet unclear how TMDL’s will impact rangeland grazing operations and other potential non-point pollution sources, but we can be sure that pressure to adjust management will increase.

Maximizing production requires ranches to improve efficiency of management strategies in order to minimize operation costs. In this process, more complicated and labor intensive grazing strategies and rotations will likely result. Additional operational costs will also be incurred from new or improved processing facilities, fencing, water developments and increased riding responsibilities. Managers must be thoughtful and innovative when planning annual ranch operations to achieve long term goals. Getting ahead of the curve by anticipating emerging issues can be critical. Early and sincere involvement with agency managers and activists may bring understanding of mutual and common interest for healthy rangelands. Forming local management teams through the Coordinated Resource Management or Holistic Resource Management process may in the long run bring adversarial parties together and lead to trust and the development of realistic goals and accomplishments.

With the demand on our open spaces, both public and private, increasingly everyday ranchers must be progressive and forward thinking. Trends of increased public involvement and government regulation are sure to continue and create challenges for ranchers. Ranchers must take the initiative. Maintaining profitable ranching operations on rangelands will be an effort in management of public opinion as much as resource management.

Kenneth J. Crane
Range Management Specialist
Idaho Department of Agriculture
2270 Old Penitentiary Road
Boise, ID 83707
Tel: (208) 332-8566
kcrane@agri.state.id.us

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