The Grass Rancher Is Important to the 
Nation 
The modern rancher is no piker when it comes 
to producing food for the Nation. Conditions vary 
a great deal but it would not be far wrong to say 
that the average ranch contains 10,000 acres capable 
of producing 200 to 300 pounds of forage per acre. 
This means 2 to 3 million pounds of grass, which is 
a lot of hay. If he uses reasonably good judgment 
in the use of this feed, he may market 75,000 to 
100,000 pounds of meat animals. This should give 
the rancher a justifiable feeling of pride as one of 
the producers of foodstuff for the Nation. 
At the same time, however, the country has 
entrusted to the rancher’s care a sizable acreage of 
land. With this privilege to use goes the responsi- 
bility to take care of this land and keep it in a 
productive state. In doing this, the rancher must 
produce enough to make his own livelihood. It 
has been said that poor people and poor methods 
make poor land. The ranch that does not provide 
a satisfactory livelihood for the operator will not 
be given good care by him. Of course, the state- 
ment is also true in reverse: the ranch that is not 
given good care cannot provide a good livelihood 
for the operator. A well-balanced ranch operation 
requires careful livestock husbandry; it requires 
equally careful management of the grass. 
Ranchers who want help on their ranch-manage- 
ment problems can get it from their county agents 
or from the Soil Conservation Service technicians 
assigned to work with their soil conservation 
districts. 
The rancher must know his grasses, when they grow, the season each kind is most useful, and how much 
grazing they will tolerate. 
U, S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1954 
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office 
Washington 25, D. C. 
- Price 10 cents 
