Local Demand and Federal Lands 



The discussions and analysis of demand for range 

 grazing up to this point have been solely in terms of 

 the relationship to demand for food at the national 

 level. However, since grazing as a source of livestock 

 feed is geographically fixed, there are important 

 aspects of local demand for range grazing which 

 differ from national and regional demands. In gen- 

 eral, local demand for range grazing responds to the 

 local mix and availability of other livestock feeds. 

 Range grazing is currently integrated into the bal- 

 anced operation of each individual cattle and sheep 

 producing operation. Changes in the amount of range 

 grazing or inability of the range to increase produc- 

 tion relative to increases in total demand for grazing 

 will adversely impact livestock producers using range 

 grazing. 



Importance of Federal lands. — Livestock grazing 

 on Federal range is of major importance in the live- 

 stock production process in the 1 1 western States, 

 where 90 percent of the Federally-owned grazed lands 

 are located. The quantity of grazing permitted is con- 

 trolled by the capacity of the land to sustain livestock 

 grazing in relation to other use requirements. 



Much of the Federal land grazing is seasonal and 

 falls into a natural complementary role in year-round 

 cattle or sheep production enterprises. The Federal 

 lands provide feed in one or more seasons of the year, 

 often when forage on associated privately owned 

 lands is not available, and the rancher provides feed 

 for the remainder of the year from the privately 

 owned lands. Since this complementary use of land in 

 private and Federal ownership follows the natural 

 production capacity of the land, it represents a more 

 efficient use of grazing resources than can be accom- 

 plished by other combinations of land use. Thus, the 

 efficiency of the livestock industry in areas with large 

 acreages of Federal land open to grazing has a strong 

 relationship to Federal range grazing. In such areas, 

 the demand for Federal range grazing is very strong. 



The limiting factor in many local areas (especially 

 in the West) that determines the operating size of 

 many livestock operations is often the amount of 

 Federal range available during seasons of feed short- 

 age on the privately-owned range.'*'' Such critical 

 periods may occur in the fall prior to hay feeding, in 

 the summer when forage on private lands is low in 

 nutritive value compared to forage on Federal ranges 

 at higher elevations, or when private lands are needed 

 to produce crops for winter forage. The relationship 



"•o Bartleu, E. T., L. E. Mack, Garth Taylor. Economic effects of 

 reductions in Federal grazing upon the economy of Colorado. 

 Unpublished manuscript. June 1979. 



of range grazing on Federal lands is very strong in 

 many local areas, and variations in the supply of this 

 source of grazing have a significant impact on the 

 livestock industry in those areas. Alternative sources 

 of feed are available to the private sector in some 

 situations, while some livestock operations depend 

 wholly upon the Federal lands for their livestock for- 

 age. While the growth rate of the cattle industry over- 

 all might be reduced, the industry can make adjust- 

 ments to restrictions in the quantity of Federal 

 grazing available.'*' 



'^\ 



\« 





Much of the grazing on Federal lands, such as that in this 

 high basin, is seasonal, taking place only in the warm 

 months of the year. 



The sheep industry is especially dependent upon 

 Federal grazing lands. Nearly half of the sheep pro- 

 ducers that own more than 2,500 head of sheep use 

 Federal range, which provides about 42 percent of 

 their annual forage requirements. The cattle industry 

 and production of beef is widely distributed through 

 the United States, and the Federal lands provide a 

 minor portion of the total feed consumed by beef 

 cattle. While the Federal land relationship to cattle 

 production is not as dramatic as with sheep, the rela- 

 tionship between sources of feed and cattle produc- 

 tion is often very important in local situations and to 

 individual users throughout the western States. Fed- 

 eral land has minor local impacts on the livestock 

 production process outside the western States. 



"' Godfrey, E. Bruce. Private adjustments to changes in grazing 

 on public lands. Unpublished manuscript prepared under contract 

 by Utah State University for RPA, Forest Service. May 1978. 



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