Rangeland and Livestock Management Review

Economic and Social Considerations in Rangeland Livestock and Wildlife

When determining the livestock composition for a ranch, managers must weigh several economic and social factors between cattle, sheep, and goats. Assuming a ranch is equally suited for both cattle and sheep, cattle raising is often preferred due to lower labor requirements and a significant reduction in predator-related problems. However, sheep offer a distinct economic advantage by producing two separate products: wool and meat. In environments where oaks dominate the vegetation, goats have been shown to yield higher economic returns. Ultimately, the integration of cattle and wildlife has been identified as providing the highest overall economic returns for rangeland managers, highlighting the importance of diversifying land use.

Common-Use Grazing and Rangeland Efficiency

Common-use grazing, or the practice of grazing multiple types of livestock on the same range, offers several substantial benefits to ranch productivity. This strategy can significantly increase total livestock production from a ranch and often promotes a a more balanced distribution of animals across the landscape. Because different animals prefer different forage, common-use grazing ensures a greater variety of available plant species are grazed, leading to improved uniformity in rangeland use. Economically, this provides income diversification, making the ranch less dependent on the market volatility of a single animal product. Furthermore, the practice reduces risks associated with disease and losses from poisonous plants.

Livestock Breeding Strategies and Herd Productivity

Implementing a 65-day breeding season provides several strategic advantages for rangeland managers focused on herd productivity and efficiency. One primary benefit is the resulting increase in weaning weights of the livestock. Furthermore, this restricted timeframe produces a more uniform calf crop, which is highly desirable during marketing and sales. Beyond the immediate crop, a shorter breeding season serves as a management tool to identify and cull low-producing cows that fail to conceive within the designated window, ensuring that the herd is composed of fertile, high-performing individuals.

Nitrate Accumulation and Toxicological Threats to Livestock

Livestock health is frequently threatened by plants that accumulate nitrates to toxic levels. These plants include common crops and forage such as sorghum, corn, sudangrass, Johnsongrass, oat hay, alfalfa, barley, and wheat. Several problematic weeds also act as nitrate accumulators, including pigweed, lambs quarters, carelessweed, kochia, Russian thistle, nightshade, bull thistle, Canadian thistle, sunflower, and bindweed. Additionally, various vegetables and root crops can pose a risk, specifically beets, sugar beets, lettuce, cabbage, and potatoes. Rangeland managers must be vigilant in identifying these species to prevent nitrate poisoning within their herds.

Conservation Programs and the Milkweed Paradox

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) provides incentive programs encouraging rangeland managers to promote milkweed growth to restore habitat for the monarch butterfly. However, livestock ranchers face a conflict of interest because milkweeds produce resins that negatively affect the muscular and nervous tissues of livestock, making them toxic if consumed in large quantities. While a rancher may have legitimate concerns about reduced forage and toxicity in active pastures, the program can be a beneficial way to supplement income if applied to land not currently used for livestock, effectively balancing butterfly conservation with ranching economics.

Prevention of Plant Poisoning in Livestock

To prevent livestock poisoning from toxic rangeland plants, managers must employ several proactive strategies. Maintaining high-quality forage is essential, as animals are less likely to consume toxic species if desirable plants are available. Range managers should never place animals on ranges containing poisonous plants if the animals have recently been on dry feed or are otherwise deprived of forage. Providing adequate salt is also critical; a lack of salt can lead animals to eat more than normal, including toxic species. Managers should also tailor their livestock choices to the specific range, as some animal types are more resistant to certain toxins, and in extreme cases, chemical weed control may be necessary to remove poisonous species entirely.

Societal Trends and Wildlife Demand on US Rangelands

There is a growing concern for wildlife on rangelands in the United States, driven largely by a higher human population with greater affluence, which has increased the demand for recreational opportunities. Society has also expressed a rising interest in how food is produced and the environmental impacts of that production. This shift necessitates a deeper understanding of how range management practices influence wildlife and how livestock grazing specifically interacts with rangeland fauna. Conservationists and ranchers alike must navigate these societal pressures while maintaining productive landscapes.

Habitat Heterogeneity and Structural Diversity

Habitat heterogeneity is defined as the existence of two or more different types of habitat within a single area, creating a variety of physical and environmental conditions. High habitat heterogeneity is exemplified by a tropical rainforest, which contains multiple layers of vegetation, varied light levels, and numerous microhabitats. In a rangeland context, high heterogeneity might see one area grazed heavily with short grass and low litter, while another area remains avoided with tall grass and dense litter. Conversely, low habitat heterogeneity is seen in uniform landscapes, such as a desert sand dune or a pasture where grass height and litter layers are consistent across the entire area.

The Ecological Impact of Shelterbelts on Rangelands

Planting shelterbelts or trees in native rangelands is a double-edged sword for wildlife. While these structures provide cover, shade, and nesting sites for species like turkeys and deer, they are generally detrimental to native rangeland fauna. Trees serve as shelters for mammalian predators and perches for raptors, which can significantly reduce the nesting and food cover success of rangeland-specific species. By increasing predator abundance and fragmenting open habitats, trees can lower the overall productivity of avian and mammalian species that are native to open grassland ecosystems.

Livestock Grazing as a Tool for Habitat Influence

Livestock grazing is a principal factor, alongside fire and burrowing animals, that can be manipulated to create a mosaic of habitat types through habitat heterogeneity. While conventional management often aims for even plant cover to maximize forage production and cattle carrying capacity, research suggests that cattle production is not necessarily compromised when managing for diverse wildlife habitats. An indirect effect of livestock grazing on wildlife habitat includes the removal or trampling of vegetation that could serve as food, as well as the overgrazing of riparian areas and potential reductions in plant species diversity.

Perceptions and Benefits of Prairie Dogs and Jackrabbits

Jackrabbits and prairie dogs are often the focus of rangeland research because their high populations and consumption of forage put them in direct competition with livestock. A 2016 survey by the University of Nebraska found that many ranchers view prairie dogs negatively, often holding the misperception that they destroy all available forage and severely harm livestock production. However, prairie dogs can offer benefits by increasing habitat diversity, improving soil conditions, and supporting other wildlife species. In the context of rangeland management, balancing these competitive costs with ecological benefits remains a significant challenge for land managers.

The Edge Effect and Biodiversity

The edge effect refers to the meeting of two different habitats, creating a transition zone that often supports higher wildlife populations. Most wildlife species require several types of vegetation to meet their varied needs, and the edge effect provides this diversity over short distances. For example, in northern New Mexico, livestock grazing has been used to diversify the rangeland by creating edge effects and variations in plant communities. Species such as the mule deer are known to prefer these diverse, transitional areas over uniform landscapes, demonstrating how managed grazing can enhance localized biodiversity.

Objectives and Elements of Prescribed Burning

Prescribed rangeland burning is utilized to achieve several management objectives: increasing or improving livestock forage by eliminating competing plants, reducing litter to stimulate desirable forage growth, and improving wildlife habitat. Additionally, it is used for fuel reduction to lower the risk of catastrophic wildfires and to reduce labor costs associated with handling horses and cattle. The combustion process requires three elements—oxygen, fuel, and heat—of which heat is the most easily manipulated by selecting specific weather conditions for the burn. Before combustion can occur, all moisture must be removed from the fuel source.

Wildlife Benefits and Timing of Rangeland Vegetation Control

Well-planned prescribed burns, particularly patch burning, are effective at creating habitat structural diversity and maintaining a variety of vegetation that enhances wildlife populations. When using other methods of vegetation control, such as chemical applications, it is important to note that plants are most sensitive to foliar spray when they are growing vigorously and their leaves are fully expanded. Strategic use of these tools allows managers to manipulate the plant community to favor specific conservation or production goals.

Successional Changes Resulting from Unplanned Winter Burning

Unplanned winter burns can cause rapid and distinct changes in plant communities, often denoted by an ecotone, or a sharp line of change in vegetation. In northeastern New Mexico, an unplanned winter burn transformed a shortgrass community dominated by blue grama into a midgrass plant community consisting of little bluestem and sideoats grama within just two years. Evaluation of such burns shows that while they may be unplanned, they provide valuable insights into how fire affects successional trends and the transition between different rangeland grass types.

Global Agricultural Economics and Policy Impacts

The structure of a country's economy significantly impacts agricultural production. In centrally planned or socialistic economies, the government controls production and distribution with the intent of equitable income and full employment. However, historical evidence suggests this often leads to efficiency failures, where higher-level bureaucrats and politicians benefit while common citizens face poverty, empty stores, and low-quality goods. In contrast, free trade is generally seen as a mechanism for improving human living conditions by increasing the availability of goods and services. Furthermore, large-scale planning in the US, such as road improvement, water development, and controlled burns within the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) budget, are categorized as integrated resource planning.

The Green Revolution and Fossil Fuel Dependency

The "Green Revolution" designates a shift toward intensive farming techniques designed to produce enough food for a rapidly growing global population. These techniques rely heavily on high inputs of fossil fuels for various stages of the agricultural process, including irrigation, cultivation, fertilization, harvesting, and transport. While reducing fossil fuel usage is a common environmental goal, many do not realize that modern mass-production farms are entirely dependent on these inputs. Without these high-input systems, or a return to individual food production by the majority of the population, there is a significant risk of widespread hunger, particularly among the poor.