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Re: [RC] Wolves,bears,snakes,public lands/yippee - heidiHow much of western livestock ranching depends to some extent on MY subsidising it?How much of the west IS cattle country,absent federal/public subsidy of some sort?There are cattle all over Virginia,generally a profitable part time operation on small parcels of land.Absent grazing subsidies,can western cattle raising profitably stand in competition with areas of abundant rainfall? No? The guys in Virginia who raise cattle are not subsidised to my knowledge,and they damn sure are not getting any sort of cultural cowboy fantasy kick out of it.So...let's be moderate,and avoid extremes here. FYI, Ray--virtually none. The western cattleman pays an AUM fee (a monthy per-head fee--"Animal Unit Month") for the grazing. When compared to leasing private land, it pencils out about the same. On the private lease, the owner pays the upkeep, the fencing, the improvements, etc. and passes that on to the lessee. On federal lands, the rancher pays the upkeep, the fencing, the improvments (development of springs to maximize water availability while minimizing impact on the land, etc.) and when one adds those costs in to what he pays for the grazing lease, the cost per AUM is almost identical. All too often, the "comparison" is made on just what the rancher pays to the BLM or USFS with what the private lessee pays, without comparing what one gets for the money and what else the the rancher has to put into the kitty to get the same thing back out. You have to look at the entire equation to be able to compare. Heidi ============================================================ Prudence and focus will carry you a long way on a horse. ~ Frank Solano ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/ ============================================================
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