Grazing Takeaways
Takeaways are key points detailed and referenced in the Grazing Numbers & Resource Use section
Grazing Numbers
More than 40% of the continental U.S. (~800 million acres) is considered grazing land.
About 60% of total land in the 10 states of the Mountain and Southern Plains regions is primarily used for grazing.
Of the 87 million cattle in the beef and dairy industries, ~59 million are grazing, slightly more than two-thirds.
About 5% of dairy cows are grazing on pasture; conversely, ~95% of dairy cows are mostly or completely confined.
Grazing on Federal Lands
More than 200 million acres of federal land are actively grazed under the management of the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service.
Broadly estimated, about 2.8 million cattle are grazing on federal lands; this is ~5% of the approximately 59 million cattle grazing on all U.S. land.
The estimate of 2.8 million cattle on federal lands does not include unauthorized cattle grazing; the extent of unauthorized grazing is largely unknown.
The grazing fee on federal lands is ~6% of the average cost of grazing on private lands; the current fee is lower than when it was first implemented in 1981.
The grazing fees collected by the BLM are less than half of what it costs to administer the grazing program.
Low grazing fees reflect the main purpose for allowing grazing on federal lands: to support ranchers and ranching communities.