BLM grazing rules up for comment

[icampbell87]

If wolves improve habitats due to pushing ungulates off of sensitive areas that would grow back healthier , it stands to reason that less (invasive) cattle would be good for the land, as well.

 

[jkoehle1]

Yes, it still is.

That national headcount factors all live cattle. Dairy cows, dairy bulls, dairy calves, beef steers and sterile heifers already in feed lots, etc. It is not an accurate representation of the beef market.

The national beef cow headcount as of Jan. 1, 2026 per the USDA, is around 27.6 million. That is mother cows of a breed meant for beef production. This is the important number for two reasons. It is the number of animals continuing to reproduce year after year and it almost exclusively the category of animals that ranches are turning out during the summer months on these BLM permits.

Of those 27.6 million, the 11 western states are home to ~5.5-6 million

From what I could find, there are 12.6 million total active AUMs. That is enough to support 3.2-4.2 million cow/calf pairs for a 3-4 month grazing window. This is the most common use window. For the sake of this conversation we will stick to that, although it is highly likely the number is higher as some ranches will run more cows for a shorter period of time, still equating to the same total of AUMs.

But again we will call it between 58% and 76% of that 5.5 million are utilizing some public land at some point. That is 13-15% of the national total of mother beef cows. These are the cattle that are producing the calves year after year that are sent to feed lots to be butchered. Which means that 13-15% of the national beef calf crop are also utilizing these public lands.

And I understand that some people will still view that as an insignificant percentage but it is absolutely not. Especially if you don’t like eating Holstein and Jersey ribeyes.

United States cattle inventory down slightly

USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service Information. NASS publications cover a wide range of subjects, from traditional crops, such as corn and wheat, to specialties, such as mushrooms and flowers; from calves born to hogs slaughtered; from agricultural prices to land in farms. The agency...

www.nass.usda.gov

27.6 million x 12 months = 331.2 million AUM annually.

Seems like 3-4 million AUM represents about 1% of all cattle grazing - from your numbers.

If you tripled it - or quadrupled it - youre still in single digits.