Why Ranchers matter. There is not as much rangeland for cattle raising as there was in the past, but there is more right now than there will ever be again. Pigs and chickens can currently be raised in barns cheaper than grazers can be raised on forage, e.g. grass and forbs(weeds).However, raising pigs and chickens in confinement relies on grain, grain is edible by humans. Cattle and others grazers convert forage, inedible by humans, into protein that humans can consume. Rangeland is being converted to other uses due to immediate profits, urban sprawl, energy, and recreation. Unfortunately, a ranch can be converted into a suburb much quicker than a suburb can be returned to a ranch. When people destroy something Man has made it is called vandalism, but when people destroy something Nature has made it is considered progress. I am not anti-progress, but it is a natural fact that any species that proliferates unchecked, overwhelms its resources. Nature has a remedy for this, but it is very unpleasant. Massive die-offs due to disease and starvation. Despite record prices, ranching has never been less profitable. Raising grazing animals can no longer compete financially with alternative desires for open space. I am afraid that by the time the free market realizes that food is more important, it will be a very painful adjustment.
Posted on: Sun, 24 Aug 2014 02:46:45 +0000
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