Rangeland production and recovery is highly variable and depends primarily on the timing and amount of precipitation. Ranch managers attempting to manage highly variable forage production can be compared to captains of sail boats who rely on equally fickle wind. The normal 10 year grazing lease with fixed terms and conditions effectively lock the rancher's sail and rudder to expectations of average conditions. Average conditions will never be the actual conditions faced by the ranch manager no matter how thoroughly vetted by best science. This policy will doom both ranchers and public lands to financial and ecological failure. To unlock the ranch manager's sail and rudder, grazing needs to be "results driven" with long-term results and goals established for each allotment congruent with rangeland health. These goals must be measureable so ranchers can be held accountable. In exchange, they must be granted flexibility within the allowed season of use and stocking rate to meet their goals. This type of rangeland management and administration requires accurate, timely, and cost effective assessment technology to monitor the impact of management practices, create trust, and allow for innovation and profitability.
Oral presentation and poster titles, abstracts, and authors from the Society for Range Management (SRM) Annual Meetings and Tradeshows, from 2013 forward.