Get reliable rangeland science

Reliable information documenting characteristics of public land ranchers is needed to help land managers and policy makers understand ranchers� economic and social validity, the diversity of operations, and the contributions to local communities. A survey was administered to gather these data. Data were collected at both the national and Wyoming levels. Cluster analysis was used to determine different rancher groups in both studies and the groups were then compared to one another. Rancher attributes gathered from survey responses were used as factors in determining the different cluster groups. These attributes included: values, debt-asset, ranch labor, ranch income, business organization, number of livestock, education, and community involvement. In the national study six distinct rancher groups were found. They included the small operation rancher, the sheep rancher, the family cattle rancher, the corporate rancher, the diversified agriculture rancher, and the cattle and sheep rancher. In the Wyoming study, four distinct rancher groups were found. These rancher groups were the small cow-calf rancher, the sheep rancher, the yearling rancher, and the large cow-calf rancher. It was found that ranchers are diverse and can be classified into different groups based on the information collected.� Different groups respond differently to federal lands grazing policies. This information should be considered when making policy or land management changes.