Heavy subsidies from taxpayers

Public land livestock grazing is simply a huge waste of money. Last year, the Forest Service and BLM lost twice as much money on grazing programs as they spent to restore endangered species habitat. In one year, they spend over $100 million on managing livestock grazing and receive only $15 million in fees from ranchers. To put this into perspective, it costs a rancher $1.35 per cow/calf pair per month (a sheep pair is only 27 cents). That means it costs more to feed your hamster than it does to feed a 1000 lb. cow!! Compare that with the private land market value of a cow/calf pair at $11.10 and the disparity is obvious. In addition, half the $1.35 fee is given back to ranchers in the form of “range betterment funds” to pay for fences, water tanks and equipment