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Research and Education Opportunities in Livestock Grazing¹

Utah State University, Logan 84322

Abstract

About 323.8 million ha of the lower 48 states are rangeland, and the major economic use of this vast area is range livestock production. Despite this fact, the contribution to research and education by governmental agencies and universities is disproportionately low. The 11 Western Land-Grant Universities in 1975 had only 18 Full-Time-Equivalent (FTE) scientist years devoted to rangeland research. In that same year, contributions of all USDA federal research organizations totaled 27 FTE scientist years. This effort is miniscule when one considers the magnitude of the rangeland resources and what the rangelands offer socially and economically to the Western states. In comparison with the 27 federal scientist years in range research, there were 1,331 FTE federal scientist years devoted by USDA to forestry research in 1975. This difference is staggering. Universities have not fully recognized the desirability of having research and educational programs in range science and livestock grazing of a size in keeping with the need. Range science has historically resided as small programs at Western Land-Grant Universities in such departments as forestry, agronomy, plant science, botany and animal science. Because animal science departments universally have larger staffs, bigger budgets and more flexibility in recruiting and hiring scientists and teachers than do range science departments or programs, they should take the opportunity to lead a major effort in Western grazing research and education. It seems obvious that animal and range science programs could both benefit from more serious efforts at collaboration than have occurred in the past. Quality teaching and research on grazing interactions between livestock and the range environment will require more collective efforts between animal and range scientists. In almost all such undertakings, it must be recognized that range livestock grazing and production is a unique and specialized area demanding the best of both animal and range scientists.

¹ Paper presented at the Symposium on "Cowboys and Courtroom Brawls," held at the 71st Annu. Meet, of the ASAS, Univ. of Arizona, Tucson, Aug. 1, 1979.

² Head, Dept. of Range Sci.