Rocky Mountain Research Station

Title: Projected use of grazed forages in the United States: 2000 to 2050: A technical document supporting the 2000 USDA Forest Service RPA Assessment

Author: van Tassell, Larry W.; Bartlett, E. Tom; Mitchell, John E.

Date: 2001

Source: Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-82. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 73 p.

Station ID: GTR-RMRS-82

Description: Scenario analysis techniques were used to combine projections from 35 grazed forage experts to estimate future forage demand scenarios and examine factors that are anticipated to impact the use of grazed forages in the South, North, and West Regions of the United States. The amount of land available for forage production is projected to decrease in all regions while local impacts from environmental concerns and government policies will be significant in areas where resource concerns have already emerged. Urban sprawl, suburbanization, and increased demands for recreation were projected to be the major factors decreasing grazing lands. A decline in the utilization of grazing lands by livestock is anticipated in the West and North Regions but should not change significantly in the South Region. Conversely, wildlife utilization of grazing lands is anticipated to increase in all regions, with nonconsumptive utilization of wildlife being a significant contributor to this trend. Technology development in forage production is projected to play a role in the utilization of grazed forages in the West and South Regions but not as much in the North Region. Grazing system technology and biological control of weeds are the two most anticipated developments.

Keywords: rangeland, Resources Planning Act, scenario analysis, livestock grazing, wildlife, environmental issues, grazing technology

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Citation

van Tassell, Larry W.; Bartlett, E. Tom; Mitchell, John E.  2001.  Projected use of grazed forages in the United States: 2000 to 2050: A technical document supporting the 2000 USDA Forest Service RPA Assessment.   Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-82. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 73 p..