Grazing Action Plan Launched To Help Ranchers, Domestic Food Supply

On Tuesday, public lands ranchers joined Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum as the secretaries signed a Memorandum Of Understanding launching their Grazing Action Plan.

The Grazing Action Plan focuses on:

• Cutting red tape and improving efficiency – The MOU streamlines permitting and processes and encourages agencies to use existing authorities more effectively – reducing delays for grazing permits, infrastructure improvements, and emergency response actions.
• Strengthening rancher partnerships – Agencies will expand collaboration with permittees through structured engagement, including learning roundtables and enhanced communication channels.
• Ranch immersion programs for federal employees – New initiatives will place agency staff on working ranches to build firsthand understanding of operational challenges and realities on the ground.
• Enhancing transparency and data access – Improved data systems will make grazing allotment information more accessible and predictable, giving producers greater certainty to plan and invest.
• Expanding practical land management tools – The agreement promotes targeted grazing to reduce wildfire risk, supports reopening vacant allotments, and encourages adoption of innovative technologies such as virtual fencing.
• Wildfire coordination and response – The creation of Grazing Permittee Wildfire Liaisons will ensure ranchers have clear points of contact and a voice during wildfire response and recovery efforts.
• Maintaining grazing capacity – The MOU affirms a goal of maintaining grazing capacity wherever possible, including no net loss of Animal Unit Months within allotments, consistent with applicable law.

Officials emphasized the agreement supports not only producers, but also American families by strengthening the domestic food supply chain. By lowering costs and improving efficiency for ranchers, the initiative helps keep food affordable and reduces reliance on foreign imports.

Helping Ranchers Now And Into The Future

“[Tuesday’s] signing sends a clear message: the Trump Administration is putting America’s farmers and ranchers first,” said Secretary Rollins. “Building on our action plan for American ranchers announced in the fall, the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management are already delivering. This is another example of President Trump eliminating costly bureaucracy in order to lower consumer prices. Our public lands are there for the people, and this action demonstrates the commitment at USDA and the Department of the Interior to improve our services so farmers and ranchers who use public lands can run more efficient operations.”

“The Grazing Action Plan is built on a collaborative partnership dedicated to strengthening ranching operations while safeguarding our public lands,” said Secretary Burgum. “By working closely with American ranchers, we are enhancing communication, investing in innovation, and modernizing our approach to land management practices to deliver real results for the people who feed and sustain this country. In coordination with the Department of Agriculture, the Trump administration is advancing actions designed to support farmers and ranchers - securing a more resilient future for grazing on public lands and protecting America's ranching heritage for generations to come.”

Ranching Community Applauds This Week's MOU

“When you raise cattle on federal lands, it requires a great deal of work to sort through the government red tape," said National Cattlemen's Beef Association President-elect and Idaho rancher Kim Brackett  "This plan will cut bureaucracy by streamlining the permitting process, expanding grazing access, and optimizing targeted grazing in areas that are the most vulnerable to wildfires.  This MOU will provide much needed regulatory relief to ranchers and make it easier for us to carry out the voluntary conservation essential to maintaining these working lands.  NCBA thanks USDA and the Interior Department for listening to ranchers in the West and to advance much needed coordination between the agencies.”

“Public lands ranchers are resilient by nature, but we still need significant relief from the burdensome federal regulations that make it harder to do our jobs every day,"  said Public Lands Council President and Colorado permittee Tim Canterbury.  "This MOU will make it easier to ranch on public lands and will help improve the health of western landscapes.  By speeding up the permitting process and expanding the use of targeted grazing, the federal government is ensuring that more ranchers will keep ranching and that rangelands will face less degradation and destruction from wildfires and mismanagement. PLC appreciates USDA and the Interior Department standing with livestock producers in the West and putting this MOU and grazing plan into action.”

"This memorandum will create a simpler permit application process that cuts down on the massive backlog faced by Western ranchers, and target the use of grazing for wildfire risk reduction," said Congressional Western Caucus Chair Utah Representative Celeste Maloy.  "Rural America, ranchers, and everyone who buys beef at the grocery store will see significant dividends from the Administration's action today."

Click Here to read this week's MOU.

Click Here for details about the Grazing Action Plan.

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