But not for you or I.
Our tax dollars are currently paying ranchers across the nation to not use large swaths of their land to graze their cattle on. It is called the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and we spent upwards of $80 million dollars to rnachers in Washington state alone in 2007 so that they wouldn’t graze on 1.5 million acres.
That is a little over $53 per acres not used.
Unfortunately for the ranchers, this last winter was harsh, and the price paid for crops such as wheat and corn (for biofuels, natch) means that fewer farmers grew hay for the cattle. Because of these things, the cost of a ton of hay has doubled over the last couple years to $200 and up, depending on the region.
So, the USDA devised the Critical Feed Use Program, which would allow ranchers to graze again on some of the CRP covered lands.
This, of course, made the National Wildlife Federation get frowny faces, and six of their state chapters filed suit claiming that the government needs to do an environmental impact study before this can go forward with the CFU program.
And yesterday a legal expert, most commonly called a “judge”, who is not a scientist, agreed with them.
They are killing a program which means reasonably priced beef for the world to make sure the Sage Grouse has a pristine habitat. They get to put land out of use by people, cut down on beef consumption and put a drag on the capitalistic ways of flyover country. Win, win, win, for them.
You and I will be paying approximately 25% higher prices for beef over the next year and another family ranch gets to look bankruptcy in the eye.
Geez, thanks ecosocialists.
Everybody bitched when the idea of covering hundreds of acres of land with solar panels was put on hold because an Environmental Impact Study needed to be done, and because of the bitching, the projects have been given the go ahead.
But put a Holstein near a Sage Grouse and suddenly the Earth’s crust is going to collapse.
That’s why we have drainage ditches in Nebraska, habitat for fowl. The Angus typically avoid the ditches. Our CRP Program is open to hunting in NE, so I can’t say I like the idea of competing with grazing cattle, but I see your point with the eco-nuts.
How do grazing cattle hurt anything? They keep the grasses short, reducing fire hazards, and they poop, providing moisture and nutrients to the environment.
And where did you read that the whole solar farm thing got called off?
Some things just make way too much sense, so of course they will have the kabosh put on them.
Sorry about forgetting the link, MadRoc. It’s there now.
I wonder if those econazis have ever heard of the Buffalo herds that took days to pass a set of railroad tracks?
Would they object to buffalo being reintroduced to nature?
Ummm,,,,of course not because Buffalo are ‘native’ and ‘native’ species are helpful to the environment, not like cows.
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