Ranchers get right to graze animals, harvest hay on protected land

0 Comments | USA TODAY, May, 2008 | by Sue Kirchhoff

WASHINGTON -- Responding to high feed costs, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Tuesday it will allow livestock producers to graze animals and produce hay on millions of fragile acres now set aside for conservation.

The announcement is the latest in a series of USDA efforts to blunt the impact of record and near-record grain prices that are boosting U.S. food inflation and adding to the threat of hunger worldwide. In past years, the USDA has allowed haying and grazing on limited conservation acreage in emergency situations such as drought. This is the first national initiative.

USDA Secretary Ed Schafer said the initiative could bring into use up to 24 million acres, an area nearly the size of Kentucky. That could provide 18 million tons of feed and...