Justice For Producers in an Ever-Changing World

My family has had cattle up a local canyon for several generations. We have worked with and had conflicts with the U.S forest service over this period of time. I have come to ask what one does when two groups need to work together for a similar goal, but have very conflicting ways of achieving said goal. The goal in this is the preservation of the national forest. The cattle association is concerned about prolonging the forage and the health of the forest with cattle grazing. The Forest Service is concerned with maintaining the health of the forest for natural beauty and for recreational use. Many recreational users do not want cattle grazing in the canyon. This causes conflict as the cattle association needs to use the canyon for their livelihood and the forest service and public do not want cattle in these areas. Many people do not want cattle in the canyon because of the tragedy of the commons where mountainous areas and grass lands were so intensely grazed that it destroyed the area. This is a reasonable concern and neither parties, including the cattle association, want this to happen again. In the past the cattle association has shown good stewardship practices by implementing grazing rotations, additional cuts during drought years and striving to make improvements were they can. Having the cattle on the mountain has prevented wildfire.

In the meeting I was fortunate to attend the Forest Service was cutting down the amount of cattle that was to be put on the mountain. I’m not going into detail because I don’t think it is important to this particular thought. I have just finished the taught part of a Msc Climate Change, Agriculture, and Climate Change. I have spent the last nine months learning about how agriculture can be more environmentally friendly and helpful. I also attended lectures and conferences that portrayed producers as the bad guys who were causing all the problems. There were many discussions around how two parties with conflicting views can come together and discuss a viable option to create a better more healthy world. As a producer it can feel like the world is out to get you and that the information being given to the public conflicts with what you have been doing your entire career. I grew up believing that agriculture was a noble career that was about protecting the land and feeding people. I never had an experience where a producer was deliberately destroying the environment. As I got older I was told be individuals who had never participated in any form of agriculture that I was dumb for choosing a career in ag and that I was simply aiding in the destruction of the planet.

I have come to conclusion that there must be middle ground somewhere. Producers, whether they be crop producers or meat producers, are not evil or dumb individuals. They are passionate about what they do. Just like environmental and animal rights activists are passionate about what they do. Do these passions blind us to the truth? Absolutely. When will humanity learn that people are nuanced? When will we learn that no one is perfect and if someone gives you an answer that this seemingly perfect they are probably just selling you something? When will producers and indigenous peoples be valued for their knowledge and desire to be better rather than put down for the things that past generations have done? When will climate change scientist and environmentalist be given grace to be wrong but still be valued? I don’t have the answers to these questions. I don’t think anyone does. Maybe we can just move forward with compassion. Maybe the forest service could see that the cattle associations are trying to be good stewards, and the cattle association can see that the forest service has good suggestions to be better. Maybe if we come to the table with open hearts and a better desire to do better by our planet we can find true solutions that can benefit all.