The Idaho Department of Lands is reviewing the methodology used to determine the grazing rate on state endowment lands.
The Idaho Land Board could decide as soon as early December whether to establish a new grazing rate formula on those lands.
A department subcommittee and advisory group has been looking over the methodology of the formula, which hasn’t changed since 1993. Five alternatives are on the table, including one that would retain the state’s current formula, which resulted in a grazing rate of $9.01 per animal unit month this year.
An AUM is the amount of forage needed to feed a cow and calf for a month. The average grazing rate on private land in Idaho was $18 in 2017. The IDL manages $1,139 grazing leases on 1.4 million acres of state endowment land, representing a total of 257,370 AUMs.
A review of the alternatives by the University of Idaho’s Policy Analysis Group shows that the alternatives, not including the status quo choice, would result in a state grazing lease rate ranging from $9.21 to $15.94 per AUM in 2017.
The land board could establish a grazing rate formula during a special meeting December 5th. (Capital Press)
