Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wyoming, 2007. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Nov. 13, 2008). Includes bibliographical references (p. 210-213).

35 pp. / The dependency of Arizona ranchers on federal lands has been well documented. Mayes and Archer (1982) estimated that public and state grazing lands outside of the Indian reservations account for 85% of the total grazing land in Arizona. The partnership between private ranchers, state lands, and the federal government comes with many complex factors that influence the cost of doing business both in terms of variable and fixed costs. Not only are the regulations, fees, and enforcement of regulations a challenge for managing mixed land ownership, but additional costs from vandalism, theft, and daily disruptions of operations add to the normal operating expenses (Ruyle et al., 2000). Ownership and maintenance of range improvements, such as wells, spring development, and dirt tanks, etc., is also complicated by the rangeland ownership mix. This study is designed to examine the cost of ranching for different geographic areas in Arizona and show how different production costs exist throughout the state.

Leopards (Panthera pardus) currently inhabit large parts outside formal conservation areas in South Africa. While leopards are not currently threatened in South Africa, regional populations are at risk. Conflict between leopards and ranchers is common in livestock and game ranching areas, often resulting in persecution. Negative attitudes towards leopards, caused by anti-predator sentiments and leopards preying on livestock and game are normally the reason for leopard persecution. The lack of data available for leopards on game ranches hampers current conservation efforts. A questionnaire survey was used to investigate the attitudes of ranchers towards leopards. Overall ranchers were positive towards leopards and negative attitudes towards leopards were attributed to their predation on livestock and game. Reported game and livestock losses were low, suggesting that local rumours play an equally important role in negative attitudes towards leopards. A Global Positioning System connected to cell phone transmitters [GPS/GMS] were fitted to leopards to determine home ranges and movement. GPS/GSM collars performed satisfactory with only 18 % of data missing. Leopards used smaller home ranges than expected. Social organisation was characterised by a mosaic of overlapping female ranges, while one male home range overlapped several female home ranges. Greater distances were travelled during the night than daytime. Home ranges of leopards covered a great number of ranches, while core areas were restricted to only a few ranches. Investigation of GPS clusters were used to determine age, sex and weight of prey killed by leopards. Data from kills were used in combination with scats to construct leopard diets. Leopards preyed on a variety of mammals, the most important being kudu (Tragelaphus strepiceros), bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus) and warthog (Phacochoerus aethiopicus). Suggestions for the management of leopards are discussed. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Animal and Wildlife Sciences / unrestricted

The purpose of this study was to describe the relationship between participation in relationship-building programs and online social groups, and the individual resilience of women in agriculture in the United States. Women have demonstrated a unique ability to connect farms and ranches with social resources, drive change and adaptation in agriculture, facilitate farm and ranch succession, and build community after a disaster. The capacity of agriculture and rural communities to adapt in the face of significant adversity depends on those unique abilities. Improving the resilience in women in agriculture is critical to the overall resilience of rural America. Unfortunately, most resilience interventions focus on internal psychology and do not address external, social-ecological factors for resilience. The results of this study show participation in certain relationship-building programs is associated with a significant increase in the level of some external resilience factors among women in agriculture in the U.S.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of History / James E. Sherow / During the period between 1848 and 1938, a combination of land-use changes and regional climatic alterations caused changes in the physical structure of the Canadian River. The Canadian River begins in the southern Rocky Mountains and flows south and then northeast across the High Plains of New Mexico and Texas. The Comanche Indians used the river as a transportation corridor, as a winter shelter for themselves and for their horse herds, as well as hunting the bison that visited the valley. The Comanches also valued the spiritual power, puha, found in the running water and on the mesas within the river’s lowlands. After the defeat of the Comanches in the Red River Wars and the destruction of the bison herds, New Mexican Hispanos moved their flocks of sheep into the valley and established settlements along the tributary streams. These settlers practiced “extensive” land use, drawing from a broad array of the valley’s resources and using them comparatively lightly in ways that drew from older Spanish laws and customs. The enclosure of parts of the valley by Anglo-Texan ranchers drove the Hispanos out of the Canadian watershed in Texas, although access to the open range in New Mexico allowed other Hispanos to retain their settlements. Corporations including the Capitol Lands Syndicate and Prairie Cattle Company introduced large numbers of cattle to the region at the same time that regional rainfall patterns shifted. This combination of heavy grazing and altered precipitation patterns led to erosion in the uplands that caused changes in the physical structure of the Canadian River. After 1903, the arrival of railroads into eastern New Mexico accelerated the development of dry-land farms in both states. Increasing calls for damming and controlling the Canadian led to the first interstate Canadian River Compact in 1928. The advent of a severe drought in the 1930s and the Great Depression led to federal resources becoming available and the first dam was built on the stream, ending the era of the free-flowing river and again starting physical changes to the Canadian.

The study was initiated to determine how sheep ranches were physically and economically organized in 1964 and to select range and livestock management alternatives which would be profitable to sheep ranches. With data collected from the ranches three model ranches, representing the three most prominent strata, were constructed. These strata were determined by number of breeding ewes that were on the ranch and by the season of grazing on government land, i.e., winter, summer, or year around. After the building of these three ranches, each of them was linear programmed to find the profit maximizing combination of resources both before and following the addition of private and public capital. Capital was added in small increments, and the internal rate of return was calculated for each increment to determine the profitability of each investment. As an added tool, the capitalized value of the ranch resources was obtained showing the value of one more unit of each resource to the ranch concerned.

Grass-fed cattle ranching is growing in popularity, but the characteristics and motivations of the ranchers, however, remain undefined. Based in Texas and using a mail survey and interviews with three grass-fed, three organic, and three conventional ranchers to identify some of their distinctive characteristics, this study achieved similar results to those comparing organic and conventional farmers. Grass-fed cattle ranchers tend to have high levels of education, approach ranching as a second career, and possess outside income sources. Motivated as much by ethics as economics, they embrace grass-fed methods primarily because they believe them to be healthiest for animals, humans, and the land. They eschew organic certification primarily because they perceive government regulations to be influenced by large conventional competitors, and they market their beef directly, often locally. Although many hope to expand their herd, most grass-fed cattle ranchers believe they are resisting “conventionalization” and say that they feel more self-sufficient and satisfied thanks to their choices. / text

Tesis de grado Carrera de Ingenieria Agronomica, Universidad Mayor De San Andres, Facultad de Agronomia. / Abstract in Spanish and English.

The economics of ranches in the Zimbabwe Midlands, generating income from cattle, or wildlife, or both, were compared during 1989/90 to test the claim that wildlife ranching can generate greater profits than cattle ranching on semi-arid African savannas. Both financial (market) prices and economic prices (opportunity cost) were used. Financial data were obtained from 15 cattle, 7 wildlife and 13 mixed ranches in four areas with wildlife and from 15 cattle ranches in two areas with sparse wildlife. Estimates of economic prices were obtained from official data. In the first paper, gross revenues, costs, net revenues, and capital investments of each ranch type were compared. Cattle ranches in the areas with sparse wildlife provided the greatest net revenues while only mixed ranches were financially profitable in areas with abundant wildlife. Wildlife ranches had the least capital investments. In the second paper a policy analysis matrix was used to compare financial and economic profitability. Excluding policy interventions, cattle ranches in areas with sparse wildlife were most profitable. Negative financial-economic profit differences showed that all ranchers faced production disincentives, but cattle ranchers were affected the most. In the third paper an attempt was made to quantify the cost of lost rangeland productivity due to overstocking. Carrying capacities and stocking rates were estimated and a range of overstocking costs was used. Cattle ranches appeared to be overstocked while wildlife ranches were not. Thus the larger economic profit of cattle versus wildlife ranches decreased when range productivity loss increased. The last paper compared the relative efficiency of cattle, wildlife, and mixed ranches from the financial perspective (using the private cost ratio) and from the national perspective (using the domestic resource cost). While few ranches were financially efficient, cattle ranches with sparse wildlife and mixed and wildlife operations were found to be economically efficient when overstocking costs were not charged. With increased rangeland sensitivity to overstocking, the probability of economic inefficiency increased more for cattle than mixed or wildlife ranches. This study did not corroborate the claim that wildlife ranching is more profitable or efficient than cattle ranching in semi-arid African savannas.

Gemsbok, ibex, sitatunga, nyala. Their names may be unfamiliar, but these rare species, originally from Africa and Asia, now roam Texas ranches in numbers close to 1 million. In an irony as big and as rich as Texas, however, their proliferation has depended on their popularity with hunters. Enthusiasts will pay anywhere from $2,000 to $20,000 to hunt these so-called “texotics.” While this flourishing micro-economy and sub-culture has gone unrecognized by most of the world, “A Kind of Wild” is a 22 minute documentary that puts forth a portrait of the industry as illustrated through a cross-section of individuals with different roles in the system: an amateur breeder, a researcher, a ranch hand and a hunter. The film explores the paradoxical relationship between these people and the animals they care for, between economics and conservation. It is intended to spread awareness about this obscured phenomenon and to encourage audiences to reflect upon their own values concerning humans increasingly complicated impact on the natural world around us. This report chronicles the process of making the film and expounds on its challenges and lessons. / text