BOZEMAN, Montana—The Montana Farm Bureau applauds the announcement of a Memorandum of Understanding earlier this week between the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The two agencies have created an MOU that will cut bureaucratic red tape, strengthen coordination between the agencies, and provide support for America’s ranchers and farmers who rely on public lands. According to the announcement, the MOU recognizes grazing land permittees as essential partners and directs federal agencies to engage directly with those who live and work on the land.

The key actions include streamlining permitting and processes, reducing delays for grazing permits, strengthening rancher partnerships, including learning roundtables, ranch immersion programs for federal employees, which place agency staff on working ranches to build firsthand understanding of realities on the ground, enhancing transparency and data access, wildfire coordination and response, and maintaining the grazing capacity when possible, consistent with law.

“Ever since the Taylor Grazing Act was enacted into law in 1934 to provide ranches with managed access to federal lands, this country’s ranches have been able to use federal lands to feed the nation,” said MFBF Vice President Casey Mott, a Miles City rancher. “It’s rewarding to have an administration that realizes the benefits of grazing livestock on federal lands. Details like having agency personnel spend time with ranchers instead of sitting at a desk are especially rewarding. This will enable agency employees to see the work ranchers put in responsible land stewardship,” said Mott. “Practices to reduce wildfire risk and the reopening of vacant allotments go a long way to improving the federal lands leased for cattle. We look forward to learning more about this MOU and putting these positive plans into practice.”

American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall added, “Farmers and ranchers appreciate USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins and Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum for their work to improve access to public lands for grazing. Public lands offer quality grazing grounds for livestock, which in turn reduces wildfire risk and contributes to the vitality of rural communities across the West.

 “The MOU will reduce delays, enhance transparency, and streamline the approval of grazing permits to help ranchers raise livestock to meet the protein needs of America’s families.”