An economic valuation of federal and private grazing land ecosystem services supported by beef cattle ranching in the United States

Beef cattle ranching and farming is a major agricultural industry in the United States that manages an estimated 147 million ha of private land and uses approximately 92% of forage authorized for grazing on federal rangelands. Rangelands, as working landscapes, sustain beef cattle ranching while providing habitat for wildlife, recreation, and open space amenities, as well as spiritual and cultural values that define a way of life. Historically, discussions regarding the economics of beef cattle ranching have focused primarily on the value of beef production but have more recently expanded to consider related ecosystem services. A systematic search of peer-reviewed literature published between 1998 and 2018 found 154 articles that considered ecosystem services from rangelands/grasslands. Of these, only two articles (1%) provided an in-depth economic valuation (monetary measure) of ecosystem services in the United States. To fill this knowledge gap, we primarily used publicly available data to conduct an economic valuation of major ecosystem services associated with beef cattle production in the United States at both the national and state levels. We find that over 186 million ha were actively grazed by beef cattle ranches and farms in the United States in 2017. We estimate the economic value of this land use to be $17.5 billion for wildlife recreation, $3.8 billion for forage production, and $3.2 billion for other ecosystem services related to the conservation of biodiversity—a combined total of $24.5 billion. Ecosystem services from federal rangelands in 16 western states accounted for 35% of the total value. Ecosystem services per beef cow and per kilogram of retail beef were estimated to be $1,043.35 and $2.74, respectively. More studies like these are needed to inform decision-makers at the industry, land management, and federal levels to ensure that the conservation, improvement, and restoration of these ecosystem services are considered in future management and research efforts.