Returns to Rangelands

Abstract

Gross value of production from western rangelands average$7.46 per AUM based upon aggregate data from Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, and Oregon for 1966-70 and reached about $10 per AUM in 1972. Privately owned lands leased on an acreage basis but with the lease expressed on an AUM basis generally leased at $1.50 to $2 per AUM during 1966-70 and a little over $2 per AUM in 1972. Returns to rangeland estimated from published research by a real estate appraisal approach in which returns are imputed from an income statement were comparable to the lease rates. The imputational procedures in arriving at returns to land and the definition of an AUM should both be standardized for better comparisons among diverse areas or ranching types where animal-size and herd composition vary.