Grazing Fees

Grazing Fees
As of 2010, approximately 45 percent of Arizona's total area
of 72,750,000 acres is Federal and State public trust land
administered by the United States Department of Interior
(USDI) Bureau of Land Management, the United States
Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service, and the
Arizona State Land Department. A majority of these public
lands are leased for livestock grazing.

$1.35 per Animal Unit Month and that annual adjustments
would not exceed plus or minus 25 percent of the previous
year’s grazing fee.
Effective March 1988, the Secretary of Agriculture issued a
final ruling that established regulations for annually
determining Federal grazing fees. The fee system now in
effect is the formula prescribed in the Executive Order of
February 1986 and, in most respects, is the same grazing fee
formula enacted by Congress in 1978. Grazing fees will be
based on a rate per head month.

For the years 1979-1985, fees for grazing on Federal public
lands were determined by a formula established in the Public
Rangelands Improvement Act of 1978 (PRIA). The act
expired December 31, 1985. On February 14, 1986, in the
absence of Congressional action, the President, through
Executive Order 12548, indefinitely extended the PRIA
formula, subject to a few minor changes.

A head month is a month's use and occupancy of range by
one animal, except for sheep or goats. A full head month's
fee is charged for a month of grazing by adult animals; if the
grazing animal is weaned or 6 months of age or older at the
time of entering the Federal lands; or will become 12 months
of age during the permitted period of use. For fee purposes,
5 sheep or goats are equivalent to one cow, bull, steer,
heifer, horse, or mule.

These minor changes included: (1) the Forage Value Index
would use the weighted average estimate of the annual rental
charge per head per month, rather than Animal Unit Month;
(2) the Beef Cattle Price Index means the weighted average
annual selling price for beef cattle in the 11 Western States,
and (3) the Prices Paid Index would reflect selected livestock
production costs in the Western States. In addition, The
Executive Order specified that the fee shall not be less than

Grazing fee formula components are compiled by the USDA
Agricultural Statistics Board and furnished to USDI Bureau
of Land Management and the USDA Forest Service for
calculating the grazing fee each year.

Public Land Grazing Fee Formulation *
Base Year
1964-68

Grazing Fee Components
Grazing Rates on Private Land (Dollars)
Forage Value Index (FVI) 2/
Average Price Received for Beef Cattle
per Cwt (Dollars) 3/
Beef Cattle Price Index (BCPI) 4/
Prices Paid Index (PPI) 5/
Federal Grazing Fee (Dollars) 6/
State Grazing Fee (Dollars)

1/

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

3.65
100

14.60
400

15.10
414

15.60
427

16.20
444

15.80
433

16.10
441

16.80
460

22.04

91.04

92.17

86.80

86.89

78.21

87.69

112.29

100
100
(1.23)

413
686
1.56

418
724
1.35

394
762
1.35

394
891
1.35

355
806
1.35

398
866
1.35

509
946
1.35

(0.95)

2.52

2.40

2.29

2.23

2.28

2.30

2.41

* The Federal Grazing Fee for the year specified, as constrained by Presidential Executive Order 12548, is based on prior year values for the formula components.
1/ Privately-owned, non-irrigated land in eleven western states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah,
Washington, and Wyoming. Rates are per head month. Private Fee Grazing Rates, for the prior year, are published by NASS-USDA in the January
Agricultural Prices report.
2/ Private land grazing rates current year divided by base year times 100.
3/ Average for twelve months November-October prior to the fee year for eleven western states, see footnote 1. Average Beef Cattle Price for the Nov-Oct
period, are published by NASS-USDA in the December Agricultural Prices report.
4/ Beef cattle price current year divided by base year times 100.
5/ Index of prices paid for beef cattle production inputs as percent of base year. The Prices Paid Index for Beef Cattle Production for the Nov-Oct period, are
published by NASS-USDA in the December Agricultural Prices report.
6/ The grazing fee = base year fee (FVI + BCPI - PPI)/100. 2012 for example = $1.23 (460 + 509 - 946)/100 = $-0.27 (Federal). Per Executive Order, $1.35 is
the legal minimum.

42