U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced on March 31 new measures intended to increase the supply of American beef by supporting ranchers who use public lands. The two departments signed a Memorandum of Understanding that aims to strengthen coordination, reduce bureaucratic barriers, and provide immediate assistance for farmers and ranchers.
The initiative is significant as it seeks to make grazing management on federal lands more efficient, transparent, and responsive. This could help lower consumer prices by improving operations for those producing food in the United States.
The agreement builds on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Grazing Action Plan and formalizes collaboration between the USDA Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. "The Grazing Action Plan is built on a collaborative partnership dedicated to strengthening ranching operations while safeguarding our public lands," said Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum. "By working closely with American ranchers, we are enhancing communication, investing in innovation, and modernizing our approach to land management practices to deliver real results for the people who feed and sustain this country." Burgum also said that these efforts aim at securing a resilient future for grazing on public lands.
Secretary Rollins said, “Today’s signing sends a clear message: the Trump administration is putting America’s farmers and ranchers first.” She added that reducing bureaucracy would help lower consumer prices: “Our public lands are there for the people, and this action demonstrates the commitment at USDA and the Department of the Interior (DOI) to improve our services so farmers and ranchers who use public lands can run more efficient operations.”
Key steps under this agreement include streamlining permitting processes; increasing agency collaboration with permit holders; launching immersion programs where federal employees work directly with ranches; making data about grazing allotments more accessible; expanding tools such as targeted grazing or virtual fencing; improving wildfire response coordination; and maintaining current levels of grazing capacity where possible.
Officials said these changes will not only benefit producers but also strengthen domestic food supply chains for families nationwide by keeping food affordable.
More than 20,000 farmers across 28 states graze livestock on federal rangelands managed by both agencies—a total area covering 240 million acres—with over 23,000 permits or leases administered each year.
