Montana Stockgrowers Lead the Charge on BLM Conservation Rule 

July 29, 2023

During the Cattle Industry Summer Business Meeting in San Diego, CA cattlemen and women from across the nation gathered to advance grassroots policy vital to the future of the livestock industry.

The policy book that comes from these grassroots efforts is used by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association advocacy team in Washington D.C. to advocate on behalf of cattle producers.  

During this years meeting, the Montana Stockgrowers Association was successful in advancing policy that got its start at the Phillips County Livestock Association. The policy centered around the Bureau of Land Management’s Proposed Conservation and Landscape Health Rule.

Montana Stockgrowers Association 1st Vice President Lesley Robinson said the NCBA Policy Book is truly producer driven.

Watch the entire conversation with Lesley Robinson below: 

We started with a resolution at the local Phillips County Livestock Association,” said Robinson. “From there, it came to the Montana Stockgrowers policy meeting. The state association then passed it. We carried it to NCBA.”

Robinson explained what the policy is and why cattlemen oppose it.

"The policy states that NCBA will oppose BLM Conservation Leasing,” said Robinson. “The reason being, that conservation leasing should not be elevated to a single use (like grazing or outdoor recreation). It should be more of an outcome of the uses that are currently happening on the ground."

The resolution passed unanimously in the NCBA Federal Lands Committee. It then was passed by a voice vote by delegates from across the nation.

Robinson said that it’s up for producers to tell their stories and work with their local, state and NCBA to address the issues impacting their families’ businesses.

"What it takes is for somebody to sit down with an idea, put it into the right format and tell your story,” said Robinson.  

Source: Western Ag Network