LARAMIE, Wyo. — The University of Wyoming (UW) Extension has published a new interview-based report that identifies changes, challenges and opportunities faced by ranchers in Wyoming’s Upper Wind River Basin. The findings in the report are co-published by authors Callie Surber and Corrine Knapp, who conducted interviews with 38 ranchers in the summer of 2024 .
Concerns among ranchers included longer and hotter summers leading to increasing droughts, increases in storm severity, “unprecedented inflation,” the volatility of the beef market and “absentee landowners” driving up property costs.
“Many ranchers voiced concerns about absentee landowners purchasing former agricultural land,” the press release reads. “They observed that this trend has driven up property values and taxes, reduced local agricultural outputs and prevented younger operators from entering the industry.”
These “amenity ranchers” use the land for recreation, scenery, privacy and wildlife. Often they are absent and purchase the land for above-market costs, which in turn drives up the cost of surrounding land. According to a 2015 study, the amenity ranch trend “was especially concerning to ranchers as it drives up property values, impacting their ability to expand their operations, increasing property taxes, decreasing local agricultural product outputs, and potentially leading to land fragmentation.”
Because of the high prices, younger ranchers and operators have a more difficult time entering the market, which could have long-term impacts including creating an aging agricultural population.
Existing ranchers have begun diversifying their bottom line in a variety of ways, like leveraging Wyoming’s growing outdoor recreation and tourism industry.
Some of the interviewed ranchers also brought up that managing changing environmental and economic conditions often requires fast reactions, but seeking bureaucratic approval to carry out changes — like grazing permits on public and tribal lands — takes time. Because of this, many ranchers were frustrated with the speed at which requests would be approved for changes around grazing or fencing.
“Interviews reinforced that ranching facilitates purposeful land stewardship and is a critical conservation tool,” Surber and Knapp wrote in the report. “In almost every interaction, ranchers discussed their reciprocal relationship with and deep connection to rangelands.”
