U. S. CATTLE PRODUCERS FACE LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF WILDFIRES HEAD ON
The U. S. faces another challenging wildfire season this year. More places than ever before saw less rain and snow throughout the winter months, and after low spring precipitation, a long, hot wildfire season seems inevitable. This has become a year-round issue for many farmers and ranchers as they deal with risk mitigation as well as recovery. Whether managing grassland, rangeland, forest or a combination, cattlemen and women from across the U. S. face similar battles to return productivity and usability to the land.
Fires can be a natural, beneficial part of the ecological system. However, in the first four months of 2026, more than 1.8 million acres have burned across the U. S., a 194 % increase over the previous 10-year average and the highest year-todate figure since 2017. 1 Not only has the total number of affected acres increased, but the number of fires has also increased by more than 150 % over the previous 10-year average. These big, hot and fast wildfires are a constant danger to U. S. cattle farmers and ranchers who work tirelessly to ensure their animals, infrastructure, families and communities stay safe in the event of disaster.
For NCBA, wildfire is a national issue crossing state, private and federal land boundaries. Because of its complexity, NCBA not only works on commonsense strategies to support the prevention of wildfires, but NCBA also supports the availability of tools to respond with when the worst materializes. NCBA works with partner organizations like the Public Lands Council( PLC) to advocate the federal government and its related agencies to address regulatory issues in both prevention and disaster response. NCBA’ s work has resulted in two key pieces of legislation: the Fix Our Forests Act( FOFA) and the Strategic Grazing to Reduce the Risk of Wildfires Act, both targeting strategic livestock grazing as a tool to reduce grass and other fire fuels that pose a high risk.
Recognizing the brutal wildfires that recently struck the West, Midwest and Southeast, and in response to the constant danger to human and animal populations, the House passed FOFA in early 2025, and the full Senate is on track to vote on the bill this summer. FOFA reduces regulatory barriers that limit forest management systems on federal lands as it applies to grazing as a wildfire prevention tool on public lands. With bipartisan and bicameral support of Sen. John Hickenlooper( D-Colo.), Sen. Tim Sheehy( R-Mont.), Sen. Alex Padilla( D-Calif.), Rep. Bruce Westerman( R-Ark.), and Rep. Scott Peters( D-Calif.) among others, NCBA and its partners are eager to see this bill enacted.
Purposeful, strategic grazing incorporated as part of a fire mitigation plan for high priority landscapes have been shown to limit average annual burn probability by up to 82 %. 2 These efforts, as included in the Strategic Grazing to Reduce the Risk of Wildfires Act, would support reductions in wildfire risk, intensity and speed through temporary grazing permits, particularly near populated areas. The bill was introduced in the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee earlier this year with bipartisan support from Sen. John Curtis( R-Utah) and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto( D-Nev.), and similar tools are included in both the House version of the Farm Bill and FOFA.
Catastrophic wildfires have long timelines, not just for ceasing the fires but also for recovery. It can take years for the land to recover ecologically, not to mention the amount of time, effort and money required to restart and rebuild. NCBA continues to work with partners and legislators to find ways to reduce the potential for, and respond to, the dangers of wildfires to farmers, ranchers and communities.
References:
1. National Interagency Fire Center, 2026. National Significant Wildland Fire Potential Outlook. https:// www. nifc. gov / nicc-files / predictive / outlooks / monthly _ seasonal _ outlook. pdf
2. Genoa I. Starrs, 2024. Quantifying large-scale impacts of cattle grazing on annual burn probability in Napa and Sonoma Counties, California. https:// ecologyandsociety. org / vol29 / iss3 / art10 /#
Cattle producers are facing the danger and destruction of wildfires more often and need tools to recover.
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