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65-818: The Western open-range tradition originated from the early practice of unregulated grazing of livestock in the newly acquired western territories of the United States and Canada. These practices were eventually codified in the laws of many Western US states as they developed written statutes. Over time, as the Western lands became more populated and more developed (through railroads, mining, farming, etc.), open-range laws began to be challenged and were significantly curtailed, though they still exist in certain areas of most Western US states and Canadian provinces. Open-range conditions existed in Western Canada prior to

130-451: A cause of action for accidents involving wandering livestock on grounds of negligence. The Montana legislature then amended the statutes governing the open range to impose liability on livestock owners to motorists only for negligence. On roads in Idaho , an open-range state, livestock have the right of way: if an animal is hit and killed by a vehicle, the driver is liable for the price of

195-517: A longer time to recover or leaving land fallow. Patch-burn sets up a rotation of fresh grass after burning with two years of rest. Conservation grazing proposes to use grazing animals to improve the biodiversity of a site. Grazing has existed since the beginning of agriculture ; sheep and goats were domesticated by nomads before the first permanent settlements were constructed around 7000 BC, enabling cattle and pigs to be kept. Livestock grazing contributes to many negative effects on

260-487: A low density on a pasture, so as not to overgraze. Controlled burning of the land can help in the regrowth of plants. Although grazing can be problematic for the ecosystem, well-managed grazing techniques can reverse damage and improve the land. On commons in England and Wales, rights of pasture (grassland grazing) and pannage (forest grazing) for each commoner are tightly defined by number and type of animal, and by

325-546: A short period of time. Conservation grazing is the use of grazing animals to help improve the biodiversity of a site. Due to their hardy nature, rare and native breeds are often used in conservation grazing. In some cases, to re-establish traditional hay meadows, cattle such as the English Longhorn and Highland are used to provide grazing. A form of rotational grazing using as many small paddocks as fencing allows, said to be more sustainable. Mob grazing

390-482: A system of checks and balances, and allowing higher plant biodiversity. In Europe heathland is a cultural landscape which requires grazing by cattle, sheep or other grazers to be maintained. An author of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) report Livestock's Long Shadow , stated in an interview: Grazing occupies 26 percent of Earth's terrestrial surface   ... feed crop production requires about

455-552: A third of all arable land   ... Expansion of grazing land for livestock is also a leading cause of deforestation, especially in Latin America... In the Amazon basin alone, about 70 percent of previously forested land is used as pasture, while feed crops cover a large part of the remainder. Much grazing land has resulted from a process of clearance or drainage of other habitats such as woodland or wetland . According to

520-401: A wild animal than livestock. Laws are still in flux. In Arizona , livestock must be fenced in within incorporated areas , but are still listed only as a potential nuisance for unincorporated suburbs. Therefore, in that state, bills were being pushed to get rid of this "antiquated" law. Those opposing the legislation said that "eliminating the law would put undue hardship on ranchers. However,

585-492: Is a system, said to be more sustainable, invented in 2002; it uses very large herds on land left fallow longer than usual. Many ecological effects derive from grazing, which may be positive or negative. Negative effects of grazing may include overgrazing , increased soil erosion , compaction and degradation, deforestation , biodiversity loss , and adverse water quality impacts from run-off . Sometimes grazers can have beneficial environmental effects such as improving

650-648: Is allowed access to the same grazing area throughout the year. Seasonal grazing incorporates "grazing animals on a particular area for only part of the year". This allows the land that is not being grazed to rest and allow for new forage to grow. Rotational grazing "involves dividing the range into several pastures and then grazing each in sequence throughout the grazing period". Utilizing rotational grazing can improve livestock distribution while incorporating rest period for new forage. In ley farming, pastures are not permanently planted, but alternated between fodder crops and arable crops. Rest rotation grazing "divides

715-767: Is also a recognized geographical division used by the United States Geological Survey . All entities within the region apart from the District of Columbia and West Virginia border the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2010, the South Atlantic states had a combined population of 61,774,970. The South Atlantic region covers 292,589 square miles (757,800 km ). With the exception of West Virginia, the region has seen rapid population growth and economic development in recent decades. As of 2023,

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780-640: Is paid each year for each animal 'turned out'. However, if excessive use was made of the common, for example, in overgrazing, a common would be 'stinted'; that is, a limit would be put on the number of animals each commoner was allowed to graze. These regulations were responsive to demographic and economic pressure. Thus, rather than let a common become degraded, access was restricted even further. Ranchers and range science researchers have developed grazing systems to improve sustainable forage production for livestock. These can be contrasted with intensive animal farming on feedlots. With continuous grazing, livestock

845-672: Is ranked the sixth-best in the nation. The Southeastern United States is a large region of the country that includes a core of states that reaches north to Maryland and West Virginia , bordering the Ohio River and Mason–Dixon line , and stretches west to Arkansas and Louisiana . Unlike the Northeast, there is no official U.S. government definition for the Southeast, and it is defined variably among agencies and organizations. Its unique cultural and historic heritage includes

910-477: Is sometimes considered a distinct cultural area due to its large concentration of Native American tribes. New England is a subregion of the northeastern U.S. that is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean , Canada , and the state of New York . It includes six states: Maine , New Hampshire , Vermont , Massachusetts , Rhode Island , and Connecticut . In one of the earliest British colonial settlements in

975-552: Is the major cause of degraded riparian habitat on federal rangelands". A 2013 FAO report estimated livestock were responsible for 14.5% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions . Grazing is common in New Zealand ; in 2004, methane and nitrous oxide from agriculture made up somewhat less than half of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions, of which most is attributable to livestock . A 2008 United States Environmental Protection Agency report on emissions found agriculture

1040-511: The Journal of Animal Science found four times as much, and stated: "these measurements clearly document higher CH 4 production for cattle receiving low-quality, high-fiber diets than for cattle fed high-grain diets". Agrivoltaics for grazing would allow for shade for the animals as well as the vegitation so the soil retains a higher moisture level. Eastern United States The Eastern United States , often abbreviated as simply

1105-822: The American Revolutionary War , and later where the U.S. Constitution was drafted and ratified at Independence Hall in Philadelphia in 1789. As of 2023, the Mid-Atlantic region is home to four of the top twenty-five universities in the nation, according to 2022-23 U.S. News & World Report rankings: Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey, Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, Columbia University in New York, New York, and

1170-768: The Atlantic Provinces of Canada and the Atlantic seaboard of the United States south to North Carolina . The Saint Lawrence Lowlands area includes parts of Southern Ontario , upstate New York , much of the Saint Lawrence River area, and the Susquehanna Valley . The Great Lakes-Riverine area includes the remaining inland areas of the Northeast, which were home to Central Algonquian and Siouan speakers. The Great Lakes region

1235-513: The Big Die-Up by ranchers and across the northern plains, led to the sudden collapse of the cattle industry . By the 1890s, barbed-wire fencing had become standard on the northern plains, railroads had expanded to cover most of the U.S., and meatpacking plants were being built closer to major ranching areas, making long cattle drives from Texas to the railheads in Kansas unnecessary. The age of

1300-571: The Civil War . The Taylor Grazing Act of 1934 was enacted after the Great Depression to regulate the use of public land for grazing purposes. According to a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization , about 60% of the world's grassland (just less than half of the world's usable surface) is covered by grazing systems. It states that "Grazing systems supply about 9 percent of the world's production of beef and about 30 percent of

1365-654: The New World , Pilgrims from England first settled in New England in 1620 at Plymouth Colony in and around present-day Plymouth, Massachusetts . In the late 18th century, the New England colonies were among the first North American British colonies to support an escalation in the American Revolution against Britain , launching the Boston Tea Party on December 16, 1773, and later firing

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1430-704: The U.S. Census Bureau , the Northeastern United States coomprises nine states, including (north to south): Maine , New Hampshire , Vermont , Massachusetts , Rhode Island , Connecticut , New Jersey , New York , and Pennsylvania . The present-day Northeast is significantly smaller than the Northeastern Woodlands cultural area. The pre-Columbian Northeast had three major areas: the Coastal area, Saint Lawrence Lowlands, and Great Lakes-Riverine zones. The Coastal area includes

1495-619: The University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The East North Central area, which includes Illinois , Indiana , Michigan , Ohio , and Wisconsin , can also be classified as a subregion of the Northeastern United States, as these states are in the Great Lakes-Riverine area. As one of two subregional divisions used to categorize the modern Midwest , the East North Central region closely matches

1560-659: The 1889 amendments of the Dominion Lands Act , which prohibited cattle from grazing on unleased land, though the practice did not disappear immediately. Open-range management has also been practiced in other areas, including the Caribbean and some Eastern US states, such as South Carolina during the colonial period. The practice was also widespread in Mexico , and some argue that the Mexican tradition may have been

1625-427: The 1980s gradually increased rancher liability, first requiring cattle be kept off federal highways, then other developed roads, and in some cases, limited open range grazing only to certain times of the year. In some states, such as Montana, case law on the open range has, for all practical purposes, eliminated it altogether, though statutes may remain on the books. Today, a vehicle has a much higher chance of hitting

1690-540: The Court overturned a 33-year-old precedent that had exempted livestock owners from most liability for wandering stock on roadways (other than certain state and federal highways built with federal funds), holding there was "no duty" to motorists under open range doctrine, in Larson-Murphy v. Steiner', the Court held that there was a relationship between livestock owners and motorists on public roads, allowing motorists

1755-660: The East , is a macroregion of the United States located to the east of the Mississippi River . It includes 17–26 states and Washington, D.C. , the national capital. As of 2011, the Eastern United States had an estimated population exceeding 179 million, representing the majority (over 58 percent) of the total U.S. population. The three most populous cities in the Eastern United States are New York City , Chicago , and Philadelphia . According to

1820-558: The Middle Atlantic is a subregion of the northeastern U.S. that includes three states: New Jersey , New York , and Pennsylvania . The Middle Atlantic region includes New York City , the largest city in the U.S. and a global center of finance and culture, and Philadelphia , the nation's sixth-largest city and first capital, where the Declaration of Independence was signed at Independence Hall in 1776, formally launching

1885-623: The South Atlantic region is home to three of the top ten universities in the nation, according to 2022-23 U.S. News & World Report rankings: Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and Duke University in Durham, North Carolina , which is ranked the tenth-best in the nation. The East South Central region constitutes one of the nine U.S. Census Bureau divisions . Four states make up

1950-613: The United States is one of the nine Census Bureau Divisions of the country. This region corresponds to the Southern states/areas that were geographically part of the Thirteen Colonies , with the addition of Florida . It includes eight states and one federal district: Delaware , Florida , Georgia , Maryland , North Carolina , South Carolina , Virginia , West Virginia and the District of Columbia . The South Atlantic

2015-690: The United States to be transformed by the Industrial Revolution . As of 2023, New England is home to two of the top ten universities in the nation, according to 2022-23 U.S. News & World Report rankings, Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts (tied for third), and Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts (tied for third). According to the United States Census Bureau ,

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2080-424: The Western rangelands . Indiscriminate fencing of federal lands was commonplace in the 1880s, often without any regard to land ownership or other public needs, such as mail delivery and movement of other kinds of livestock. Various state statutes, as well as vigilantism during the so-called Fence Cutting Wars , tried to enforce or combat fence-building, with varying success. In 1885 U.S. federal legislation outlawed

2145-457: The accumulation of litter ( organic matter ) in some seasons and areas, but can also increase it, which may help to combat soil erosion . This acts as nutrition for insects and organisms found within the soil. These organisms "aid in carbon sequestration and water filtration". When grass is grazed, dead grass and litter are reduced which is advantageous for birds such as waterfowl . Grazing can increase biodiversity . Without grazing, many of

2210-509: The animal and for the repair for the damage to the vehicle. Idaho counties can and have created herd districts , which require livestock owners to "build and maintain adequate fences to keep their animals off roads and neighboring properties"; in herd districts, the livestock owner is liable. Grazing In agriculture , grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to free range (roam around) and consume wild vegetations in order to convert

2275-728: The area of the Northwest Territory , excluding a portion of Minnesota . The East North Central states form a large part of the Great Lakes region, although the latter also includes Minnesota, New York , Pennsylvania and the Canadian province of Ontario . Culturally, the East North Central region of the U.S. has been historically influenced by the British and the French; Anglo-American culture permeated states covering

2340-401: The bison–fire relationship on a large landscape scale of 30,000 acres (12,000 ha). In the grazed heathland of Devon , the periodic burning is known as swailing. Riparian area grazing is intended to improve wildlife and their habitats. It uses fencing to keep livestock off ranges near streams or water areas until after wildlife or waterfowl periods, or to limit the amount of grazing to

2405-471: The core of Old Dixie , one of the nine moral regions identified by James Patterson and Peter Kim in their acclaimed 1991 geopolitical best-seller, The Day America Told The Truth . Politically and culturally, the East South Central is more conservative than the South Atlantic; Mississippi, Alabama, Kentucky, and Tennessee's governments have been described during 2012 to 2023 as some of

2470-534: The division: Kentucky , Tennessee , Mississippi and Alabama . Historically, the area has been colonized and influenced by the French , Spanish , British , early US, and Confederate governments. Distinct among these states, Alabama's French culture has been preserved through the Alabama Creoles , and Kentucky's French culture can be observed throughout Louisville. The East South Central states form

2535-402: The enclosure of public land. By 1890 illegal fencing had been mostly removed. In the north, overgrazing stressed the open range, leading to insufficient winter forage for cattle and their subsequent starvation, particularly during the harsh winter of 1886–1887 , when severely overgrazed rangelands combined with unusually cold temperatures killed hundreds of thousands of cattle. This was called

2600-594: The environment, including deforestation , extinction of native wildlife, pollution of streams and rivers, overgrazing , soil degradation , ecological disturbance , desertification , and ecosystem stability . Sheep, goats, cattle, and pigs were domesticated early in the history of agriculture . Sheep were domesticated first, soon followed by goats; both species were suitable for nomadic peoples. Cattle and pigs were domesticated somewhat later, around 7000 BC, once people started to live in fixed settlements. In America, livestock were grazed on public land from

2665-462: The first shots of the American Revolutionary War in the Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775. New England produced the first examples of American literature and philosophy and was home to the beginnings of free and compulsory public education. In the 19th century, the region played a prominent role in the movement to abolish slavery in the United States . It was the first region of

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2730-858: The following aspects: These aspects, among other things, led to "the South" developing distinctive customs, literature, musical styles, and varied cuisines that have profoundly shaped traditional American culture. The shift from a mainly rural society to more cities and urbanized metropolitan areas picked up speed following World War II in the 1940s. Since the late 20th century, certain Southeastern states and areas have seen great economic growth. This growth has led to many migrants moving to Southeastern states. In 2020, Fortune 500 companies headquartered in southeastern states included: Virginia with 22, Georgia with 18, Florida with 18, North Carolina with 13, and Tennessee with 10. The South Atlantic region of

2795-487: The heavy grazing. This technique results in a diversity of habitats that different prairie plants and birds can utilize—mimicking the effects of the pre-historical relationship between bison and fire, whereby bison heavily graze one area and other areas have opportunity to rest, based on the concept of pyric herbivory . The Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in northeastern Oklahoma has been patch-burn grazed with bison herds for over ten years. These efforts have effectively restored

2860-687: The invention of barbed wire in the 1870s, it was more practical to fence the livestock out of developed land, rather than to fence it in. As the United States government acquired Western territories by purchasing, conquest, and treaty, land not yet placed into private ownership was publicly owned and freely available for grazing cattle, though conflicting land-claims and periodic warfare with Native Americans placed some practical limits on grazing areas at various times. Free-roaming range cattle were calved, moved between grazing lands, and driven to market by cowboys . Brands on cattle marked who owned them. Unbranded cattle, known as " mavericks ", could become

2925-497: The largest metropolitan statistical area, followed by Detroit , and Minneapolis–Saint Paul . Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan is the oldest city in the region, founded by French missionaries and explorers in 1668. As of 2023, the East North Central States are home to one of the top ten universities in the nation, according to 2022-23 U.S. News & World Report rankings: the University of Chicago , which

2990-497: The law has sometimes been settled via legal action. In Montana , the Montana Supreme Court in the decision Larson-Murphy v. Steiner , for a short time effectively eliminated some aspects of the open range doctrine altogether, though stating that it still applied in other cases, and required legislative action to update the state's statutes to ameliorate some inconsistent provisions of the decision. In that decision,

3055-451: The livestock owner is liable for damages of the fenced property. Conversely, the livestock owner is not liable in the absence of the "legal fence." An exception exists for "unruly" animals, usually meaning breeding bulls and stallions, which are supposed to be restricted by the owner. On roadways within an open range area, in a cow-car collision on a roadway, the rancher was at one time not generally liable, but recent law changes beginning in

3120-487: The most conservative. Religiously, conservative Evangelical Protestantism dominates the East South Central region as a central part of the Bible Belt . As of 2020, the East South Central states had a combined population of 19,430,030. The East South Central region covers 183,401 square miles of land. Within the region, Tennessee is the largest state by population, though Alabama is the largest by land area; Tennessee

3185-580: The open range was over and large cattle-drives were no more. At the same time, independently-owned ranches multiplied all over the developing West. Where there are "open range" laws, people wanting to keep animals off their property must erect a legal fence to keep animals out, as opposed to the "herd district" where an animal's owner must fence it in or otherwise keep it on the person's own property. Most eastern states and jurisdictions in Canada require owners to fence in or herd their livestock. Many states in

3250-644: The opinion of the Center for Biological Diversity , extensive grazing of livestock in the arid lands of the southwestern United States has many negative impacts on the local biodiversity there. Cattle destroy native vegetation, damage soils and stream banks, and contaminate waterways with fecal waste. After decades of livestock grazing, once-lush streams and riparian forests have been reduced to flat, dry wastelands; once-rich topsoil has been turned to dust, causing soil erosion, stream sedimentation and wholesale elimination of some aquatic habitats In arid climates such as

3315-515: The otherwise indigestible (by human gut ) cellulose within grass and other forages into meat , milk , wool and other animal products , often on land that is unsuitable for arable farming . Farmers may employ many different strategies of grazing for optimum production : grazing may be continuous, seasonal, or rotational within a grazing period. Longer rotations are found in ley farming , alternating arable and fodder crops; in rest rotation, deferred rotation, and mob grazing, giving grasses

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3380-478: The period when no grazing occurs. Patch-burn grazing burns a third of a pasture each year, no matter the size of the pasture. This burned patch attracts grazers (cattle or bison ) that graze the area heavily because of the fresh grasses that grow as a result. The other patches receive little to no grazing. During the next two years the next two patches are burned consecutively, then the cycle begins anew. In this way, patches receive two years of rest and recovery from

3445-473: The predecessor to open-range practices in the American West, much of which was part of Mexico prior to the 1840s. American ranchers borrowed many other cattle-raising techniques from Mexico. Unlike the Eastern United States, the Western prairies of the 19th century were vast, undeveloped, and uncultivated. The land was also generally much more arid, with scarce, widely separated sources of water. Until

3510-428: The property of anyone able to capture and brand them. The invention of barbed wire in the 1870s made it easier to confine cattle to designated areas, which helped to prevent overgrazing of the range, and made fencing huge expanses cheaper than hiring cowboys to handle cattle. In Texas and surrounding areas, rapid population growth required ranchers to fence off their lands. This initially brought considerable drama to

3575-424: The range into at least four pastures. One pasture remains rested throughout the year and grazing is rotated amongst the residual pastures." This grazing system can be especially beneficial when using sensitive grass that requires time for rest and regrowth. Deferred rotation "involves at least two pastures with one not grazed until after seed-set". By using deferred rotation, grasses can achieve maximum growth during

3640-465: The region following the westward expansion of the United States . Religiously, the East North Central states have been and remain predominantly affiliated with Christianity . Altogether, the five states are majority Catholic , non- and inter-denominational , Methodist , Lutheran , and Baptist . The largest non-Christian religion has been Islam . Chicago is the largest city in the region, followed by Columbus, Ohio and Indianapolis . Chicago has

3705-422: The removal of wild grazing animals), or by other human disturbance. Conservation grazing is the use of grazers to manage such habitats, often to replicate the ecological effects of the wild relatives of domestic livestock , or those of other species now absent or extinct. Grazer urine and faeces "recycle nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and other plant nutrients and return them to the soil". Grazing can reduce

3770-415: The same grasses grow, for example brome and bluegrass , consequently producing a monoculture . The ecosystems of North American tallgrass prairies are controlled to a large extent by nitrogen availability, which is itself controlled by interactions between fires and grazing by large herbivores. Fires in spring enhance growth of certain grasses, and herbivores preferentially graze these grasses, producing

3835-402: The soil with nutrient redistribution and aerating the soil by trampling, and by controlling fire and increasing biodiversity by removing biomass, controlling shrub growth and dispersing seeds. In some habitats, appropriate levels of grazing may be effective in restoring or maintaining native grass and herb diversity in rangeland that has been disturbed by overgrazing, lack of grazing (such as by

3900-621: The southwestern United States, livestock grazing has severely degraded riparian areas , the wetland environment adjacent to rivers or streams. The Environmental Protection Agency states that agriculture has a greater impact on stream and river contamination than any other nonpoint source . Improper grazing of riparian areas can contribute to nonpoint source pollution of riparian areas. Riparian zones in arid and semiarid environments have been called biodiversity hotspots . The water, higher biomass , favorable microclimate and periodic flood events together produce higher biological diversity than in

3965-709: The surrounding uplands. In 1990, "according to the Arizona state park department, over 90% of the original riparian zones of Arizona and New Mexico are gone". A 1988 report of the Government Accountability Office estimated that 90% of the 5,300 miles of riparian habitat managed by the Bureau of Land Management in Colorado was in an unsatisfactory condition, as was 80% of Idaho 's riparian zones, concluding that "poorly managed livestock grazing

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4030-470: The time of year when certain rights can be exercised. For example, the occupier of a particular cottage might be allowed to graze fifteen cattle, four horses , ponies or donkeys , and fifty geese , while the numbers allowed for their neighbours would probably be different. On some commons (such as the New Forest and adjoining commons), the rights are not limited by numbers, and instead a 'marking fee'

4095-418: The west, e.g. Texas, are at least nominally still open-range states. In modern times, free roaming cattle can be a nuisance and danger in developed areas. Most western states, even those that are nominally open at the state level, now limit open range to certain areas. Under open range law today, if livestock break through a "legal fence" (defined by law in terms of height, materials, post spacing, etc.), then

4160-406: The world's production of sheep and goat meat . For an estimated 100 million people in arid areas , and probably a similar number in other zones, grazing livestock is the only possible source of livelihood." Grazing management has two overall goals: A proper land use and grazing management technique balances It does this by allowing sufficient recovery periods for regrowth. Producers can keep

4225-464: Was responsible for 6% of total United States greenhouse gas emissions in 2006. This included rice production, enteric fermentation in domestic livestock, livestock manure management, and agricultural soil management , but omitted some things that might be attributable to agriculture. Studies comparing the methane emissions from grazing and feedlot cattle concluded that grass-fed cattle produce much more methane than grain-fed cattle. One study in

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