Sean Hannity seemed really sympathetic to the man last night.
After that piece, I agree that there’s no reason that forage should go to waste. Hannity claims that such forage reduces food costs. Hannity also claims the price the fees the fed wants are crazy.
I was glad to hear the old man refuse to say that he was going violent. He just said that they intend to do what they have to do to get their freedom back.
The forage might ‘go to waste’ if there is an endangered species there. I strongly dislike our endangered species laws. I think they are both a waste of time and counterproductive. However, I cannot blame a government agency when it obeys the law. Obeying the law is all too rare now!
But this dispute is centered on one thing - the rancher refusing to PAY for the forage his cattle consume as part of his business. He wants free food for his cattle. No other rancher gets a deal like that.
If the fed charge too much, go elsewhere. However, what you will find is that the fed will be able to sell their ‘product’ to someone else. That person may truck their cattle in and out, like my friend does. The feds write contracts that are a pain in the butt to work with, so the feds get paid less than a private owner. The rancher needs to factor in the pain as part of his operating costs because the feds reserve the right to cut the number of cattle allowed to graze at any time without warning.
But in the end, it is a free market system. Ranchers choose to buy grazing rights from the feds or from somewhere else. My friend has bought grazing in 3 states while operating a base farm of around 300 acres. That is pretty normal in the west.
Why should this guy get for free what all other ranchers pay market value for?
As for Hannity...what does Hannity know about western ranching?