You had an opportunity here and blew it.  Your use of terminology is wrong and you have added to the confusion surrounding utilization and harvest efficiency.

The harvest coefficient is understood as the “percent allowable use” (Holechek 1988). It is a mathematical variable chosen by the manager to calculate how much of a total year’s forage/biomass production should be considered available to grazing animals in stocking rate. According to Holechek (2000), “the harvest coefficient is the percentage of total forage produced that is assigned to grazing animals for consumption.”

This is something different than utilization rate, and, more recently, its updated synonym harvest efficiency, which ordinarily refers to the on-the-ground measurement of residual after a grazing event or season in order to estimate the inverse, percent biomass removed, or utilization. Your helpful document on this topic, Shane, is consistent with these definitions. You define harvest efficiency (HE) as: "The total percent of vegetation harvested by a machine or ingested by a grazing animal compared to the total amount of vegetation grown in the area in a given year…. Harvest efficiency is the percentage of forage actually ingested by the animals from the total amount of forage produced.” Again, harvest coefficient is the calculated allowable use factor, harvest efficiency is the actual results on the ground. I would still argue that utilization rate is more applicable to a single grazing event, whereas HE intends to communicate the percent of annual biomass removed.

The North Complex Fire of 2020 was estimated to produce more carbon dioxide and pollutants in one week than all of the cars in California in one year. That fire was in the list of 5 biggest fires in state history until it got surpassed by the August Complex Fire the same year. But it remains one of the deadliest, with 15 human deaths. This fire also burned to death hundreds of cows and calves, and that toll should not be forgotten. We can have theoretical and scientific discussions about how much wild fire to allow, how much prescribed fire to initiate, and how much forest to thin, but these discussion must consider the high psychological and human costs of large, catastrophic wildfires. Dave Daley knows this in a way most of us will never experience, and he hopes no one else does. This story covers ranch history, fire history, massive plant community shifts, horrific cattle deaths, and the impact of large wildfire on Dave's family.

Transcript and links at https://artofrange.com/episodes/aor-125-human-costs-catastrophic-wildfire-dave-daley

AoR 125: The Human Costs of Catastrophic Wildfire, with Dave Daley

Australia is hosting the IRC2025 in Adelaide, and this is the biggest rangelands event leading up to the 2026 UN International Year of Rangelands & Pastoralists. Australia boasts more rangeland than the United States, with wild, open spaces everywhere. Andrew and Nicole discuss uniquenesses of Australia, challenges common to other parts of the world, and the 7 themes of the congress. This event is an excellent opportunity to visit this less-peopled continent with a fascinating history. Submit to present at the conference by June 2, and check out the pre-congress tour options, which will sell out fast.

Go to https://artofrange.com/episodes/aor-128-international-rangelands-congress-2025-nicole-spiegel-andrew-ash
for resources mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the conversation.

AoR 128: International Rangelands Congress 2025, with Nicole Spiegel & Andrew Ash

Is it possible to generate renewable energy, beef, and wildlife habitat in the same space? Long-time collaborators Puget Sound Energy, WSU Extension, Stingley Ranches, and Washington Dept of Fish & Wildlife have proven the reality of this unlikely combination for more than 15 years on sagebrush ecosystems in the Intermountain West. The Wild Horse Coordinated Resource Management group has been managing grazing and a wide diversity of wildlife species on a wind energy facility since 2007, with a stable grazing process, abundant non-game and game species, and power for 80,000 households. The wind farm has facilitated, rather than diminished, habitat conservation through funding rehabilitation, stockwater, and innovative grazing in addition to preventing housing development on extraordinarily valuable habitat.

Transcript and links at https://artofrange.com/episodes/aor-126-renewable-energy-wildlife-grazing-jeff-tayer-ryan-stingley-jennifer-galbraith.

AoR 126: Renewable Energy, Wildlife, & Grazing with Jeff Tayer, Ryan Stingley, & Jennifer Galbraith

"Layer something on your dirt that increases revenue opportunities and reduces risk." Clay Worden and James Rogers offer capstone comments on The Art of Range ranch financial resiliency series, from the importance of leveraging land assets (the big value in a ranch property) to tracking and managing production unit costs and revenues.
Transcript and links at https://artofrange.com/episodes/aor-127-ranch-financial-success-bigger-cow-profits-clay-worden-james-rogers

AoR 127: Ranch Financial Success is Bigger than Per-Cow Profits, Clay Worden & James Rogers

Neighbors helping neighbors fight fire--this is the goal of Rangeland Fire Protection Associations (RFPAs) according to the Idaho Dept of Lands: "RFPAs empower local landowners to protect their own property and their neighbors’ where fire protection services are limited or not available. RFPAs can also respond to fires nearby that would otherwise take time for other firefighting agencies to reach." Mike Guerry, a French Basque 3rd generation rancher, has been instrumental in establishing and supporting RFPAs in Idaho. Under this cooperative arrangement, landowners and ranchers are able to coordinate with fire agencies in active firefighting.

Transcript and links at: https://artofrange.com/episodes/aor-129-rangeland-fire-protection-associations-basque-rancher-mike-guerry

AoR 129: Rangeland Fire Protection Associations with Basque rancher, Mike Guerry

It's been said that the only thing that is certain is change. These young rangeland professionals engage in interview discussion around what "Change on the Range" means to them. The 2023 annual meeting plenaries addressed the synthetic nature of rangeland science and the necessity of working across disciplinary and geographic and social boundaries  to be effective. Effective change may require all of that. Join Katherine Haile, Paige Stanley, Kaelie Pena, Josh Tashiro, and Melissa Lackore in our conversation about rangelands and productive change.

TRANSCRIPT AND LINKS AT https://artofrange.com/episodes/aor-130-society-range-management-plenary-change-range-young-professionals

AoR 130: Society for Range Management Plenary "Change on the Range" with Young Professionals

Guest Karen Launchbaugh and host Tip Hudson discuss grazing management principles that apply everywhere, coordinating grazing management across multiple ownerships, stocking rate planning for long-term rangeland health, and the pros and cons of common grazing rules of thumb.

SURVEY
Please take 60 seconds to complete this quick 5-question survey: https://wsu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4GHpHVHlsouSorr

TRANSCRIPT
A full transcript is available at: https://bit.ly/2NfeCIq 

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Land EKG Grazing Response Index: http://www.landekg.com/newsletter-200909/

Original Grazing Response Index: https://www.blm.gov/or/programs/nrst/files/Grazing%20_Response_Index.pdf

Journal article "Practical Grazing Management to Meet Riparian Objectives", by Sherman Swanson: https://journals.lib.uidaho.edu/index.php/jra/article/view/16

Burkhardt & Sanders paper, "Management of Growing Season Grazing in the Sagebrush Steppe": https://journals.uair.arizona.edu/index.php/rangelands/article/view/19540/19175 

Targeted Grazing Handbook website and publications: http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/rx-grazing/handbook.htm

AoR 2: Karen Launchbaugh, Grazing Management Fundamentals

The Art of Range is a podcast about rangelands for people who manage rangelands.  Our goal is education and conservation through conversation.  Find us online at www.artofrange.com.

AoR 2: Karen Launchbaugh, Grazing Management Fundamentals

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