Impact of environmental regulations on cattle production

A greater focus of legislative mandates is directed toward nonpoint sources of pollution. This article focuses on environmental regulations and their impact on cattle production. Key legislation will be reviewed to stress how variations in the type of law, degree of impact, enforcement mechanism, and time line for compliance affect the ability for research to be designed and accomplished in a desired time frame and to yield data on which imposed management practices should be based. Science-based regulations are desired to maximize beneficial impacts of management practices; however, many regulations are developed and management practices are imposed prior to research to minimize liability of the regulatory agency in case natural resources are degraded in the absence of management practices. The technology adoption process will be reviewed. Documented impact of imposed management practices (technology adoption) will be presented. Of particular interest is the importance of documenting the economic and resource impacts of regulations on livestock operators. Types of research needed prior to implementing management practices will be reviewed. Local involvement can increase the adoption rate of practices and technologies.