How many livestock can I run per acre on a BC ranch?

The number of livestock a parcel can carry — its carrying capacity — depends on the forage base, the water, the climate, and the soil, not on a simple per-acre rule, and it varies enormously across BC. A lush Fraser Valley pasture can carry far more animals per acre than a dry Cariboo or Interior range, where the forage is seasonal and the carrying capacity is measured in acres per animal, not animals per acre.

The standard measure on range land is the animal unit month (AUM), which is the amount of forage one mature cow needs for one month, and a parcel's AUM capacity is determined by the forage production, the grazing season, and the management practices. Overstocking — running more animals than the land can sustain — degrades the forage base, and on Crown grazing tenure the authorized AUMs are the ceiling, not a suggestion.

I help buyers understand the carrying capacity of a ranch in the region it is in, and whether the deeded land and any Crown tenure together support the operation you have in mind. Read our Buying a Farm guide for the framework, and verify the forage and water capacity before you set your stocking rate, because overgrazing is a costly and hard-to-reverse mistake.