CALIFORNIA CATTLEMAN WEEKLY

August 26, 2024

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Legislature Enters Final Week of Session
Today begins the final week of the 2023-24 Legislative Session as legislators barrel toward a Saturday Constitutional deadline to finalize votes on hundreds of outstanding bills. Once the Legislature concludes its work, Governor Gavin Newsom will have until the end of September to sign or veto measures advanced to his desk by the Legislature.

CCA will provide updates on the Association’s legislative priorities in upcoming editions of California Cattleman Weeklyand will share a comprehensive legislative recap in the November edition of the California Cattleman magazine. For an update on where CCA’s priorities stood after the appropriations committee deadlines passed on August 15, see last week’s edition of California Cattleman Weekly.

Sen. Wiener Proposes Modest Amendments to Climate Data Reporting Law
Instead, Senator Wiener (D-San Francisco) has amended his SB 219 to make minor tweaks to last year’s CCA-opposed SB 253, the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act, which requires companies with annual revenues over $1 billion which do business in California to annually report their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to the California Air Resources Board (CARB) – including “scope 3” emissions related to the companies’ entire supply chains.

Rather than delaying enforcement of the law – a concept previously floated by the Newsom Administration – Wiener’s proposal would merely delay the deadline by which CARB must finalize regulations implementing the law by six months, an amendment which does not resolve any of CCA’s outstanding concerns with SB 253. Wiener has proposed one minor, favorable amendment, however: allowing corporations’ subsidiaries to consolidate their disclosures at the parent company level.

CCA will continue to keep members apprised of developments regarding the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act. For more information, see last week’s edition of California Cattleman Weekly.

CLEAR Center Hosting “Salute to Ag” Football Game at UC Davis Home Opener
You’re invited to join the CLEAR Center and the California Cattlemen’s Foundation in honoring farmers, ranchers, workers, and allied industry members at the first-ever Salute to Ag Football Game at UC Davis. The CLEAR Center is sponsoring this home opener for the Aggies on Sept. 7 at 7 p.m. in the UC Davis Health Stadium.

The California Cattlemen’s Foundation, one of the many agricultural organizations with an informational booth at the game, will distribute factsheets about ranching in California and share the positive roles ranchers play in managing our state’s natural resources.

Thanks to the CLEAR Center’s sponsorship, CCA members are invited to purchase discounted tickets for this game. Enter the promo code CLEAR at goagspromo.com to receive approximately 50% off your tickets.

“What a great night it will be when we sponsor the Aggies’ first home game, treat students, alums, and families to specially priced tickets, and put our incredible agriculture industry in the spotlight,” said Frank Mitloehner, an animal agriculturalist, air quality specialist and director of the CLEAR Center. “Farming and ranching in California are among the best in the United States, if not the world. The growers and all the partners who make their work possible are showing what can be done when we come together to make the essential undertaking more sustainable.”

If you have any questions about the game, contact Katie with the Foundation at katier@calcattlemen.org. More details on the event are available here.

CARB Releases Fact Sheet on Agricultural Vehicles’ Compliance with Clean Truck Check Regulation
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has released a fact sheet which “provides an overview of the requirements for agricultural vehicles to comply with” CARB’s Clean Truck Check regulation. The regulation applies to nearly all non-gasoline vehicles (including diesel vehicles) with a gross vehicle weight rating over 14,000 pounds which operate within California. The regulation requires all regulated vehicles to be reported in CARB’s Clean Truck Check Vehicle Inspection System (CTC-VIS) Portal and to undergo periodic emissions compliance testing beginning January 1, 2025.

The fact sheet details the steps owners of agricultural vehicles must take to comply with the regulation. For additional information about the Clean Truck Check regulation, see CARB’s “Clean Truck Check (HD I/M)” Resources webpage.

Fire Impact – Winter Ground Availability
Fires have burned throughout the state of California this summer and have destroyed winter ground for various producers. To assist those who have lost their winter ground, CCA asks that if you have ground available to lease to those impacted by the fire. Please contact CCA Associate Director of Communications, Maureen LaGrande at maureen@calcattlemen.org or call the CCA office at (916) 444-0845.

2024 CCA Scholarship and Internship Applications Now Open 
The application period for the 2024 California Cattlemen’s Association Scholarships and Convention Internship are now being accepted. To learn more, click here. Any young, regular or feeder member are eligible to apply for the scholarship and internship. Past recipients and interns are eligible to reapply. If you are not currently a CCA member and would like to join visit https://calcattlemen.org/join. Contact Maureen in the CCA office at maureen@calcattlemen.org with any questions.

Opportunities to Get Involved at NCBA’s CattleCon 2025
Registration for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) CattleCon 2025 happening Feb. 4 – Feb. 6 in San Antonio, TX is now open! To view event details and to register, click here. CattleCon 2025 has a wide array of opportunities for attendees to participate in while in San Antonio. These include applying for the CattleCon Scholarships, Internship, applying to sing the National Anthem or participating in Beef’s Got Talent. To learn more about these various opportunities, click here.

Upcoming CCA Events

Upcoming Industry Events

Industry News

Livestock grazing protects western lands from wildfires Kentucky Ag Connection “The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) has released a study confirming the critical role that livestock grazing plays in protecting western rangelands from the dangers of wildfire.” To continue reading, click here.

ASI and NCBA Release Video on Public Lands Movement Criteria During FMD Outbreak American Ag Network “The American Sheep Industry Association (ASI) worked with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and other stakeholders to develop movement decision criteria guidance addressing unique scenarios that would arise for federal lands grazers in the event of a foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak. A 5-minute video describes the project and resources and can be viewed on the Secure Sheep and Wool Supply (SSWS) and Secure Beef Supply (SBS) websites under the Public Land Grazing pages. This has resulted from a multi-year cooperative project funded by a grant from the USDA National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program (NADPRP).” To continue reading, click here.

North American cattle industry leaders meet to discuss common challenges facing producers across Canada, United States and Mexico National Cattlemen’s Beef Association “The Canadian Cattle Association (CCA) hosted the 3rd 2024 triannual, trilateral meeting with its North American counterparts, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and Confederación Nacional de Organizaciones Ganaderas (CNOG) on the sidelines of the Canadian Beef Industry Conference this week. The trilateral meeting gives an opportunity for leadership to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing beef producers across Canada, the United States and Mexico. Topics at this year’s trilateral focused on trade policy, the upcoming review of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA/USMCA/T-MEC) in 2026, and international engagement on antimicrobial resistance.” To continue reading, click here.