CALIFORNIA CATTLEMAN WEEKLY

February 3, 2025

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Canada and Mexico Threaten Retaliation After President Trump Imposes Tariffs on Imports
On Saturday, President Donald Trump announced “a 25% additional tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10% additional tariff on imports from China.”

In response, Canada on Sunday announced a 25% retaliatory tariff on $30 billion in American goods which will take effect on Tuesday. Canadian Minister of Finance Dominic LeBlanc also announced “that the government intends to impose tariffs on an additional list of imported U.S. goods worth $125 billion,” including beef products.

As of press time, Mexico had threatened retaliatory tariffs but had not released a list of targeted goods. China has decried the new tariffs but has not yet threatened similar retaliation.

This is a fluid and developing issue; CCA will continue to keep members apprised of potential impacts from announced and threatened tariffs in the weeks to come.

Cattle Imports from Mexico to Resume as APHIS Implements Protocols to Protect Against New World Screwworm
USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced on Saturday that imports of live cattle and bison from Mexico “are scheduled to resume within the next several days” after the U.S. and Mexico “implemented a comprehensive pre-clearance inspection and treatment protocol to ensure safe movement and mitigate the threat of” New World screwworm.

As previously reported in California Cattleman Weekly, imports of live cattle from Mexico were halted on November 22, 2024 after New World screwworm was been detected in the Mexican state of Chiapas, along the nation’s southern border with Guatemala. According to APHIS, New World screwworm “are fly larvae that infest living tissue of warm-blooded animals, causing infection.”

For additional information, see the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s “New World Screwworm Resources” page.

CARB Releases 2024-25 Agricultural Vehicle, Equipment, and Infrastructure Survey
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is encouraging producers to take the 2024-25 agricultural vehicle, equipment and infrastructure survey, which allows CARB and other state agencies to “accurately depict agricultural vehicles and equipment across the state in air quality, energy, and infrastructure planning efforts and inform the distribution of incentive funding.” The survey is open through February 21 and can be found here.

New Episode of Sorting Pen: The California Cattleman Podcast
A new episode of Sorting Pen: The California Cattleman Podcast is out now! What happened in Point Reyes? Why are 11 ranching families leaving early next year? There are many questions you may have about the news that came about a month ago. This story is complex. It can be difficult to track and understand the full picture. To answer some of our questions and share his knowledge of the conflict Kevin Lunny, a rancher who has been in the park his entire life, joins us on this episode. Kevin explains the background of the issue, details the ongoing challenges, and discusses the future opportunities to come for the 11 families who are leaving their Point Reyes ranches behind, as well as the difficulties that could remain in the national park. Text us your comments, feedback and episode ideas! To listen, click here.

Newsom Approves $2.5 Billion in Wildfire Relief for Los Angeles County
Governor Gavin Newsom last month signed two bills providing upwards of $2.5 billion in disaster response funds to areas of Los Angeles County ravaged by recent wildfires. The first bill provides $1.5 billion for a variety of purposes, including evacuation and sheltering survivors, remediating post-fire hazards like flash flooding and landslides, air- and water-quality testing and safeguarding people and property, with $1 billion of that funding available immediately. The second measure provides upwards of $1 billion in additional funding for those purposes, along with money for rebuilding fire-damaged schools and inspecting other buildings. For more information, see last week’s edition of California Cattleman Weekly.

FinCEN Won’t Immediately Enforce Corporate Transparency Act Despite Supreme Court Lifting Injunction
Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court lifted an injunction which had prevented enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), federal legislation which would require many farms and ranches with 20 or fewer employees to begin filing “beneficial ownership information” with the Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Despite the Supreme Court’s decision, FinCEN has clarified that the “reporting companies are not currently required to file beneficial ownership information with FinCEN” and “are not subject to liability if they fail to file this information” because a separate injunction against enforcement of the CTA is currently in place. For more information, see last week’s edition of California Cattleman Weekly.

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How The Nature Conservancy came to broker a secret deal to end Point Reyes National Seashore’s ranching era The Press Democrat “Point Reyes cattle rancher Kevin Lunny remembers the day The Nature Conservancy came knocking on his door. It was in October 2022, and representatives from one of the world’s largest conservation groups were going door to door among the dozen or so remaining farm families in the 71,000-acre West Marin national seashore to ask a delicate question.” To continue reading, click here.

Bad policy served as kindling for California’s wildfires Turlock Journal “Sheep and cattle grazing on public lands, once common in Southern California, has largely been regulated out of use by bureaucratic restrictions and fees designed to discourage the practice. Wilderness restrictions make brush suppression more difficult throughout much of the state.” To continue reading, click here.