CALIFORNIA CATTLEMAN WEEKLY

August 4, 2025

To read the full version each week, please subscribe below.

Register for next week’s Midyear Meeting before Tuesday, August 12
The deadline to register for our Midyear Meeting is quickly approaching! Register before Tuesday, August 12. Prices will be increased onsite. With speakers lined up and time scheduled to discuss topics on water, cattle health management practices, predators, wildfire, insurance, and more you won’t want to miss being part of these discussions that will drive CCA’s policy priorities. Registration includes access to all meetings, lunch on Thursday, an evening reception Thursday and breakfast Friday morning. Cattle-PAC tickets are not included with registration and must be purchased separately (highly recommended that you stay for the Cattle-PAC event on Friday evening). Click here to register for Midyear and to purchase Cattle-PAC tickets, or call the CCA office at (916) 444-0845. Click here to view the tentative Midyear Meeting schedule.

Represent California on the Cattlemen’s Beef Board
Interested in helping shape the beef checkoff? Now is your chance to get involved! The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service is seeking nominees for the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board. Nominees will be considered to represent the Southwest Unit (California and Nevada) for a three-year term that will start in February. The Board is authorized by the Beef Promotion and Research Act of 1985 and is made up of 101 members representing 34 separate states, four units of geographically grouped states and one importer unit.

Any beef producer who owns cattle may be nominated by a USDA certified producer organization (including CCA) and submit a completed application. USDA will select appointees from the nominated producers. To learn more about the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and being nominated, click here. Those interested in being nominated please contact Katie Roberti by August 22 at katier@calcattlemen.org.

Governor Newsom Signs CCA-Sponsored AB 525
Last week, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that he had signed CCA-sponsored AB 525 (Lackey), which extends by five years the current agricultural vehicle exemption from the California Highway Patrol’s Basic Inspection of Terminals Program (BIT). The BIT Program requires certain motor carriers to periodically submit their vehicles, maintenance records and driving records for CHP inspection, with attendant fees paid to the Department of Motor Vehicles. Fortunately, since 2016 CCA has managed to exempt livestock producers from the BIT Program via legislation authored by Assemblyman Tom Lackey (R-Palmdale). The current exemption will remain effective through January 1, 2031; CCA is committed to seeking further extension ahead of that date. For further details, see last week’s edition of California Cattleman Weekly.

RMAC Seeks Input to Guide Development of Local-Regional Grazing Guidance
The Range Management Advisory Committee (RMAC) of the California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection is seeking stakeholder expertise and input as it develops a “Local-Regional Grazing Guidance” as required by 2024’s Senate Bill 675 (Limón).

According to RMAC Vice Chair Dr. Stephanie Larson, “Your feedback and experience are critical to the development of [an] informed, feasible, and effective Local-Regional Grazing Guidance,” and RMAC welcomes ranchers’ “thoughts on opportunities, constraints, and needs to support the increased pace and scale of fuels management via prescribed grazing.”

The survey can be accessed here and will be available until Monday, August 18. RMAC intends to utilize feedback from the survey to inform a draft Local-Regional Grazing Guidance to be released by September 11.

Apply for a CCA Scholarship 
In 2024, CCA awarded over $51,000 in scholarships to students studying agriculture. The application period for CCA’s 2025 scholarships is open now through October 1. Any young, regular, or feeder member are eligible to apply for the scholarship. Scholarship amounts and quantities vary year to year and recipients of the CCA scholarship program can re-apply the following year. To learn more and to download the application, click here. Applications must be typed and returned in full to the CCA office by Wednesday, October 1, at 11:59pm PST via email to Katie Roberti at katier@calcattlemen.org.

Upcoming CCA Events

Upcoming Industry Events

CCA in the News

Return of wolves sparks fear, strains law enforcement in rural California The Sacramento Bee “Rick Roberti, a rancher and president of the California Cattlemen’s Association, said he and his neighbors are conservationists and stewards of both their livestock and the animals that share the range with them.” To continue reading, click here. [Editor’s Note: This story was also published in and featured on the cover of yesterday’s printed edition of the Sacramento Bee. Click here to see the cover.]

Industry News

Rising beef prices challenge California vendors, shift consumer habits KCRA “The supply issue stems from a shrinking cattle herd, as rancher Pat Kirby explained. ‘In the last two years, we’re at the lowest level on cow production in 60 or 70 years, so if you look at the number of cattle that gets produced from females and you look at the demand that exists, that alone tells you the price is going to rally,’ Kirby said.” To continue reading, click here.

The Latest Weapons Against Wolves: AC/DC and Scarlett Johansson The Wall Street Journal “The wolf population has swelled since they were reintroduced in Yellowstone National Park in 1995. Attacks on cattle and sheep have soared, with ranchers often unable to harm the predators because of their endangered status. Riding to the rescue are drone cowhands, whose quadcopters have thermal cameras that can reveal any wolf lurking in the darkness and bathe it in a spotlight. A loudspeaker broadcasts alarming sounds like fireworks, gunshots and people arguing. One recording is of the fight between Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver in the movie ‘Marriage Story.’” To continue reading, click here.

Gifford Fire burns over 65,000 acres in California ABC News “The Gifford Fire, which began on Friday afternoon, is situated within the Los Padres National Forest in Solvang, California, impacting those within Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, officials said. As of Monday, the fire has engulfed 65,062 acres and is only 3% contained, according to Cal Fire.” To continue reading, click here.