CALIFORNIA CATTLEMAN WEEKLY

Nov. 3, 2025

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FSA Extends Deadline to Apply for 2023 and 2024 ELRP Assistance Through Friday
The USDA Farm Service Agency announced Wednesday that it had extended the deadline for livestock producers to apply for 2023 and 2024 flood and wildfire relief through the agency’s Emergency Livestock Relief Program. The deadline to apply is now this Friday, November 21.

To streamline delivery of the Emergency Livestock Relief Program, FSA has identified “counties with qualifying floods and wildfires in 2023 and 2024.” Those counties, as well as the qualifying disaster(s) and disaster month(s), can be viewed at FSA’s Approved Counties Dashboard.

In California, every county except Del Norte, Humboldt and Yuba counties has been identified as qualifying for ELRP relief. Producers in approved counties are not required to submit documentation demonstrating that a qualifying flood or wildfire occurred in the county. Producers in counties not pre-approved by FSA may still be eligible for ELRP relief provided they furnish documentation sufficient to demonstrate the existence of a qualifying flood or wildfire event in their county in 2023 or 2024, as outlined in FSA’s press release.

Payments under the program will be calculated at 60% of feed costs as calculated under the Livestock Forage Disaster Program. Ranchers may obtain financial assistance equal to up to one month’s calculated feed costs for qualifying wildfires and for up to three month’s calculated feed costs for eligible floods. There is a maximum payment limit of $125,000 per program year per producer.

For more information, see FSA’s press release or contact your local USDA service center.

Federal Government Reopens After Record-Breaking Shutdown
Last Wednesday, President Donald Trump signed into law a continuing resolution to fund the federal government, bringing an end to a shutdown that began on October 1 and lasted 43 days – the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

As reported in last week’s California Cattleman Weekly, the appropriations bill funds military construction and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, the legislative branch, the Department of Agriculture, rural development programs and the Food & Drug Administration through September 30, 2026. All other agencies are funded through January 30, 2026 at fiscal year 2025 levels – requiring legislators to again work toward a broader funding compromise to avoid another government shutdown.

Division B of the legislation – the Agriculture, Rual Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agency Appropriations Act – contains several key provisions for cattle ranchers. For instance, the legislation provides $1.2 billion to the Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service, including funding to aid ranchers in purchasing electronic identification (EID) tags and resources to combat emerging animal health threats like New World Screwworm and avian influenza. The USDA funding provisions also include a one-year extension of the 2018 Farm Bill, which expired in October.

Comments Due Friday on CDFA’s Climate Resilience Strategy
The California Department of Food & Agriculture is accepting public feedback on the agency’s Climate Resilience Strategy for California Agriculture through this Friday, November 21. According to a CDFA news release, the Strategy “outlines a comprehensive vision to help California farmers, ranchers, farmworkers, and agricultural communities prepare for and adapt to current and future climate impacts.” CCA is reviewing the Strategy and will provide feedback to CDFW prior to this Friday’s deadline.

California Voters Approve Proposition 50, Authorizing Mid-Cycle Redistricting
Earlier this month, California voters approved Proposition 50, green-lighting new Congressional maps gerrymandered in favor of California Democrats ahead of the 2026 Midterm Election. The new maps swing the demographic makeups of five Congressional districts currently held by Republicans firmly in favor of Democrats, giving the party a potential electoral advantage of 48-4 in future elections. As reported in last week’s California Cattleman Weekly, state Republicans have filed a lawsuit alleging that Proposition 50 violates the 14^th and 15^th amendments of the U.S. Constitution. On Thursday, the Trump Administration filed a brief seeking to intervene in support of the challenge to Proposition 50. For more information, see last week’s edition of California Cattleman Weekly.

Governor Newsom Issues Executive Order to Expand Prescribed Fire Implementation
Governor Gavin Newsom has signed an executive order “directing state agencies to reduce red tape and expand tools to safely deploy prescribed fire.” Among other provisions, the Executive Order directs CAL FIRE “to assist local agencies and beneficial fire practitioners to complete beneficial fire projects that limit dangerous wildfire conditions,” and exempts CAL FIRE’s efforts to do so from the California Environmental Quality Act. The Executive Order also seeks to streamline deployment of prescribed fire on private lands by making CAL FIRE site visits in advance of burn permit issuance discretionary rather than mandatory, and allows resource conservation districts and volunteer fire departments to avail themselves of the state’s Prescribed Fire Claims Fund Pilot Program. For more details on the beneficial fire executive order, see the November 3 edition of California Cattleman Weekly.

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Industry News

USDA launches new weapon against screwworm in Mexico BEEF Magazine “The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the next milestone in the fight against New World screwworm (NWS) – the opening of a sterile fly dispersal facility in Tampico, Mexico. The Tampico facility will allow USDA to disperse sterile flies aerially across northeastern Mexico, including in Nuevo Leon.” To continue reading, click here.

Americans Just Can’t Get Enough Beef Bloomberg “What’s interesting is that soaring prices have done little to curb demand. US carnivores have been trading down on quality and loading up on sauces that help mask the cheaper cuts, and the protein obsession is helping too. This insatiable appetite means America has no choice but hoover up meat from elsewhere, making international suppliers the big winners from the shortage.” To continue reading, click here.