CALIFORNIA CATTLEMAN WEEKLY

July 15, 2024

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CDFW Releases New Wolf Depredation Investigation Reports
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) last week released 11 new “livestock loss determination” reports detailing investigations of suspected livestock depredations by wolves. The reports are dated between April 7 and June 5 and confirm seven livestock kills by wolves, with another livestock kill determined to be “probably caused by wolves.”

Over the two-month period covered by the reports, Siskiyou County’s Whaleback Pack was confirmed to have killed four livestock animals, one of which was a llama; the Whaleback Pack was also responsible for the “probable” wolf depredation. Plumas County’s Beyem Seyo Pack was confirmed to kill at least three cattle over the two-month period, and the Harvey Pack was deemed responsible for killing a calf in Shasta County.

So far in 2024, CDFW has confirmed that 16 livestock animals have been killed by gray wolves in the state, including four lambs, a llama and 11 cattle. Of course, between undiscovered animals, unreported incidents and the challenges inherent to livestock loss investigations (a handful of investigations this year have resulted in “unknown” determinations), the actual number of wolf kills is likely much higher.

As previously reported in California Cattleman Weekly, CCA recently secured $600,000 in the FY 2024-25 State Budget to fund CDFW’s Wolf-Livestock Compensation Program. It is not yet clear whether this funding will be available for depredations which occurred between March 8 (when prior funding for the Program ran dry) and July 1 (when the new fiscal year began).

Newsom Administration Proposes Delaying Climate Reporting Law
Budget trailer bill language released last month by the Department of Finance proposes to delay all implementation and enforcement deadlines of Sen. Scott Wiener’s “Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act,” SB 253, by two years. The bill, signed into law last year and opposed by CCA, 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 – including “scope 3” emissions related to the companies’ entire supply chains. For more information, see last week’s edition of California Cattleman Weekly.

2024 Fire Season Outlook and Disaster Assistance Update Webinar
Join the Rancher Technical Assistance Program for a 2024 Fire Season Outlook and Disaster Assistance Update, Tuesday, July 23 at 11:30 am. During this update, CalFire’s Staff Chief John Morgan will speak about recent and ongoing incidents as well as a wildfire outlook for this fire season and the USDA’s Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) Scott Mahon will speak on assistance programs available to ranchers who experience wildfire losses.

The webinar will include time for Q&A.

RSVPs are required. To RSVP for the webinar, click here.

This is a free training hosted by the California Cattlemen’s Foundation with support from the California Cattle Council.

Legislators Approve $10 Billion Climate Bond for November Ballot
The Legislature on July 3 approved a $10 billion climate bond to be placed before California voters on the November 5 General Election Ballot. The most significant pot of money in the climate bond is $3.8 billion allocated to the state’s water infrastructure, of which more than $1 billion would be earmarked for dam safety and flood prevention and mitigation. $1.5 billion of the bond would go toward wildfire and forest resilience efforts, and $300 million is earmarked for climate-friendly farming and ranching programs. In a major win for CCA, a request to include $50 million in funding for alternative protein research and development was omitted from the bond bill. For additional details, see last week’s edition of California Cattleman Weekly or the August edition of the California Cattleman magazine.

Supreme Court Overturns Doctrine of Chevron Deference
Late last month, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its hotly anticipated ruling in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, overturning a decades-old legal doctrine known as Chevron deference which dictated that courts acquiesce to federal regulatory agencies’ interpretations of vague statutes. Loper’s is likely to invite legal challenges to a wide array of existing federal regulations previously upheld under Chevron. The ruling will also circumscribe agencies’ implementation of new federal laws and necessitate increased agency direction in federal legislation. For additional information, see the July 1 edition of California Cattleman Weekly.

2024 CCA Scholarship Applications Now Open 
The application period for the 2024 CCA Scholarships are being accepted now through October 1, 2024. CCA awarded over $49,000 in scholarships to students studying agriculture, although scholarship amounts and quantities vary year to year. Current CCA members (producer, feeder or YCC) that are currently enrolled at a university or college are eligible to apply. Past recipients of her CCA scholarship program may also apply again this year. For a complete list of awards and to download the application visit calcattlemen.org/scholarships. Contact Maureen in the CCA office at maureen@calcattlemen.org with any questions.

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Industry News

The Supreme Court took powers away from federal regulators. Do California rules offer a backstop? CalMatters “Under three back-to-back rulings, regulations that touch nearly every aspect of the American economy and American life (see: rules on food safety, water quality, overtime pay, medical billing, carbon emissions, fisheries monitoring and housing discrimination, to name a few) may soon be harder to enforce, more convenient to challenge in court and easier to strike down once challenged. For the conservative legal movement and for major business interests who bristle under what they see as an overreaching federal regulatory apparatus, the rulings mark a once-in-a-generation victory against the ‘administrative state.’ But in California, the effects of those rulings may be a bit more muted, legal experts say. California has an administrative state of its own.” To continue reading, click here.

NCBA and PLC File Lawsuit Against BLM Public Lands Rule The Public Lands Council “Today, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and Public Lands Council (PLC) filed a lawsuit against the misguided Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) ‘Conservation and Landscape Health’ rule. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming and seeks to overturn the rule which threatens generations of family ranching operations in the U.S. by undermining the long-held balance of multiple-use management.” To continue reading, click here.

Pesticide use continues to decline in California, new data confirms CDFA Planting Seeds Blog “Reported pesticide use in California declined by more than 5% between 2021 and 2022, reflecting a longer-term trend, according to the California Department of Pesticide Regulation’s most recent annual Pesticide Use Report.” To continue reading, click here.

Grashopper apocalypse? Why these farmers are bracing for an insect invasion Los Angeles Times “When a torrent of grasshoppers devoured more than 100,000 acres of grass pastures and rangeland three years ago in the state’s northeast, Mike McKoen felt bad for the cattle ranchers who took a financial hit.” To continue reading, click here.