CALIFORNIA CATTLEMAN WEEKLY

June 15, 2026

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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, reach out to Gracie LeCheminant at gracie@calcattlemen.org.

California Legislature Reaches Budget Agreement, but Negotiations Continue
The California Senate and Assembly announced on Thursday that the chambers have settled on a framework for the 2026-27 Budget (as of press time the Legislature had not voted on the measure). The agreement is by no means the final word on the Budget: it merely satisfies the Legislature’s constitutional obligation to pass a budget bill by midnight tonight and ramps up budget negotiations with the Newsom Administration ahead of the new fiscal year, which begins July 1.

Senator John Laird (D- Santa Cruz), Chair of the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee, acknowledged that “There are still unresolved issues” which will need to be address by the Assembly, Senate and Governor’s Office in the weeks ahead. Those issues will be addressed via amendments to the Budget Act, ‘budget bills junior’ and budget trailer bills over the next two weeks, and particularly thorny issues – such as how to allocate funds from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and last year’s Climate Bond (Proposition 4) – may be punted to August, well after the fiscal year has begun.

While the Budget is far from settled, there are some promising provisions for cattle producers. The Budget Act includes $1.25 billion to CAL FIRE to backfill state operations and fire protection funding. According to an Assembly Floor Report, the budget agreement also maintains $23.5 million for CDFA’s voluntary, incentives-based Livestock Enteric Methane Emission Reduction Program. Additionally, the Budget would appropriate $228,000 for CDFA’s implementation of CCA-sponsored AB 411 (Papan, 2025), which authorizes on-ranch composting of routine livestock mortalities.

There are also some disheartening omissions in the budget agreement, however. There are currently no appropriations proposed for CDFW’s Wolf Program to fund compensation, collaring and other priorities, and legislators have indicated approval of the Governor’s proposal to merely fund the “Coexistence with Wildlife Initiative” at a paltry $1.02 million. CCA will continue to aggressively advocate for additional funding for the Wolf Program and CDFW’s other predator response initiatives as budget negotiations progress.

CCA will keep members apprised of further Budget developments impacting ranchers throughout the summer via California Cattleman Weekly and CCA’s other publications.

Forest Service Issues Directive to Expand Grazing Access on National Forest
On Friday, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins and U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz announced a directive instructing all USFS line officers to take a variety of actions in support of grazing on Forest Service lands. The directive is in furtherance of a March 31 memorandum of understanding “Advancing Grazing on Forest Service and BLM Lands” and the USDA-Department of Interior Grazing Action Plan.

The document directs all line officers to take a variety of actions “to further support ranchers and remove barriers to grazing on their units starting now.” Those actions include:

• Expanding access to vacant and closed grazing allotments;
• Promoting flexibility in grazing permits “to keep working lands working:’
• Streamlining permits and authorizations;
• Improved coordination with permittees during wildfires and other emergencies;
• “Elevating rural Americans by giving ranchers a better voice”; and
• Directing staff to prioritize “positive engagement with ranchers.”

The directive provides several discrete actions line officers should take to effectuate these priorities. To ensure line officers are properly briefed on the priorities and empowered to execute them, Chief Schultz has also directed all line officers to attend “a virtual Grazing Action Plan Implementation Summit on June 22 and 23.”

SWRCB Reimposes Surface and Ground Water Curtailments in Scott River Watershed
The State Water Resources Control Board on Tuesday announced that it has reimposed water rights curtailments for all surface rights within the Scott River Watershed after flows measured by the Fort Jones gage dipped below the applicable regulatory target of 125 cubic feet per second. According to the SWRCB, Tuesday’s announcement “ends the conditional suspension of curtailments” previously reported by California Cattleman Weekly on June 1.

Three days later, the Board additionally announced the curtailment of groundwater rights within the Scott River watershed. Recipients of that order are additionally “required to submit certain information to the State Water Board” regarding groundwater pumping and compliance with the order.

Water diversions for minimum livestock watering remain exempt from both orders, though rightsholders are required to file relevant forms with the SWRCB to qualify for the exemption. For additional information, see the announcements linked above or visit the SWRCB’s Scott River and Shasta River Watersheds Emergency Regulation webpage. Ranchers in the Scott River watershed are encouraged to sign up for direct email alerts from the SWRCB by selecting “Scott-Shasta Drought and Flow Efforts” under “Water Rights” within the SWRCB’s email subscription list and clicking “submit.”

UPDATE: USDA & Industry Deploy New World Screwworm Response Playbook
As of last night, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection has identified 12 cases of New World screwworm in domestic animals in Texas and New Mexico. The agency’s dashboard of confirmed detections is available here.

Last week, California Cattleman Weekly overviewed existing framework to respond to the threat of New World screwworm, including the federal government’s New World Screwworm Response Playbook; the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s entry requirements, reporting procedures and other resources; and industry resources for preventing and identifying New World screwworm.

While producers should be vigilant, there is every reason to be confident in the federal, state and cattle industry response. Additionally, it should be stressed that New World screwworm is not a food safety concern for beef consumers. For additional information, see last week’s edition of California Cattleman Weekly.

Producers Encouraged to Complete Livestock Veterinary Care Access Survey
The California Department of Food and Agriculture has partnered with California Farm Bureau to gather feedback on veterinary access throughout the state. According to California Farm Bureau, “The information collected may help support future veterinary shortage designations and strengthen participation in the USDA’s Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program.” Cattle ranchers and other livestock producers are encouraged to take the survey no matter their level of access to veterinary care.

To take the survey, click here. The survey closes June 30.

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Industry News

NCBA Looks for More Efficient Cattle Hauling Rules Ag Information Network  “The National Cattleman’s Beef Association is pushing on several fronts to make livestock hauling easier for the industry. Director of Government Affairs Zoe Wallace talks about efforts to address the hours of service limitations tied to electronic logging devices.” To continue reading, click here.

Hanford farmer Aubrey Bettencourt nominated for Bureau of Reclamation commissioner The Hanford Sentinel  “Bettencourt recently stepped down as chief of the Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, helping producers, soil and water conservation districts conserve natural resources on private working lands. She previously worked as the chief executive officer of the Almond Alliance, an American almond growers national trade association.” To continue reading, click here.