Sorting Pen: The California Cattleman Podcast

Season 6, Episode 16

On August 24, the U.S. border is set to reopen to cattle from Mexico at the Douglas Port in Arizona, more than a year after the border was closed due to the threat of New World screwworm. What will the reopening mean for cattle feeders in Arizona and California, and what will it take to get cattle moving across the border again?

On this episode, we sort through the history and impact of the border closure, why Douglas was chosen as the first port to reopen, and the animal health safeguards cattle will have to meet before entering the U.S. We also look ahead to what the first few weeks of reopening could look like for cattle feeders, how feeders are preparing for the continued threat of New World screwworm, and what this could mean for the California cattle industry in the years ahead.

CCA Feeder Chair Mike Sulpizio of Superior Cattle Feeders returns to Sorting Pen to help explain. Joining him is Wesley Eade of EMCO Cattle Company, a longtime cattle feeder in Arizona and California whose business has brought cattle across the border for decades.