We headed north to Yreka to chat with Siskiyou County Livestock and Natural Resources Advisor Grace Woodmansee for this episode. Grace provides updates on how the livestock pass worked during recent fires, shares how she got to Siskiyou County and talks about a few of the ranches doing direct to consumer marketing in the area. She also shares about research she is about to begin on direct to consumer marketing.

Episode resources: 
In this episode, we mention a couple ranches we visited that served as the tour stops for the Siskiyou County Cattlemen’s 2022 Fall Tour. If you’d like to learn more about those ranches check out their websites:

• StarWalker Organic Farms
• Crown H Cattle Company
• Jenner Family Beef

Dr. Marissa Silva, a veterinarian with the California Dept. of Food and Ag, comes on the podcast to share all about what the state’s Antimicrobial Use & Stewardship program is, discuss the difference between antibiotic resistance and residue, highlight resources available to help producers with managing herd health and more.

 Episode resources: 

General AUS page: https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/AHFSS/AUS/
Veterinary Shortage: https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/AHFSS/AUS/CAVetNeeds.html

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Environmental Counsel Mary-Thomas Hart joins Katie to explain how a decision earlier this summer from the Supreme Court on West Virginia v. EPA is going to have broad impacts on how the EPA and other agencies can regulate and write administrative rules. Mary-Thomas also shares NCBA’s thoughts on the Inflation Reduction Act and about some pertinent pieces in it for cattle ranchers. 

Visit https://www.ncba.org/policy for more information on NCBA's policy priorities.

August marks one year of Sorting Pen! Listen to our 27th episode to hear WSR’s Matt Griffith explain what you need to know about the Pasture, Rangeland & Forage (PRF) Insurance product. Stay tuned in to the end of the episode for a look at what’s to come on this podcast in the weeks ahead.

Matt is back on the podcast to talk about his experience at Western Video Market’s July sale in Reno. Later in the episode he talks about the upcoming fall bull sale run and gives advice for deciding which bulls to buy.

CCA Fire Subcommittee Chair Anthony Stornetta cohosts this episode with Katie, as Len Nielson, CAL FIRE Staff Chief for Prescribed Fire and Environmental Protection joins them for an update. In the conversation hear about the role ranchers and prescribed burn associations have in helping the state reach its goals for prescribed fire, available grants and partnerships for those who want to participate, the 2022 Prescribed Fire Strategic Plan and more.

For over two decades Duane Lenz has been coming to CCA events to present the CattleFax Outlook. This year’s Midyear Meeting marked his final event with CCA as Duane is soon retiring. In the episode, Duane talks about his 33 year career with CattleFax and changes he’s seen over the years. Katie and Duane also discuss a few of the issues touched on in the outlook given at Midyear.

Summer grilling is here! On this episode of Sorting Pen, Jess Pryles, meat specialist and advocate, live fire cook, author and founder of Hardcore Carnivore joins us. Hear how Jess, a city girl from Melbourne, got into learning all she could about meat and why she’s passionate about busting false myths about beef and other proteins. Bonus: Later in the episode, Jess shares some of her favorite grilling tips and tricks.

 Episode Resources: 

Check out Jess Pryles’ website to learn more: https://jesspryles.com.

The World Butchers Challenge is coming to Sacramento! Find out more: https://www.worldbutcherschallenge.com/sacramento-2022.

In this episode we hear from CCA Feeder Council leaders Jesse Larios and Trevor Freitas. The two give a recap on CCA’s Annual Feeder Meeting that took place May 25-27 in San Diego and discuss a few of the big issues impacting California’s feeder industry.

As it turns out 20 minutes was not enough time to talk through Foothill Abortion, an issue that has been one of CCA’s top research priorities for decades. Although this update is longer than most Sorting Pen episodes, it is worth the listen as UC Davis professor and researcher Dr. Jeffrey Stott and EBA Product Manager at Hygieia Biological Laboratories Jenna Chandler join Katie for a detailed conversation.

At the beginning of the episode, hear Dr. Stott share about what Foothill Abortion is, his decades of research on it and the collaborative support it took to have a vaccine finally made commercially available in the fall of 2020. Then learn how you can get the vaccine, what you need to know about using the vaccine and what’s at stake if Foothill Abortion does takeover your herd.

Dr. Stott wraps the episode up by sharing about ongoing research and emphasizes the most important facts to know about Foothill Abortion.

Episode Resources
To read other common FAQS about the vaccine visit:https://calcattlemen.org/2020-the-year-of-a-foothill-abortion-vaccine.

Email Jenna at jenna@hygieialabs.com to learn more about obtaining the vaccine.

To talk with Dr. Stott about the research behind the vaccine click here.

A bill intended to prohibit new animal feeding operations and slaughterhouses in California failed to advance in the legislature last week and is dead for the year. CCA’s Kirk Wilbur is back on the podcast to discuss this recent win, CCA’s leadership on it and a few other pieces of good news.

Episode resources:
Read the latest Legislative Bulletin update and sign up for the newsletter.
New York Post Article: Americans are eating more beef than ever — despite vegan ‘trend’

Happy Earth Week! This episode offers a reminder of how critical grazing is in California. To discuss the role of grazing, her research and more, Dr. Lynn Huntsinger, a UC Berkeley Professor of Rangeland Ecology and Management and the Russell Rustici Chair in Rangeland Management, joins Katie out at the Koopmann Ranch in Contra Costa County.

Learn more about Dr. Huntsinger's research by clicking here to read the paper "Rangeland Land-Sharing, Livestock Grazing’s Role in the Conservation of Imperiled Species."

CCA contract lobbyist Jason Bryant joins Katie to talk about the significant changes coming over the next two years to who will make up California’s legislature. Hear about the considerable impact this turnover in legislators will have on CCA and learn about the role of the redistricting process in helping to drive this change.

Don't wait! The State Water Resources Control Board recently changed the due date for water measurement and use reporting. The deadline for 2022 is April 1. Noah Lopez of the Rancher Technical Assistance Program joins Katie to talk about the due date change and highlights other issues producers can gain assistance on through RTAP. 

Episode resources:

To watch the SB 88 Water Measurement & Reporting Webinar that Noah talks about in the episode follow this link: https://youtu.be/rl-74RABEgE. 

Reach out to the RTAP team at 916-406-6902 or rtap@wrstrat.com. 

Learn more about RTAP at https://www.calcattlemenfoundation.org/rtap. 

In 2021, the CCA Fire Subcommittee helped lead the Association to two major successes: 1) enabling the development of county Livestock Pass programs and 2) reducing prescribed fire practitioners’ liability risk. The Subcommitee is continuing to build on these successes and achieve more progress this year. In this episode, Anthony Stornetta, a San Luis Obispo County cattle rancher and Santa Barbara County Fire Department Battalion Chief,  joins Katie to talk about current priorities and more.

CCA is proud to be a member of the Animal Agriculture Alliance, a nonprofit organization with the mission to safeguard the future of animal agriculture and its value to society by bridging the communication gap between farm and food communities. Katie caught up with the Hannah Thompson-Weeman, the Alliance’s Vice President for Strategic Engagement to share what the Alliance does, including their work on protecting agriculture from extreme animal rights activists. Hear Hannah’s advice on what to do if an activist comes into contact with you or your operation and learn more about the Alliance at https://animalagalliance.org

On Feb. 2, all eyes were on the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s Live Cattle Marketing Meeting and the policy that would come out of it. California producers showed up to the meeting in Houston with a unified goal and plan. In this episode, CCA President Tony Toso talks about that game plan and CCA leadership’s decision to push for a “no cash mandates” policy at that meeting. Later in the episode, NCBA’s Tanner Beymer gives further details about the meeting and what’s next for NCBA’s work to improve cattle markets.

The California legislature is back for the second year of its 2021-22 legislative session and CCA’s government affairs team is already working hard to block bad legislation and sponsor some of CCA’s own bills. Listen now as Kirk explains.  

In December, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved new amendments to the Small Off-Road Engine (SORE). California Cattlemen’s Foundation Public Policy Advocate Victoria Rodriguez joins Katie in this first episode of season two to talk about these changes and about what this means for equipment important to ranching.

 The new California Cattlemen’s Foundation website: http://calcattlemenfoundation.org

 As mentioned multiple times in the episode, a comprehensive list of equipment CARB presumes to be “farm equipment” exempt from the regulations is available at: https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/sore-list-determine-preempt-road-applications.

 Victoria’s recent comments in the Western Livestock Journal: https://www.wlj.net/top_headlines/ca-releases-draft-proposal-for-state-s-30x30-plan/article_d1945c7e-6f07-11ec-850c-5b16029f3fd9.html

Happy Holidays! Tune into our final episode of the year to hear from Annette and Christie at the California Beef Council about the work they do to drive beef demand this time of year. Check out the links below to see some of  CBC's current holiday promotion. 

Healthy and Hassle-free Recipes for the Holidays

https://storystudio.sfgate.com/health-and-convenience-with-california-beef/

Make Your Holiday Meal a Showstopper

https://storystudio.sfgate.com/make-beef-wellington-with-california-beef/

Quiz: Discover Your Perfect Holiday Meal

https://storystudio.sfgate.com/california-beef-holiday-quiz/

Tour of California Pairings

https://storystudio.sfgate.com/tour-of-california-beef-wine/

What’s the weather going to do this winter and looking later into 2022? Following his presentation at the 105th CCA/CCW Convention, Meterologist Brian Bledsoe talks with Katie answers this question as he shares about the weather outlook.

Recording from the 105th CCA/CCW Convention, Dr. Derrell Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension Specialist for Livestock Marketing and Professor, talks with Katie about the general session presentation he gave on cattle markets. Listen as they quickly talk about the markets, price discovery vs. price determination and options for solutions currently being discussed.

Episode resources:

• Dr. Peel talks about a proceeding that was published back in June by Texas A&M. Here is the link to that for those wanting to learn more about cattle markets and price discovery: The U.S. Beef Supply Chain: Issues and Challenges Proceedings of a Workshop on Cattle Markets.
• The Farm to Market podcast hosted by Dr. Peel and Charlie Amos was mentioned in the episode. While at the CCA/CCW Convention, Dr. Peel sat down with 5th generation rancher Clayton Koopmann to learn more about ranching in California. Click here to listen to that episode.

Don’t have the fear of missing out (FOMO) on the 105th CCA/CCW Convention! In this quick episode Katie and Tony highlight some of the speakers and workshops set for the event and preview upcoming episodes to come after it. See you in Reno!

Dr. Frank Mitloehner, a professor and air quality specialist in cooperative extension for the Department of Animal Science at UC Davis, shares an update for producers on the recent work he’s doing pertinent to cattle and the environment. We also ask his advice on the best way ranchers can share about the positive role cattle have on California rangelands.