Sorting Pen: The California Cattleman Podcast

California dairyman and CCA Feeder Council Vice Chair Jack Hoekstra talks with Katie about what concerns and opportunities are top of mind for California dairy producers almost three quarters into the year.

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In this episode, California Cattle Council Executive Director Justin Oldfield explains why 10% of the Council's annual budget is put into a response fund, of which dollars are only deployed if an emergency or a potentially significant disruption to California's cattle industry arises.

Hear how this response fund is proving to be vital and about the special educational campaign it is currently funding in Sonoma County.

To learn more about the campaign visit sonomacows.com.

Learn more about the California Cattle Council at calcattlecouncil.org.

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This episode is focused on getting everyone up to speed on a new law called the Corporate Transparency Act. It is a law that was passed in 2021 and is now being enforced, with deadlines quickly approaching—which if you miss could result in  extreme fines. If your farm or ranch has 20 or fewer employees, is structured as a corporation, LLC, or filed registration paperwork with the secretary of state, you may be required to file new paperwork with a division of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. NCBA’s Executive Director of Government Affairs Kent Bacus is this episode's guest. Kent explains what the law this is, what this could mean for your ranch (or other business), how the law came about and more.

The conversation in this episode is not professional advice. After listening, it would be best to consult with a tax professional or attorney for advice as to whether the Corporate Transparency Act applies to you.
  
Episode Resources:

• NCBA Reminds Cattle Producers to Review Corporate Transparency Act and Avoid Costly Penalties
• Why Join NCBA?

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This November California voters will see a $10 Billion Climate Bond on their ballots. CCA's Vice President of Government Affairs Kirk Wilbur shares about the win teased in the prior episode—keeping funding for alternative protein research and development out of the Climate Bond. 

In this part two episode, also hear Kirk share about some of the aspects CCA members may be pleased to see included in this Bond.

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1. Stopping two very problematic water rights bills that were introduced at the beginning of this Legislative Session
   
   
2. Securing dollars in the State Budget, amid an extremely difficult budget deficit, to keep the California's Wolf-Livestock Compensation Program alive
   
   
3.  Keeping the State Water Resources Control Board from adding additional costs to some producers and users for water quality permitting and enforcement

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In 1998, members from the California Cattlemen’s Association joined together to form the California Rangeland Trust (CRT). Now over 25 years later, CRT has permanently protected close to 400,000 acres. To discuss CRT's goal's and explain what conservation easements are, CRT Chief Executive Officer Michael Delbar and Vice Chair of CRT's Board of Directors Clayton Koopmann, join Katie on this episode.

Hear discussions on how CRT has grown and evolved in the last 25 years, the work CRT is doing, what an easement is, who the partners working with CRT to conserve these rangelands are, common misconceptions about conservation easements and more.

Episode resources:

• https://rangelandtrust.org/podcast
• CRT Ecosystem Service Study
• You Just Can't See Them From The Road Documentary Trailer

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On this episode, Jake Parnell makes his debut on Sorting Pen to discuss Western Video Market’s recent restructuring, give an outlook on the July WVM sale and discuss the importance of auction yards.

Jake recently became president and chair of the board for Western Video Market. He is also a professional auctioneer, owner and president of Cattlemen's Livestock Market, co-owner of Parnell Dickinson, one of the founders and president of the California Youth Ag Expo and the Livestock Marketing Association’s Western Director.

Episode resources:

• Press release: Western Video Market Reorganizes to Better Serve the Livestock Industry
• Producer Profitability Initiative Seeks to Spark Conversation, Unite Industry

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Tom DeJarnette is a retired Navy SEAL Captain and was recently a guest speaker at CCA's Feeder Meeting a few weeks ago. Before speaking to attendees at the event, Tom sat down with Sorting Pen Host Katie Roberti and CCA's Feeder Council Chair Mike Sulpizio for this episode to share about his presentation and perspectives on leadership. Hear some of the takeaways he shares from his 26-year Naval career and how he connects many of them to the beef industry. 

More about Tom:
Tom DeJarnette graduated from the University of South Carolina in 1993 with a double major in English and Economics. As an All-American swimmer, it was a natural fit to join the Navy and go to Basic Underwater Demolition SEAL (BUDS) training. 

As a retired Navy SEAL Captain with over 25 years of special operations experience working in high stress/no fail environments, Tom is proud of his military experiences and the lessons he learned about leadership, organizational structure, training, and culture. He built and led high performance teams from 20 to 400 people using these fundamentals and regularly proved they work under the most demanding conditions. Tom’s 26-year Naval career included Operational Tours at SEAL Team ONE (ST-1), SEAL Team THREE, Naval Special Warfare Unit TEN (NSWU-10), Special Operations Command CENTRAL (SOCCENT), and Special Boat Team TWENTY (SBT-20). His staff tours included NSWU-10, SOCCENT, SBT-20, USMC Command and Staff College, ST-1, Naval Special Warfare Group ONE, Naval Special Warfare Group THREE, and Naval Special Warfare CENTER. Throughout his time in the SEAL Teams, what Tom enjoyed most was taking care of people and setting the conditions so that his teammates could be the best versions of themselves every day. 

With Tom’s successful transition to the private sector in 2019, he continues to add unique value to like-minded corporate organizations because he implements time-honored Special Operations principles in a way that resonates with high-performance teams focused on authenticity, durability, and achieving a competitive advantage. In 2019, Tom was hired by Volunteer Employee Benefits Association (VEBA) as the Chief Administrative Officer where he established What The Strong Do To Rise LLC in support of VEBA contracting objectives. From 2020 – 2022, Tom established his personal LLC to embark on various leadership and cultural development contracting opportunities. Contracting led to another salary opportunity in 2021 as the Chief People Officer for Symbiont, a Fintech Blockchain company, where he got to focus on quality-of-life issues for a company of proven performers. 

Tom continues to enjoy working with high performance teams who are focused on selflessness, accountability, and work to solve problems in a way that preserves the long-term health of an organization. 

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The National Cattlemen's Beef Association's Vice President of Government Affairs Ethan Lane is back on the podcast to discuss what the current focuses are in Washington D.C. At time of recording on Thursday, May 23, the House Agriculture Committee was marking up the Farm Bill, which was passed later that evening. Hear Ethan discuss the Farm Bill process, give insights on what the rest of this Congress will look like and explain some of the confusion NCBA is hearing around the final traceability rule.

Episode Resources

• NCBA Press Release: House Farm Bill Includes Top Cattle Industry Priorities
• Details on the 2024 Cattle Industry Summer Business Meetings happening July 8-10 in San Diego.

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Assemblymember Gregg Hart joined the California Legislature last January. In that time he's gone out of his way to work with CCA's government affairs team and get to know ranchers. On this episode of Sorting Pen, get to know Assemblymember Hart. Hear about the priority issues he is working on in Sacramento, how he shares about rural issues and needs with other legislators from more urban districts, and more. 

Bonus: There are 63 National Parks in the U.S. Can you guess how many of them Assemblymember Hart has visited? Listen to the full episode to find out!

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