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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Earlier this week, Central Valley Meat Holding Company announced it has entered an agreement to purchase the Cargill Meat Solutions beef processing facility in Fresno, Calif. 

Brian Coelho, CEO and President of Central Valley Meat, joins CCA's Katie Roberti to talk through this new acquisition and what it may mean for California’s beef industry.

Background:
Central Valley Meat is a diversified family-owned corporation. Harris Ranch Beef Company and Harris Ranch Feeding are two of the facilities owned by the company, in addition to Central Valley Meat and CLW Foods.

Click here to read the company's press release announcing the purchase.

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“Today, Sonoma County Family Farmers are under attack," Sonoma County Farm Bureau's website says.  "A ballot measure is being proposed by an animal extremist group from Berkeley, CA, aimed to eliminate Sonoma County’s diverse animal agriculture production."

This episode of Sorting Pen discusses what the ballot measure is, the potential impacts, and how to support Sonoma County farmers and ranchers amid this attack. Joining Katie on this episode to explain are Dayna Ghirardelli and Jennifer Beretta.

Dayna is Sonoma County Farm Bureau's Executive Director. Jennifer is a fourth generation Sonoma County dairy farmer, board member of Sonoma Farm Bureau and dairy representative for the California Cattle Council.

Visit https://www.sonomacountyfamilyfarmersalliance.com/ to support the Sonoma County Family Farmers Alliance.

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With dairy cattle testing positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza for the first time a few weeks ago, this episode is to give California beef producers an update on the situation. 

Joining Katie to have this conversation and talk through what producers should know about the virus, current industry concerns, how it is being monitored and more is Dr. Tom Talbot, veterinarian and cattle rancher in Bishop, California. Tom is also a past CCA President and remains an active member of the Association.

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Since December, San Diego County cattle rancher John Austel has served as a CCA Second Vice President. In this episode, learn more about John, the unique perspective he brings to the officer team, and his time as a CCA officer so far. John also shares about the experience of running his regenerative, natural Angus herd on the California Department of Fish and Wildlife Ecological Reserve Rancho Jamul—a property that was part of an old Spanish Land Grant with a history of over 250 years of agricultural use. 

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CCA’s Vice President of Government Affairs Kirk Wilbur joins Katie for this year's first CCA legislative update on the podcast. 

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Assemblymember Jim Wood was elected to California’s Assembly 10 years ago to serve the North Coast. In that time, he has become a good friend of CCA's. In this conversation, hear why Asm. Wood has a kinship for cattle ranching, why he loves CCA's Steak & Eggs Breakfast, about the handful of priorities he's worked on in the legislature that positively impact ranchers and more. 

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Have you ever worried about the mental health of someone you love or know in a rural area? You're not alone. On this episode, Vice President of Communications for Rural Minds Julie Lux, shares about the mental health emergency America's rural communities are facing and provides resources to help be part of the solution to this crisis. Learn about the Rural Mental Health Resilience Program, the goal of the program and how you can access materials for free.

Episode Resources:
Rural Minds: How to start a conversation about mental health factsheet

Visit ruralminds.org/resilience for all the factsheets, materials and information we talked about on this episode.

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NCBA’s Director of Animal Health and Food Safety Policy Rebecca Barnett joins Katie at the 2024 CattleCon in Orlando. Rebecca grew up in Adin, Calif. and attended UC Davis. Hear about her journey to Washington D.C. and what issues she is tackling with NCBA, including traceability.

Episode Resources:
NCBA Backs FAIR Labels Act to End Deceptive Fake Meat Labeling Practices
2024 NCBA Legislative Conference
RSVP for CCA's Steak & Eggs Legislative Breakfast

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If you're heading to Red Bluff don't miss this episode. If you're not going, listen to this update anyways! CCA's Membership and Events Coordinator Gracie LeCheminant along with Jack Rice and Noah Lopez of the Rancher Technical Assistance Program join Katie to talk about the new "Ag Hub" that will be in the tradeshow at the Red Bluff Bull & Gelding Sale.

At the end of this episode, hear what’s in the Loading Chute for CCA. This will be a rundown of quick updates from other CCA staff including a quick leg update, previews of what’s to come on this podcast and more.

Episode resources:
https://www.calcattlemenfoundation.org/redbluff

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