Latest / CattleUSA Daily / 330: Gray Wolves, Public Lands & Federal Grazing: What Producers Need to Know with Kaitlynn Glover

Transcript

330: Gray Wolves, Public Lands & Federal Grazing: What Producers Need to Know with Kaitlynn Glover · CattleUSA Daily

0:00
Today on the podcast, I am so excited to welcome Caitlin
0:03
Glover on to the podcast. Caitlin is the Executive
0:07
Director for the Public Lands Council and also leads the
0:12
national resources at NCBA. And Caitlin's conversation today
0:17
is really focused on 2 very important topics that we have
0:21
been seeing a lot on in the news right now, and that is public
0:24
lands and also the Gray wolf and where we're at in delisting that
0:29
Gray wolf and everything that we're focused on as producers of
0:33
two key topics that affect us every single day in cattle
0:38
country. Caitlin is coming today to give
0:41
us updates from DC, what they're really focused on right now,
0:44
what is coming out of the White House, out of the Senate, and
0:48
what we need to be focused on as producers as well during this
0:52
time. Before we hop into today's
0:54
podcast with Caitlin, if you're watching on YouTube, make sure
0:57
you take a second to hit that subscribe button.
0:59
And like this episode. If you're watching on any of our
1:01
other podcast platforms, make sure you take a second to go
1:04
follow the show, go rate and review it.
1:05
And if you enjoyed today's episode, make sure you share it
1:07
with a friend as well. Now, without further ado, let's
1:10
go ahead and hear from Caitlin. Welcome to the Cattle USA Daily
1:17
Podcast, your go to source for the latest livestock markets,
1:21
industry insights and the update shaping agriculture today.
1:24
I'm your host, Lauren Moylan, a passionate advocate for
1:27
agriculture, here to keep you informed and connected.
1:30
Now let's dive into today's episode.
1:39
Caitlin, welcome to the podcast. I am so excited to welcome you
1:42
on today. Before we hop into our topic
1:44
today, could you just introduce yourself for a second and give
1:48
us the rundown on who you are, what you do, and a little bit of
1:50
your background for our audience members?
1:52
Sure. Well, so I'm Caitlin Glover.
1:54
I serve as executive director of the Public Lands Council, which
1:57
represents Catalan sheet producers who have federal
2:00
grazing permits in 14 western states.
2:02
So anybody who grazes on BLM or Forest Service land, they're my
2:06
members. I can currently also I serve as
2:09
executive director of government affairs for the National
2:11
Cattlemen's Beef Association, which means that I lead the team
2:14
that deals with everything from soil quality to air quality.
2:18
I mean everything that lives in that natural environment.
2:20
So everything that affects cattle producers nationwide from
2:23
the natural resources space is, is on my team.
2:27
I have been here. Gosh, now you're going to make
2:30
me do math. I've, I've been here about 6
2:31
years. I have been in Washington for
2:34
about a decade and 1/2 and I think as a girl from Wyoming, I
2:38
never thought that I would be here this long.
2:41
But when you get to work on things you love and when you get
2:44
to do work that is important to people who aren't here in
2:47
Washington, it certainly makes it all worth it.
2:50
Absolutely. I love it.
2:52
And we have so many different things that I want to talk about
2:54
today. But I would love it if you could
2:55
just give us kind of an overview on what's happening in the
2:58
public lands space right now. And just like any major updates,
3:02
because we've obviously had a lot of things happen in the
3:04
public lands space over this administration and also just
3:09
this past year as well. So kind of give us the update on
3:13
what we're seeing there and then some big concerns that you're
3:16
really hearing from our cattle producers that you guys are
3:17
really trying to focus on right now too.
3:19
You are totally right. It has been a really busy couple
3:22
years in the federal land space and and part of that is because
3:26
we've had so much stagnation in the public lands policy space
3:30
over the last 20 or 30 years. Congress is, was was pretty
3:34
clear in the 70s and 80s about what they wanted the agencies to
3:38
do on federal land and how they wanted to manage them for
3:41
outcomes, right, managed for the benefit of the American people.
3:44
And so Congress, you know, sort of set their expectations.
3:46
They told the agency to go do the thing.
3:48
And then the agencies sort of took that made some regulations
3:52
and then really haven't touched them in, in large part for in a
3:56
sense the late 90s, early 2000s. And so when we're thinking about
4:00
the federal land space or we're talking about a pretty
4:03
significant part of the certainly the western cattle
4:06
portfolio, but certainly the the general American cattle
4:10
portfolio, about 50%, a little over 50% of the western cattle
4:14
herd spends time on federal lands.
4:16
And so when you were thinking about everything from Washington
4:19
S all the way as E as the Dakotas and Nebraska, those,
4:23
those 250 million acres that are grazed and the policy that
4:27
directs that grazing activity has a daily impact for cattle
4:31
producers in, in, in all of those states.
4:34
And So what we saw and, and what we've seen over the last, you
4:37
know, 15 to 18 months really is an administration that's taking
4:41
stock of what needs to be improved since the late 90s or
4:45
early 2000s and then taking some pretty swift action to to
4:50
address those challenges just yesterday.
4:52
So, so we're sitting here at second week in May, and just
4:56
yesterday the Bureau of Land Management published draft
4:59
grazing regulations changes and for the first time since 2006.
5:04
And those 2006 rules, for example, were enjoined by the
5:07
courts. And so we were still operating
5:09
under 1995 regulations. And there are people working at
5:13
the department who are younger than those regulations, which is
5:16
just crazy. And so so those great grazing
5:18
regulation changes are a massive, massive improvement or
5:21
step forward in what we're going to see.
5:23
But at the same time, the BLM has also taken stock of some of
5:27
the bad things that have happened on federal lands or the
5:30
disadvantageous regulations that have been put into place over
5:33
the last 15 or 20 years. I'm rolling back what was called
5:37
the public lands rule from the Biden administration.
5:40
I'm taking stock of what we need to do for endangered species
5:43
management and alleviating some of those burdens.
5:45
If you're in the West, you know that.
5:47
You know, we live on acronyms. So NEPA is another big one,
5:51
right? The National Environmental
5:52
Policy Act, taking stock of what needs to change there to make
5:55
sure that analysis isn't a barrier to action.
5:58
The Forest Service isn't any different.
6:00
We are seeing a Forest Service or we have seen a Forest Service
6:04
develop that's really focused on big tall trees.
6:08
And certainly timber is a massive part of the forest
6:11
services portfolio, but also more than half of the forest
6:15
services land holding in the West are actually in total is
6:19
rangeland, is grassland. And so a significant portion of
6:23
that as grazing land. It has to be a significant part
6:27
of of their true visibility and their focus here in DC.
6:30
Forest Services is rolling back the 2001 roadless roll, which,
6:34
you know, I'm not going to say that it caused the wildfire
6:36
crisis, but it definitely was a massive contributor to the
6:40
wildfire issues that we're seeing.
6:42
We're seeing the the agencies play this, this game of whack A
6:46
mole, you know, moving intentionally through a process,
6:49
but also saying we're going to touch this and this and this
6:52
and, and then taking action to do it.
6:54
And coupled with a Congress who I think really understands that
6:58
grazing is an important management toolman.
7:01
It's been busy for these federal lands producers, but it is
7:05
definitely good news. 100% And I, as a rancher in Kansas, was
7:12
honestly very ignorant to what federal lands and all of that
7:18
meant until I really started a few years ago, like five years
7:21
ago, I started to make some really good friends with people
7:24
in the mountainous regions and in Arizona and where most of
7:28
their grazing land is actually BLM land.
7:31
And they're actually for the most part grazing public land.
7:35
They're like our private land is our house and that is it and the
7:41
rest is public. And it is a massive, massive key
7:45
focus for so many cattle producers in key producing
7:49
regions. So what kind of policy changes
7:52
do you really have your finger on the pulse of right now of
7:55
like where are we really trying to take some focus and see
7:58
significant change in the next few months?
8:00
Man, that's a big question. You know, when we're looking at
8:04
the rest of calendar year 2026, part of it is continuation of a
8:08
campaign of, of what we've been doing really for the last, you
8:10
know, 8 or 10 years. We went through a really
8:13
intentional process to change the mindset in Washington from
8:17
grazing being just a use of federal lands to being a really
8:20
important management tool to be able to develop and cultivate
8:25
and intentionally create certain ecological outcomes, right?
8:29
How do we restore biodiversity? How do we reduce fire risk?
8:32
How do we achieve, you know, better in stream flow, for
8:35
example? And so it's really a
8:36
continuation of all of those priorities.
8:38
But but I, I think it's important.
8:41
And if you'll allow me, I'll take one step back, right?
8:43
The federal lands in the West were created because they were
8:48
not homesteaded. So in the move West, people
8:52
settled where there was water, right?
8:54
Settled where they could have a small number of lives stock, but
8:57
all they could also have, you know, a productive crop
9:01
environment to feed their families.
9:02
And that meant for a lot of these western states, a
9:05
significant portion of what would become those states was
9:08
unsettlable and, and, and nobody lived there because there wasn't
9:11
any water. And, and so once those states,
9:14
you know, went through the statehood process, some of that
9:17
land went to the states to help ensure education and, and, you
9:19
know, some other things. But a lot of that land sort of
9:22
by default went back to ownership or control of the
9:24
federal government. And in the early days of our
9:28
country, that was fine because it was open and really the only
9:32
suitability was for grazing. But a lot of these areas were
9:35
too dry, too hot, too rocky, and just just generally sort of
9:38
unfriendly. Now those areas, as we have more
9:41
people, as we have vehicles, as we have more access, those areas
9:44
are more popular for recreation, They're more popular for
9:48
Backcountry hunting, people who want to be out in those areas.
9:51
And so a lot of the policy change that we're seeing now and
9:55
that we're trying to weave into this concept of Land Management,
9:58
some of it has totally, 100% to do with grazing, but some of it
10:03
is all of this other potential use of these landscapes.
10:07
Congress old the BLM and the Forest Service initially one of
10:10
their directives is to manage these lands for the concept of
10:14
multiple use and sustained yield.
10:16
So multiple things happening on that land at any given time and
10:19
then creating a yield, right, whether it's a traditional farm
10:23
or AG yield or some sort of value for the American people,
10:26
right and whether that's monetary, whether it's
10:28
enjoyment, you know those sort of things.
10:30
And so we are following very closely not only this and, and
10:33
actively engaged in grazing policy, right, these grazing
10:36
regulations that we've seen the, we'll move through this
10:40
regulatory process. It's a massive, massive step
10:42
forward because it, it's directly affects the way our
10:45
producers do business. But then we also are very
10:48
engaged in things like the travel management rule, how the
10:52
agency is open and close roads where they direct recreation.
10:57
We're very engaged in fire policy.
10:59
The Department of the Interior has just just just earlier this
11:02
year created a, an entirely new agency, the Wildland Fire
11:06
Service. And so we're going to see a
11:08
different approach from the federal government going forward
11:12
on how we deal with the concept of catastrophic wildfire.
11:15
Something that, you know, used to just sort of be a, a western
11:19
problem, something over, you know, where we did have those
11:21
tall trees, but now unfortunately we're seeing it in
11:24
Nebraska and in Kansas and in Oklahoma and Texas.
11:27
So, so we really have that full suite of, of, of issues that not
11:32
only affect where, where our cattle producers do business,
11:36
right, you know, they, the environment that they're in, but
11:38
then also, you know, their ability to make sure that they
11:41
have an important part or an important role in that decision
11:46
making process. So I think and obviously grazing
11:50
regulations, recreation, wildfire, we're very involved
11:54
in, in wildlife management policies.
11:57
Certainly the Endangered Species Act is, is top of our list, not
12:00
only for some congressional reform, but some pretty decisive
12:04
action that we, we want to see out of, out of the department,
12:08
the interior, their, their Fish and Wildlife service.
12:10
But at the end of the day, for, for me and my team, it's about
12:13
making sure that what's on paper matches the reality on the
12:17
ground. And as you know, really, really
12:19
well, unfortunately, that means that I have job security, right?
12:22
Because it's very hard to match what happens on the ground to
12:26
what what people in this town here and how we turn that into
12:31
meaningful policy that that is workable for different parts of
12:36
the country. Absolutely.
12:37
And I think we have seen a really big shift in focus, at
12:42
least from my experience of, OK, we're working with the producers
12:47
now a little bit more maybe than just telling them, hey, these
12:50
are your rules, this is the list, sign the dotted line, do
12:54
it or you're kicked off. And now we see a much more
12:58
collaborative approach. And I think that that is
13:00
encouraging because there are some areas that invasive species
13:04
have taken over. And you know what, that BLM land
13:07
might need sprayed. And that's a reality of it in
13:10
order for it to continue to flourish and continue to be
13:15
grazeable land and different things like that.
13:18
In the past, it was like, Nope, absolutely not not happening.
13:22
You're not allowed to do anything like that or you have
13:24
to go through all of these regulatory processes or
13:26
different things like that. And it's just encouraging that
13:29
hopefully we're seeing a little bit more of a shift to
13:32
partnership rather than a, these are your rules and we're in a
13:38
gridlock type of situation for all of these ranchers that are
13:41
dealing with it. You mean you're, you're right.
13:43
I, you encapsulated something so, so well that that I think
13:46
is, is sort of core to the way that like we believe the federal
13:50
government should work, right? The federal government is at the
13:53
service of the American people, you know, or should be right.
13:56
And you know, there are agencies that are regulatory agencies
13:59
that establish the rules and then do enforcement and you
14:02
follow the rules, especially in the agriculture space.
14:05
The intent of these agencies largely was to help producers
14:09
make sure that they were able to to produce and continue to
14:12
produce the finest food and fiber in the world, right?
14:15
And in order to do that, you need to have a partnership on
14:18
the landscape to to manage lands based on what the land needs and
14:23
what the land requires rather than what the rules say, right?
14:27
And, and that's, you know, I know that I've talked a lot this
14:29
morning about BLM grazing regulations, but I think that
14:31
that's one of the most important things that we have seen evolve
14:35
since, you know, 1995. The BLM 1995 regulations were
14:39
developed immediately in the wake of the environmental
14:42
activist campaign. They called it cattle free by
14:45
93. They wanted cattle and sheep off
14:48
of federal lands. And they, they wanted to do that
14:52
because they wanted to rewild these areas.
14:54
They wanted sort of this nostalgic sort of, you know,
14:57
free open space that, that people could just know is there
15:01
and, and enjoy it that way. But unfortunately, that's just
15:04
not reality, right? And so the 1995 regulations
15:07
established this set of rules that had very strict dates,
15:12
right? That you, you know, you go on to
15:14
your allotment, you'll go into this pasture at this state, you
15:16
go come off On this date. And, and there is no
15:19
flexibility. You can't change numbers, you
15:21
can't change dates. You can't do anything because
15:25
this is what the rules say. And you know, I remember 1995
15:29
and I remember looking at the ground and it looks different
15:32
now than it did then. We have different uses.
15:35
We have different different tools, different science, new
15:38
science, better science, right? We know more now than we did
15:41
then. And so we need a set of rules,
15:43
whether it's on the BLM side or any other agency to be able to
15:47
reflect what we know and continue to have this
15:51
commitment, this ethos, but also the flexibility to do it, this
15:54
attitude of continuous improvement.
15:56
We all should want to be better all the time.
15:59
I mean, I hold that, you know, sort of deep in my soul.
16:02
And it's, it's really nice to see someone approaching the
16:06
regulatory process to be able to say we do have the ability to be
16:11
responsive to on the ground conditions and manage these
16:14
lands, allow for management of these lands that is, is going to
16:17
be better for the next 50 years, the next 100 years.
16:19
And so it's a very encouraging time in Washington.
16:22
I'm not going to say that the federal government is flexible,
16:24
right? That's just that that's not in,
16:27
in sort of the DNA, the identity of the federal government.
16:30
But there have been things over the last 15-18 months that have
16:33
been massive steps forward. Absolutely.
16:35
And one of those that I also want to talk about outside of
16:38
BLM land, but still a really big concern for our Western states
16:42
is the Gray wolf. We have had a lot of new
16:45
developments over for just the past week.
16:49
So, Caitlin, can you kind of give us the rundown on where
16:52
we're at with the Gray wolf, delisting it off of the
16:55
endangered species list and just like the big concern that
16:58
producers are facing right now with it?
17:00
So anytime you talk about wolves or apex predators and the
17:05
federal government sort of fingers in all the pie, that is
17:08
probably the number one way to rile up Western producers
17:11
because they're the ones who have to live with it.
17:13
For about 40 years. We have seen a federal overlay,
17:19
a federal set of burdens placed on Western producers who
17:23
initially were in a relatively small area when wolves were
17:26
reintroduced in the northern Rocky Mountain distinct
17:29
populations segment, you know, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho.
17:32
But that now has just sort of exploded across the West and and
17:36
certainly is a massive problem as well in the Great Lakes
17:38
region. It's sometimes hard to sort of
17:40
start from zero in this conversation because we have
17:43
been leading, because we have been active, because we've been
17:46
doing so many things in this space for so long.
17:49
So, so you know, we'll try to move through it, but but I think
17:52
the big thing here, the cattle industry has employed throughout
17:57
this process a three pronged strategy.
18:00
It used to be, and I think it should be, that the Endangered
18:04
Species Act had a mechanism to list, to recover, to delist and
18:10
then return to state management any species under its purview.
18:13
The Gray wolf and now others are the exception, the unfortunate
18:17
exception to that rule. We saw wolves listed in, you
18:22
know, in the late 70s, early 80s.
18:24
We got them to a point, and I say we very intentionally, both
18:27
the federal government, but also the investments of of land,
18:30
owners of cattle, producers of western states got them to a
18:34
point where these wolves were recovered.
18:35
Republican and Democrat administrations alike agree that
18:38
they have recovered and that they know not longer need
18:41
federal investment or federal protection.
18:44
And for producers in that area, they don't require any more the
18:48
kind of federal overlay and burdens that these producers
18:52
have faced that has been, at various intervals over the last
18:56
15 years, overturned a number of times.
18:59
And certainly there is absolutely a role for courts in
19:02
adjudicating issues of federal law.
19:05
But it is, in our perspective, not the role of the court to
19:09
pretend to be scientists to determine whether this science
19:12
is better than that science, to determine whether they like an
19:16
outcome of a regulatory item. And unfortunately, that's what's
19:18
happened in the Great Wolf case. And so from the cattle
19:21
industry's perspective, every administration in the Obama
19:25
administration, the first Trump administration, the Biden
19:27
administration, now in Trump too, we have worked with them to
19:30
say it is time for you to successfully delist the Gray
19:34
wolf and defend it in court. The very early conversations we
19:38
had with this administration, they agreed and they said, you
19:41
know, look, this is this is going to be high on our priority
19:44
list. What we've seen over the last
19:46
week is, you know, sort of motions in that direction where,
19:50
you know, the White House and the Department of the Interior
19:52
are saying, yes, this is on our list.
19:53
We recognize the burdens that are placed on cattle producers.
19:57
We know what harm this is causing for producers and and
20:01
we're going to delist the Gray Wolf.
20:03
Of course, that has to go through a regulatory process,
20:05
right. And so we've gone through this
20:07
regulatory process before the the public noticing comment, you
20:10
know, the adding additional science and we will continue to
20:13
do that. But we're not just leaving it in
20:15
the hands of the administration. I talked about a three prong
20:17
strategy. The second prong of that is
20:20
working with Congress. There are three branches of.
20:22
Of government that three prong strategy is, is not
20:26
coincidental. Congress also has a role here.
20:29
So we have been working with members of Congress in both the
20:32
House and the Senate to pass a bill to legislatively de wrist
20:36
Gray wolves in the lower 48. So across the range wherever
20:40
they are found. And and that has gotten through
20:43
the House, the House has passed it.
20:45
The House has has signed off on that approach and the Senate is
20:48
is being pushed really hard by all of us right now to get that
20:52
across the finish line. Because if that bill passes the
20:55
Senate and signed by the president, that will delist the
20:58
Gray wolf and protect it from judicial intervention, protect
21:02
that from the kind of court decision making that we've seen
21:06
in in prior rulemakings. Math is always the problem in in
21:10
the House and in the Senate. You need to get to a certain
21:12
vote threshold in order to get that passed.
21:14
And so that's the math problem that we're working to solve
21:17
right now, getting enough people to vote yay on this bill to get
21:21
it to the president's desk. But we know that Congress
21:23
doesn't always work super fast, right?
21:25
And and so sometimes, you know, we need to find a way to move
21:27
them along. And so that that third branch,
21:30
that third prong of that strategy is through the courts.
21:34
The Trump administration moved to delist the Gray wolf during
21:37
the first term. And that immediately was was
21:39
litigated by animal activists and environmental activists who
21:43
don't want to see the wolf off the list because in their mind,
21:46
it's the best way to lock down and put burdens on producers on
21:51
the widest area. Their goal is to try to put
21:54
cattle producers out of business.
21:55
So they immediately sued on this rule.
21:58
NCBAPLC, the American Sheep Industry Association, and a
22:02
number of our other partners intervened on behalf of the
22:05
government to be able to defend that rule.
22:08
And that case was stayed. I mean, it went into sort of a
22:13
waiting process during the Biden administration because even the
22:16
Biden administration said, we agree it should be delested.
22:19
Let us work on a rule. They ran out of time and they
22:22
didn't do it in their first term and they assumed they were going
22:25
to get a second term. They didn't.
22:27
And so the clock then restarted on that litigation at the
22:31
beginning of the Trump administration.
22:32
So, you know, Lauren, it's really just sort of a race to
22:35
the finish. Do we get a new delisting rule?
22:38
Do we get a bill that delist them and protects it from
22:41
judicial review? Do we get a court decision which
22:44
comes first? And, you know, like, I'm not a
22:47
gambler, right? But like, I think that, you
22:49
know, backing all of the plays that you can do is the best
22:53
possible approach in this situation.
22:55
Because every single day my team and I hear stories of people who
23:00
lost calves overnight, who lost cows, who lost horses, who have
23:04
had to take community measures because there are now wolves in
23:07
town. And it's, it's something that,
23:10
you know, I was a kid when, when wolves were reintroduced in
23:13
Yellowstone, reintroduced in, in Wyoming.
23:16
And so this is something that has been with me since I was in
23:18
short pants. And, you know, to see producers
23:21
still dealing with this. I, I certainly hope that, you
23:25
know, when, when, when my son is my age that he's not dealing
23:28
with the same thing. And that's why we're taking
23:30
this, you know, we, we are throwing the kitchen sink at it
23:33
because whichever comes first and is the most durable is going
23:37
to be what protects our producers in the future.
23:39
Absolutely. So we've talked wolves today.
23:42
We've talked public lands. You have so many different balls
23:45
that you are juggling in DC right now.
23:48
And with the climate of this administration, a lot of our AG
23:52
producing representative organizations are trying to get
23:56
a lot of things done. They're trying to move a lot of
23:59
balls through really quickly. Why while we can and while we
24:03
have the environment that is friendly to it, elections are
24:06
coming up. That's the big thing that
24:08
everyone's concerned about right now too.
24:10
And it's just, it's one of those factors, right?
24:12
But what other key things are you guys really focused on right
24:17
now that you're really hearing from your producer population or
24:20
just AG in general that you're like, we're focused on this
24:23
right now? This is a whack A mole that
24:25
we're really trying to hit. Depends on the day, you know, I
24:27
I like, I wish I could give you the like, there's one thing,
24:30
right? I mean, I think, I think there's
24:32
a through line to everything that we do.
24:34
And it's, it's making sure that we, while we have the time and
24:38
like we, we've talked about this, you know, this whole time,
24:41
we, we are, are focused on making sure that while we have
24:44
the time, we make sure that the federal government is not a
24:47
barrier to cattle production, is not a barrier to our kids and
24:50
our grandkids or new entrants coming into the industry.
24:54
To be able to make sure that we continue to be the trusted
24:58
source of the best food and fiber in the world, right?
25:00
And like that underscores everything that we do.
25:03
And so then building from that, right?
25:06
People are really worried about drought.
25:08
I'm spending a lot of time on drought and fire preparations
25:12
because we know that it's going to be a really challenging year
25:15
in a lot of parts of the country.
25:18
You know that there is such severe drought that we probably
25:20
won't have a fire season because there's nothing to burn.
25:23
But you still have to feed those cows.
25:25
You still have to find hay. You still have to figure out how
25:27
to irrigate. And so finding those resources,
25:29
connecting producers with those resources is, is important for
25:33
the short term. But then longer term, it is this
25:35
regulatory scenario that that is, is going to affect whether
25:40
they say they, whether they look at these hard times and say,
25:43
Yep, this is, this is hard now, but it won't always be hard
25:46
because I see these tools rules out there for me in the future.
25:50
And, and so we, we look both short term and long term, all of
25:54
the regulatory stuff is long term.
25:56
A significant portion of the legislative priorities are long
25:59
term. But in the short term, it's,
26:01
it's really making sure that that folks have the tools to get
26:04
through the day today. You know, it's in my even more
26:09
than a decade in Washington, it's not often that I get to go
26:12
to the country and say that there's good news coming out of
26:15
Washington, DC, right? I think in rural communities and
26:19
especially in agriculture communities, whenever we hear
26:21
that somebody in DC is doing something, it's usually coming
26:24
with a little bit of a cringe and we brace ourselves for
26:27
what's coming right. The tone has has seriously
26:31
shifted on a lot of these natural resource issues because
26:35
there there is this bottom line through baseline understanding
26:40
that grazing and the kind of management that our producers do
26:46
it there like there is no replacement for it.
26:48
It is absolutely integral to making sure that our communities
26:54
that are Western states that are Midwestern states that like our
26:57
industry as a whole, making sure that that continues to function.
27:00
And that's clicking for a lot of people who might have grown up
27:05
in New Jersey or might have grown up in in North Carolina
27:08
and NCAA very different kind of production or are just really
27:13
happy to have a hamburger whenever they want one, right?
27:16
And so being able to make those connections and and have this
27:19
sort of like innate understanding that grazing is
27:22
good, giving our producers some some hope and some understanding
27:26
like a friendly face when they go to meet with their delegation
27:29
or when they go and meet with the agencies.
27:31
That carries a lot of a lot of significance for a lot of them
27:35
don't necessarily always have the most favorable opinion of
27:39
what happens in this town. Absolutely.
27:42
Wow. Well, I cannot wait to see what
27:44
continues to come out of everything we talked about today
27:47
because I mean, we're recording this today and by the time it
27:50
comes out on Monday, everything we said could be completely
27:54
changed. Like is the nature of DC, right?
27:57
Like things either move very quickly or not at all and there
28:02
is no end between. So I, I just so appreciate your
28:05
time today and coming on and sharing updates on everything
28:08
that your office is doing and really focused on right now.
28:11
Caitlin, is there anything else that you would like to leave
28:13
with our audience members before we wrap it up today?
28:15
You know, this is I, I, I leave every meeting, I leave every
28:18
convention with, and I hope to leave people with one really key
28:25
piece of, of information or call to action, right?
28:28
I am here in Washington, my team is here.
28:31
Our organizations are here to make sure that their voices are
28:36
ever present, omnipresent in all of these conversations.
28:40
But at the end of the day, there is no replacement for their
28:44
voices when it comes time to comment on regulations, when it
28:47
comes time to calling their member of Congress and saying, I
28:50
need you to vote for this bill or I need you to not do this
28:53
thing because it would hurt my operation.
28:55
There is no replacement for, for that kind of engagement.
28:59
And so to, to whoever is listening, you have the time to
29:02
listen to a podcast. You totally have the time to, to
29:06
spend, you know, 30 seconds, click on the link and send your
29:10
comments in because there's no one who knows your story better
29:13
than you do. We will certainly fight for all
29:15
of you. It is it is absolutely easier to
29:19
do that and, and more effective. We are more effective when we
29:22
have that, that, that chorus of individual voices behind us.
29:26
So we have tools available, we have resources available.
29:29
We are here to help. And you know, it's the great
29:32
part. I'm not the, I'm not the
29:33
government. So when I say I'm, you know, I'm
29:34
from the East Coast and I'm here to help, you know, people,
29:38
people get to, to take that for, for, for what it is.
29:41
It's the truth. And so I want people to, to
29:43
engage and, and know how to engage and feel comfortable
29:45
doing that because it, it is just so crucial in the work that
29:49
we're, we're going to be doing this year and then and well into
29:52
the future. Absolutely.
29:53
I kind of agree more. And honestly your guys's office
29:57
and so many other organizations have made it so easy for
30:00
producers to reach out and to make their comments and
30:02
everything like that. And so I will have all of those
30:05
links actually linked down in the show notes for you guys.
30:08
So you don't even have to go find them.
30:09
Like, all you have to do is go into these show notes to our
30:12
audience members and just click on one of those links down
30:15
there. And that will easily get you in
30:18
contact with the people you need to get in contact with to Share
30:21
your story, share your concerns, get in talk, contact with the
30:24
people representing you on Capitol Hill.
30:27
Because as much work as Caitlin would like to put in every
30:31
single day, nothing is nearly as effective as grassroots efforts.
30:35
And as our producers actually picking up the phone.
30:38
I mean, if you're listening to podcast to the chances are
30:41
you're either doing chores right now or you're like, you got some
30:44
windshield time, right? So if you've got some windshield
30:46
time, pick up that phone and call your representatives and
30:49
really just talk to them and start that relationship too.
30:53
I mean, I am so blessed that I have a relationship with the
30:56
people representing me because I've called them multiple times.
30:58
Like I see them in public and they're like, how's the
31:01
business? How's the ranch?
31:02
How's everything going? Because they care and because
31:06
I've built that relationship. And so now if I call them about
31:09
the Gray wolf delisting or about public lands things or different
31:13
things happening that represent cattle country, they're like
31:17
Lauren, I have a relationship with her.
31:19
And that all starts with one phone call, guys.
31:21
And so I really encourage you, like Caitlin said, to take
31:24
action and to really be the voice of agriculture because it
31:28
is every single one of us, not just the organizations that
31:32
represent us. So Caitlin, thank you so much
31:36
for your time today. I really appreciate it.
31:38
And to all of you audience members, we will see you all
31:41
next time on another episode of the Cattle USA Daily Podcast.
31:45
Have a good one y'all.