The New Year is here, but in Oregon, some ranchers and livestock producers are still trying to recover from record wildfires back in 2024. Matt McCelligott, past president of the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association, said those wildfires left a devastating legacy.
“When it does burn, it does go through forest land and also goes through open rangeland,” McCelligott said. “But all of it is rangeland, quite frankly, and when it burns, then it creates such damage to the environment that we can’t, as an industry, graze cattle or sheep or any other livestock on that for a couple of years, unless the conditions are just exceptional, and usually they aren’t.”
McElligott says wildfires can burn so hot that they destroy any seed bank in the soil, inhibiting future growth. The Oregon Cattlemen’s Association has launched a fund to assist ranchers affected by wildfires across the state.
Livestock strength is carrying the farm economy, while crop margins remain tight and increasingly dependent on risk management and financial discipline.
January 19, 2026 05:00 PM
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Protein-driven dairy growth is boosting beef supply potential, creating an opening to support rural jobs and ground beef availability.
January 19, 2026 01:00 PM
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New Resource Makes It Easier for People to Access Data on Rural Development funded Projects in Rural Communities
January 19, 2026 11:50 AM
In a landmark ruling delivered in late 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court significantly narrowed the scope of the National Environmental Policy Act.
January 19, 2026 11:25 AM
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RFD NEWS Correspondent Frank McCaffrey speaks with Texas’s Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. Vicente Gonzalez about USMCA renegotiation and its impact on U.S.–Mexico agriculture trade.
January 17, 2026 05:00 PM
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The Midland County Junior Livestock Show in West Texas features a competitive steer showcase highlighting top-quality cattle and the accomplishments of driven youth exhibitors.
January 16, 2026 01:48 PM
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