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.
Reviewing risk management now can help dairy and livestock producers enter 2026 with clearer margins and fewer surprises.
December 22, 2025 03:19 PM
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Concerns over Chronic Wasting Disease are fueling a long-standing legal battle between Minnesota regulators and deer farmers. The case could soon reach the state’s Supreme Court with broader implications for agriculture.
December 22, 2025 01:31 PM
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The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and Public Lands Council (PLC) are praising the passage of a bill to delist gray wolves as an endangered species by the U.S. House last week.
December 22, 2025 01:23 PM
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USDA Undersecretary Luke Lindberg told RFD-TV News that we can only guess what Congress will do down the road. Still, the USDA recognizes its responsibility to spend resources efficiently and effectively.
December 22, 2025 12:40 PM
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In Minnesota, a legal and legislative battle has reached a tipping point. For over a decade, the state’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the private deer-farming industry have been locked in a dispute over the management of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD).
December 22, 2025 12:30 PM
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Tight feeder supplies and lower placements indicate continued support for the cattle market, with regional impacts heightened in Texas by reduced feeder imports.
December 22, 2025 10:10 AM
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