The February 2 edition of the AgNet News Hour continued the powerful, multi-part conversation with Rick Roberti, President of the California Cattlemen’s Association, as hosts Nick Papagni and Josh McGill dug deeper into what ranchers are really facing on the ground. From unchecked predators to workforce uncertainty and food security, Roberti warned that California is drifting dangerously far from common sense — and the consequences are already showing.
Roberti explained that California’s wolf problem has moved well beyond theory and into daily reality. In regions like Sierra Valley, ranchers documented more than 100 livestock kills in just a few months, despite constant monitoring and intervention by state and federal agencies. Wolves in California, he said, have never been pressured or deterred, making them fearless around cattle and people. “They don’t know what consequences are,” Roberti said. “They’ve never had any.”
State agencies attempted extensive non-lethal methods, including round-the-clock wardens, night-vision surveillance, and even USDA drone teams. None of it stopped the killings. Roberti said the idea that ranchers can solve the problem with guard dogs or range riders ignores reality. “If drones and helicopters couldn’t stop them, how is a guy on horseback supposed to?” he asked.
The impact goes far beyond livestock losses. Ranchers are now pulling cattle out of mountain grazing areas entirely, making it impossible to sustain operations that have relied on that land for generations. That decision ripples outward — reducing county revenue, increasing wildfire risk due to unmanaged vegetation, and weakening already-fragile rural economies.
Roberti tied the wolf crisis into a broader pattern of policy failure. He said California continues to lose farmland to development while importing more food than it exports — a shift he called alarming. “A nation that can’t feed itself isn’t free,” he said, warning that the U.S. is edging closer to that reality.
Another major concern is succession. Roberti said fewer young people are willing to take over ranches that require seven-day-a-week commitment with constant regulatory pressure and financial risk. When families sell, land is often purchased by investors with no long-term connection to agriculture. “They’ll still run cows,” he said, “but it’s not the same when it’s not your life.”
Water management and forest policy also entered the discussion. Roberti argued that decades of mismanagement — including halting logging and controlled burns — have contributed to catastrophic wildfires and habitat loss, which in turn pushes predators closer to livestock and communities. “This isn’t climate change,” he said. “This is fuel buildup and bad decisions.”
Despite the challenges, Roberti stressed that cattle producers are not asking to eliminate wolves or abandon environmental responsibility. They want balance — and the right to protect their livelihoods. “Give us the ability to defend our property,” he said. “The wolves will learn fast.”
Papagni and McGill closed the episode by emphasizing that the cattle industry’s struggle reflects a larger disconnect between policymakers and rural California. As Roberti put it, “You can’t manage agriculture from a desk and expect it to work in the real world.”
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