Idaho Cattle Producers Meet with Trump Administration

Idaho Cattle Association (ICA) staff and leadership welcomed Department of Interior (DOI) Secretary Ryan Zinke and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue to Boise today.  In a series of meetings ICA representatives, members, and cattle producers were able to have candid dialogue with President Donald Trump’s cabinet members about issues specific to Idaho’s cattle industry.   Secretary Zinke encouraged the ranching community by saying, “It’s pretty rough, being a rancher. It’s tough being a cattle rancher when you’re also micromanaged by the regulations of [state and federal] agencies.”  He continued, “There’s a lot of goodness about ranching.”   The primary message from both Zinke and Perdue was their shared focus on collaboration.  “Collaborative efforts take a long time,” Zinke affirmed, noting, “Collaboration needs to include all stakeholders at the beginning [of the process] to mitigate lawsuits at the end.” He then went on to explain that DOI will no longer make decisions to skirt lawsuits, but will make the best decisions and deal with the lawsuits that come.  Secretary Perdue echoed this message when he said, “One of the first priorities [of the Trump administration] is to improve and strengthen interagency relationships. We’re going to change the way we do business.”   ICA President Jerald Raymond commented, “It’s really wonderful to have people in top leadership positions who understand our industry and our business.  We’re extremely optimistic about working with this administration to keep livestock production viable.”