Advocacy in Action: Wolf rule repeal, safety rules and bird flu tests

Wolf survey

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife, along with the University of California, Berkeley, and University of California Cooperative Extension, seeks input via a survey from livestock producers and California residents on the future of the state’s Wolf-Livestock Compensation Program.

The anonymous survey is intended to help inform improvements to the pilot compensation program established in 2021 and gather feedback from those directly impacted by wolf activity and livestock management challenges across the state. Responses will be securely maintained by UC and shared only in aggregate form with CDFW and the public. This survey is separate from the UC survey distributed in July 2025.

The survey takes about 20 minutes to complete and will remain open through June 11. Take the survey at bit.ly/wolf-compensation.

Public lands

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management officially repealed the Conservation and Landscape Health Rule, also known as the Public Lands Rule. The Biden-era regulation drew opposition from many agricultural organizations due to concerns about expanded conservation-related requirements and potential impacts on grazing and other multiple-use activities on federal lands.

California Farm Bureau previously submitted comments during the rulemaking process raising concerns about how the regulation could affect grazing operations and land management flexibility on multi-use public lands. Farm Bureau also supported the current administration’s efforts to reverse the rule. 

According to the agency’s announcement, the repeal is intended to restore a “multiple use and sustained yield” approach to federal land management by prioritizing access, local decision-making, and alignment with existing statutory requirements and national energy policy. 

Meanwhile, Farm Bureau is reviewing a proposed BLM rule that would significantly revise portions of the federal grazing program. According to the agency, the proposal is intended to streamline grazing permit renewals and provide greater flexibility for permittees during drought conditions and wildfire mitigation efforts.

The proposal also includes several additional changes affecting administration of grazing on public lands. 

Farm Bureau expects to submit comments as part of the federal rulemaking process and welcomes member feedback on the proposed changes and potential impacts on grazing operations.

Workplace safety

California Farm Bureau continues to review the draft language on three regulatory proposals by the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, or Cal/OSHA, and the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board. 

Recent developments brought positive movement on two regulatory issues impacting agriculture, while a third proposal remains under review.

First, Cal/OSHA and standards board staff agreed with stakeholders on updates to first-aid kit requirements under General Industry Safety Orders 3400 and 3439. For decades, regulations required employers to have first-aid kits individually reviewed and approved by a healthcare professional, though the rule was rarely enforced. 

Under the proposed modernization, employers would instead be allowed to rely on compliance with American National Standards Institute standards for first-aid kit contents and packaging. Once formally adopted later this year, the change is expected to provide employers with clearer and more practical guidance for maintaining compliant first-aid kits at worksites.

Second, standards board staff said they will revisit their March 2025 proposal regulating swinging powered and unpowered workplace gates, an issue that raised significant concerns for agricultural employers. The board now plans to hold an advisory committee later this year to gather additional stakeholder input before moving forward.

Lastly, Cal/OSHA recently released draft revisions to workplace violence prevention plan requirements. The proposal would formally incorporate workplace violence prevention requirements enacted by the California Legislature in 2024 into Cal/OSHA regulations. 

Farm Bureau will provide updates as the regulatory process develops.

Bird flu testing

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has updated its guidance tied to the April 2024 federal order requiring producers to test lactating dairy cows prior to interstate movement. 

Effective immediately, lactating dairy cows moving from states classified as “unaffected” under the national milk testing strategy are no longer required to test for H5N1 bird flu before crossing state lines.

California, however, has not yet met the negative testing benchmarks necessary to receive the “unaffected” state status. While there are currently no California dairies under quarantine for bird flu, the Golden State remains classified as an affected state and continues to operate under stage 3 of the national milk testing strategy. As a result, premovement H5N1 bird flu testing requirements for lactating dairy cows leaving California remain in place.

Producers are reminded that if animals exhibit signs consistent with H5N1, they should immediately contact the California Department of Food and Agriculture.

In this issue...

• Experts seek methane-cutting solutions
• California cherry crops decimated by spring storms
• Agricultural 'roadmap' to guide research priorities
• Why rocket scientists began counting nuts in California
• Advocacy in Action: Wolf rule repeal, safety rules and bird flu tests
• Farms increasingly use drones for aerial applications
• How should walnut husk fly be managed this season?
• Production forecast shows drop in several state crops
• Former dairy vet looks to improve welfare on farms
• How AI is transforming weather forecasting