BUNKHOUSE

LISTEN WHILE YOU WORK

by CCA Director of Communications Katie Roberti

Every day, The California Cattlemen's Association is sorting through the issues impacting California's ranching families and producers. CCA leadership has developed Sorting Pen: The California Cattleman Podcast to communicate those issues, discuss solutions and keep ranchers current on hot topics.

When it came time to decide what to call this podcast, many name suggestions were thrown around the office. Some ideas were productive but just not quite right. Others were way out in left field. (I won’t tell you which CCA officer came up with the idea to call it “Scour Hour.”) “Sorting Pen” caught my attention as it ties into ranching and can also relate to the work CCA does around the clock sorting through the issues in Sacramento and beyond the fences of your ranch.

Anyone who has ever helped sort cattle knows it’s a chore that can come with frustration, mistakes made and hard decisions—many of which have only been made more difficult recently due to this disastrous drought. On the other side, working cattle can also come with reward, cherished memories and the accomplishment of a job well done. Working for CCA and representing ranching families and cattle operations from across the state embodies many of these same characteristics. Not every day at CCA looks the same. There is always something new on the horizon to tackle or sort through, but on the other side of the challenge, there is usually at least one takeaway we can be proud of or learn from.

By November 1, seven episodes of Sorting Pen will be available, and I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to speak with the great cast of guests who have come on the podcast so far. However, no episode to date has given a better insight into CCA’s sorting process than our episode released on October 18, “Episode 5: End of Legislative Session Takeover.”

In this extended episode, Kirk Wilbur, CCA’s Vice President of Government Affairs and CCA contract lobbyist Jason Bryant of Bryant Government Affairs takeover the podcast to reflect and provide a recap on CCA's success in the first year of California's 2021-2022 legislative session. If you have yet to listen to an episode but are interested in hearing about what the world of working in public policy in Sacramento is like amid a pandemic, I highly suggest giving this episode a shot. The episode also gives background to how CCA-sponsored bills in the 2021 legislative session came to fruition.

If talking policy isn’t up your alley, other previously published episodes include updates from CCA President Tony Toso, the California Cattleman’s Matt Macfarlane and WSR Insurance's Jim Vann and Matt Griffith, to name a few. Remember, a podcast is essentially just a recorded conversation. Don’t be intimidated if listening to podcasts is something brand new for you. You can listen to all of the episodes at https:/ calcattlemen.org/podcast (no subscription or account is required) or find them on Spotify, Google Podcasts and Apple Podcasts by searching for “Sorting Pen.” Be sure to subscribe to be notified about new episodes and take advantage of them downloading automatically to be listened to even in locations without cellular service or Wi-Fi capabilities. New episodes are also announced in CCA’s weekly Legislative Bulletin newsletter, sent out every Monday. As a relatively new "podcaster," the success of this new communications tool so far is encouraging, and I want to thank everyone who has listened and helped amplify it. (Also thank you to CCA’s Ryan Donahue for all his behind-the-scenes work on each episode.) I am excited to hear feedback on the podcast in a few weeks when we gather in Reno for the 105th Annual CCA/CCW Convention and Tradeshow. While in Reno, we will be recording episodes with current and past CCA executive team members, various subcommittee members, convention guest speakers and more. If you are attending the convention, I look forward to seeing you there and hearing your comments and suggestions for improving Sorting Pen. If you don’t already have plans to attend, it’s not too late! Head over to our website and register today. Either way, don’t hesitate to contact me anytime at katier@calcattlemen.org with topic ideas or suggestions of people who you would like to hear from on upcoming podcast episodes. I’d love to hear your input. Jason Bryant and Kirk Wilbur record episode 5 of the Sorting Pen, reviewing details of this legislative session.