From the CEO
Colin Woodall
ROLL‘ EM BACK
Mid-term election primaries are yielding interesting results. Runoffs, surprise retirements, and candidates pulling out of races illustrate how competitive and crazy this election cycle is. It’ s not surprising given the political climate, but if you are a member of the House of Representatives or part of the onethird of the U. S. Senate up for re-election, your focus is on winning your election.
While there is plenty of legislative business Congress should tend to, I don’ t expect them to get much more done this year because of their desire to be on the campaign trail. Once a plan is concocted to fund the rest of the government for this fiscal year, we will hear a lot of House and Senate rhetoric but will see very little action. Now, let’ s keep in mind that this is not a unique situation. A session of Congress lasts for two years. For quite some time, the first year of the session has been about legislating and the second year about running for re-election. When we have a favorable Congress, losing that second year takes away opportunities to advocate for NCBA’ s policy priorities. When it is a challenging Congress, however, it can help us stop a lot of bad ideas.
With this in mind, how do we continue to advocate for you? Well, campaign season allows us to put even more emphasis on rolling back overly burdensome rules and regulations. Many federal rules can be changed without Congressional action, and President Trump has been a willing partner in helping ease the regulatory burden on agriculture. The Endangered Species Act, or ESA, is a great example of where we need improvement.
In late February, we delivered a delisting of the lesser prairiechicken. This means the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service removed the Northern and Southern Distinct Population Segments of the lesser prairie-chicken from the list of endangered species. NCBA, the Public Lands Council( PLC), and our state partners in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado and New Mexico have spent countless hours pointing out the legal and scientific flaws that led to the lesser prairie-chicken being listed. We were also able to clearly show that the lesser prairie-chicken thrives where cattle graze on rangeland. Delistings are rare, so this is a significant victory for us and shows we can be successful in delisting species.
This win bolsters the long-standing effort NCBA and PLC have put into addressing wolves and their impact on
producers who are forced to deal with them thanks to federal government action and inaction. Over the years, NCBA and PLC have worked with our state partner organizations to support multiple delisting rules and engage in litigation defending the delisting decisions. We have shared the horrific stories and photos of cattle killed and maimed by wolves, in addition to describing the emotional and financial toll it takes on many of you. The Trump team has the ability to take action now, and we are providing them the support and cover they need to make the decision. Getting action on wolves leads the list of NCBA’ s regulatory rollback priorities.
Over at the Environmental Protection Agency( EPA), we have a friend in Administrator Lee Zeldin. He has been firm in his resolve to slash regulations. His work to redefine the Waters of the U. S.( WOTUS) led to a proposal that protects producers from worrying about whether a ditch would be regulated. The WOTUS fight has been going on for more than a decade, so we are diligently working with the EPA to finalize this proagriculture definition.
In what was heralded as the“ single largest deregulatory action in U. S. history,” President Trump and Administrator Zeldin eliminated the 2009 Greenhouse Gas( GHG) Endangerment Finding that drove so many of the U. S. government’ s environmental actions, especially changes to engine emission standards. This action resets the climate discussion and will ease the economic burden caused by rules implemented under the finding.
I’ ve just listed these few rules and regulations because the total list would fill my monthly article through Election Day. The point is that our work to implement the policy you pass as members never slows down. I don’ t know what exactly will happen on Election Day 2026. While time seems to fly by these days, it is a political lifetime between now and November considering a short soundbite or video can change the course of any campaign. Regardless, we know the president will continue his deregulation work right up to his last day in office. We will be there to support him and keep him focused on our deregulation priorities. This may well be the best time we’ ve had, or will ever have, in rolling back so much of the government burden you face.
Delistings are rare, so this is a significant victory for us and shows we can be successful in delisting species.
8 APRIL 2026 www. NCBA. org