For months, the CTA reporting requirements have been subject to litigation, temporary enforcement pauses, and other changes that have created confusion for small business owners across the country. The announcement from the U.S. Department of the Treasury provides some short-term protection from the CTA’s enforcement penalties while the agency works to craft new regulations that protect U.S. citizens from burdensome reporting requirements.

“For over a year, cattle producers have been extremely concerned with the ever-changing direction of the Corporate Transparency Act and the steep punishment associated with non-compliance,” said NCBA Executive Director of Government Affairs Kent Bacus. “Without President Trump’s intervention, millions of small business owners may have been in violation with the law. We greatly appreciate Treasury developing a new rule that provides certainty for small businesses and protects American agriculture.”

NCBA continues to encourage cattle producers to consult with their attorney and/or tax professional about this latest development.

CattleCon 2026 heads to Nashville

Downtown Nashville, Tenn., will host CattleCon 2026, Feb. 3-5, 2026.

“Nashville has always been a popular location for CattleCon, and we are excited to bring everyone downtown to be close to everything the city has to offer,” said Kristin Torres, NCBA executive director of meetings and events. “We are planning several special events including an exclusive evening at the historic Ryman Auditorium.”

CattleCon 2026 will feature popular events such as Cattlemen’s College, CattleFax Outlook Session, D.C. Issues Update, Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame Banquet, Environmental Stewardship Regional Awards, and Beef Quality Assurance Awards, along with a few surprises to be announced. The NCBA Trade Show will include acres of displays, as well as live-cattle handling demonstrations, educational sessions and entertainment.

Registration will open in August, and additional information will be available at https://convention.ncba.org/.

Elanco, Medgene to commercialize HPAI vaccine for dairy cattle

Elanco Animal Health Inc. has entered into an agreement with South Dakota-based Medgene to leverage the company’s innovative vaccine platform technology. The agreement includes commercialization of a highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) vaccine for use in dairy cattle.

Medgene reports the vaccine has met all requirements of the USDA’s platform technology guidelines and is in the final stages of review for conditional license approval.

While the poultry industry has developed interventions and processes to reduce the spread or eradicate HPAI, those efforts have continued to be challenging as the current outbreak enters its fourth year. Dairy producers have worked quickly to protect their herds without the same tools and biosecurity options to tackle this devastating disease. The cross-species transmission of the disease into nearly 1,000 dairy herds across the United States since March 2024, along with zoonotic transmission to people, shows that more interventions are quickly needed. This virus is prevalent and predicted to persist over time, thus a cattle vaccine will be critical to slow virus spread between birds and cattle.

The USDA previously approved Medgene’s vaccine platform technology in cattle, allowing the company to accelerate H5N1 vaccine development. Medgene has existing vaccine manufacturing supply ready to deploy with the ability to support the U.S. dairy herd.

Former Ag Secretary plans CSU course on helping small farms survive, thrive

During his first stint with Colorado State University (CSU), former U.S. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack played a central role envisioning CSU Spur as a new kind of university campus that would engage learners of all ages in problem-solving and discovery related to food, water, and human and animal health.

Now, with four more years of government service under his belt and with CSU Spur up and running, Vilsack is returning to CSU to establish a unique course that will provide students insight and experience to counter a challenge he knows well from his time as ag secretary: the steady disappearance of small to mid-size farms.

The course will draw on CSU Extension resources while preparing students to work with farm operators and rural communities in developing innovative new approaches utilizing available federal, state and local support programs. As many as 30 students will be able to take the course, which Vilsack will co-teach with a College of Agricultural Sciences faculty member when it is first offered in fall 2025.

“This is an opportunity for young people to learn about entrepreneurship and creating something that doesn’t exist,” Vilsack said. “It’s about persuading and encouraging people to consider a different thought process in terms of their farming operations. The goal is to give students real-world experience so that, as they consider potential careers, they’ll be able to see themselves getting involved.”

Vilsack, formerly governor of Iowa, served for eight years as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture in the Obama administration, and he returned to that role for the past four years during the Biden administration.

Other headlines

• Reuters reported March 3 that China’s customs authorities suspended beef imports from seven companies in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Mongolia. The suspension comes as the Commerce Ministry investigates surging beef imports late last year. Domestic beef prices in China are at multi-year lows due to an oversupplied beef market.
• More to come ....

Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA, Vol. 17, No. 3-A