Morning Brief – October 21, 2026

A special thanks to Larry Turner this morning for the beautiful photo of the Montana Angus barn.

Diesel costs are climbing again. The national average reached $6.276 a gallon on October 19, up 9.7 cents in a week—adding $97 to a 1,000-gallon purchase. Regional averages hit $6.422 in the Rockies and $7.394 on the West Coast. EIA’s figures measure retail highway diesel, providing a transportation-cost benchmark rather than a quote for farm-delivered or dyed fuel.

Meanwhile, USDA announced an $8 billion Harvest Fuel Relief program October 19, with payments based on modeled crop losses. Rates for Title I commodities are due in November; other payment methods will follow. The announcement does not establish eligibility for cattle or sheep operations, individual payment amounts or an application opening date. Producers who also grow feed crops should watch for FSA’s forthcoming details before counting relief in their budgets.

USDA will begin publishing an additional regional cash cattle report October 26, combining negotiated sales data from Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. Announced October 20, the report will use information already collected from covered packers, without adding reporting requirements.

Combining the five states could make prices available when smaller regional samples trigger confidentiality restrictions. That matters beyond cash sellers: negotiated prices also help determine payments under many formula contracts.

The change expands published information; it does not require more negotiated purchases or set a minimum cattle price. Producers should compare the new report with existing regional reports to see whether it provides useful benchmarks while preserving a clear picture of local price differences.

Cattle imports through Columbus, New Mexico, are scheduled to resume October 26, USDA announced October 20. Nogales, Arizona, could follow November 30, provided animal-health conditions, inspection arrangements and infrastructure support reopening. The crossings would join earlier reopenings at Douglas and Santa Teresa.

Additional crossings could improve access to Mexican feeder cattle for Southwestern stockers and feedyards and change trucking routes. Any effect on supplies and prices will depend on how many cattle actually clear inspection.

Separately, horse imports through Santa Teresa resume October 26, with quarantine at a USDA-approved facility on the U.S. side. Mexican-side quarantine facilities remain closed. APHIS requires importers to contact the port at least three business days before crossing. Screwworm inspection and treatment requirements remain in place.

California’s July–September wolf report documents $40,943.55 granted to livestock producers through its California Bountiful Foundation partnership. CDFW also received six new applications covering 13 eligible livestock during the quarter. The report does not specify whether those payments covered those same animals.

CDFW continues accepting applications for confirmed or probable wolf depredations, but is not currently seeking applications for nonlethal deterrents or payments for operating in wolf territory. That leaves direct-loss compensation distinct from the broader costs of protecting and managing livestock around wolves.

The update does not establish how long producers wait for payment, how many eligible claims remain unpaid or whether compensation covers their full losses.

At Riddle Mountain in southeastern Oregon, a preliminary injunction limits BLM’s planned emergency gather to 140 horses following wildfire and drought. BLM says removals are needed to protect horses and recovering rangeland, and reports working with the permittee to pause cattle grazing.

OPB reports that Judge Karin Immergut questioned BLM’s forage assessment and analysis of genetic diversity. The injunction limits the operation while litigation continues; it is not a final ruling on the case.

Meanwhile, BLM reports 467 horses gathered and seven deaths through October 20 at Wyoming’s Red Desert Complex. The agency classified all seven deaths as involving pre-existing or chronic conditions. The updates do not establish whether either operation will restore livestock grazing authorizations.

Following the October 16 hearing, the U.S. International Trade Commission’s lamb import investigation moves into posthearing submissions. October 23 is the deadline for injury-phase briefs and pertinent written statements from people or organizations that are not parties to the case.

The commission must determine by November 13 whether increased lamb imports are a substantial cause of serious injury—or threaten serious injury—to the domestic industry. This safeguard proceeding does not require proof of dumping or another unfair trade practice. Industry testimony and allegations remain evidence for commissioners to weigh, rather than commission findings.

A December 1 remedy hearing will proceed only if commissioners find injury or split evenly on that question. Any eventual import relief would require a presidential decision; last week’s hearing did not itself impose tariffs or quotas.

Arizona filed October 16 to join Nevada’s lawsuit challenging the federal Colorado River operating framework. Arizona argues the plan places too much of the shortage burden on Lower Basin states and threatens its water supply. Interior defends the need to address declining supplies and says litigation will not change the river’s hydrology.

The filing is a legal challenge, not a new water allocation. No court order changing deliveries was verified for this update. For irrigators and individual tribal nations, the consequences will depend on their specific water rights, delivery priorities, and settlement obligations—not simply a statewide reduction figure.

Great Basin Trading Company