Today in 30 seconds
Interior's new order opens more public land to cattle grazing, and the federal fee to graze it is $1.69 a month for a cow and her calf.
No new recall today; a Listeria outbreak with no named product is the one to watch, and your refrigerator should read 40 F or below.
Broccoli crowns are $1.86 a pound in ads after wet Salinas fields cut harvest, and Yuma supply starts in early November.
California navel oranges are starting: $4.96 for a 3 pound bag in ads, down from $5.25 last week.
Tart cherries are self-fruitful, hardy in zones 4 to 8, and one tree can give 20 or more quarts.
The box tree moth quarantine now covers Cape May, Cumberland, and Atlantic counties in South Jersey.
Buy local: pasture-raised ground beef from Sickler's Circle View Farm in Monroeville, NJ, $9.99 a pound at our farm stand in Hammonton. Free pickup by appointment only. See the beef: https://www.curatednature.co/farm-stand#beef
Who gets to graze public land, and what does the $1.69 federal fee actually buy?
What happened. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum signed Secretary's Order 3454, "Supporting America's Ranchers through Resilient Rangelands," on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, near Topeka, Kansas, with Sen. Roger Marshall present. In land terms, Interior told three agencies, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Bureau of Reclamation, to find public land that can open to cattle grazing within 30 days. It told BLM to plan to clear its permit renewal backlog within 60 days. It also reinstates suspended allotments, renews grazing permits for the full 10 years, creates a public map of lands available for grazing, and reviews policies on protecting livestock from predators. An allotment is a parcel of federal land a rancher is permitted to graze. A suspended allotment is one where grazing rights were cut back in earlier years. The order carries out the president's executive order "Supporting America's Ranchers." One caution: the order text itself could not be opened, so the 30 day, 60 day, and 10 year terms are confirmed from Interior's press release only. Counting from October 27, those deadlines land around November 26 and December 26. That is our arithmetic, because Interior has not given calendar dates.
The land and the fee. BLM manages about 155 million acres of grazing land under nearly 18,000 permits, about 12.3 million animal unit months a year (Federal Register, citing 2024 Public Land Statistics). An animal unit month (AUM) is the forage one cow and her calf eat in a month. The permit holder pays the federal grazing fee, $1.69 per AUM in 2026, effective March 1 (BLM). The fee comes from a formula set under the Public Rangelands Improvement Act of 1978 and Executive Order 12548 (1986), with a floor of $1.35 and annual change capped at 25 percent. Existing BLM or Forest Service permit holders qualify. The reason for the order, in one sentence, is the herd: 86.2 million head on January 1, 2026, the smallest in 75 years (USDA NASS via Farm Bureau Market Intel, Feb 10). New Jersey has no federal grazing land, so I could not find a New Jersey figure; the closest thing here is leased farmland.
From the fee to your shelf. The order reaches only the first link in a long chain. The permit holder pays the $1.69 fee. The cow-calf rancher raises the calf, from a national beef cow herd of 27.6 million. The calf then sells as a feeder, with the CME Feeder Cattle Index at $348.55 per hundredweight (cwt, one hundred pounds). Fed cattle follow, with weekly negotiated live prices at $228.03 per cwt for Oct 19 to 26. The packer then sells beef, and the Choice boxed beef cutout was $372.22 per cwt on Oct 27 (Western Livestock Journal, Oct 27; single source, and live and dressed prices are not mixed here). Only then does it land on your shelf at $6.79 a pound for ground beef in September (BLS), and this order changes nothing about that today. The order sets no price at any link. Critics at Western Watersheds Project say public lands supply under 2 percent of U.S. beef, which is their advocacy figure. Any shopper effect is years away, because the herd is rebuilt through retained heifers and the calf crop (Farm Bureau Market Intel).
What the gap looks like on one ranch. The fee is the reason ranchers want these permits. The federal fee is $1.69 per AUM, while 2026 private pasture rent in Nebraska runs $56.45 to $82.10 per cow-calf pair per month, and $74.60 in central Nebraska (Nebraska Extension via Western Livestock Journal, July 31). Here is a hypothetical, and the arithmetic is ours, not an agency's. Take 100 pairs for six months, which is 600 AUMs if one pair-month equals one AUM. At the federal fee that is $1,014. At the central Nebraska private rate it is $44,760. Western Watersheds Project says federal fees average about 93 percent below private rates; that is their figure.
How the order works and what it does not say. A Secretary's Order is an internal directive, not a regulation (Drovers). The goal of "no net loss" of AUMs is a goal, not a guarantee. The separate BLM grazing rule is only proposed: published May 12 (91 FR 26852), the first rewrite since 1995, with comments closed July 13 after 120,204 comments. It would favor "production-oriented" operations, cap nonuse at four consecutive years, and open access for beginning ranchers, meaning under 10 years of experience and never held a permit (BLM FAQ, June 2026). Burgum points to droughts and market instability as the reasons herds have shrunk (WIBW, Oct 27, paraphrased), and the Forest Service issued its own grazing directive on June 12. Not yet published: how many acres and AUMs are in the vacant or suspended allotments to be reopened, local BLM guidance, the final grazing rule, and how far the predator language goes. Interior says "review and reform," while critics read more into it; that is unverified. The precedent is mixed: the 2006 BLM grazing rule was blocked in court. For scale, the Forest Service goal of 500,000 head months is small against about 12.3 million BLM AUMs a year, though they are different agencies; that comparison is ours.
Reaction. Burgum says the order "cuts through bureaucratic red tape" (Interior release). Ron Cerri, president of the Public Lands Council, says in the council's own Oct 27 release that it views ranchers as partners in land management decisions. Drovers also reports support from Kim Brackett, NCBA president-elect, and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins. Critics from Western Watersheds Project, WildEarth Guardians, Wilderness Watch, and PEER released a joint statement Oct 27. Josh Osher of Western Watersheds Project says the beef price effect is overstated. Chris Krupp of WildEarth Guardians argues vacant allotments are wildlife habitat. Chandra Rosenthal of PEER says BLM staff fell from about 11,000 in 2024 to 5,800 in August 2026, which is their figure.
The other program most people missed. The USDA Forest Service issued a grazing directive on June 12, followed by a letter to permit holders dated October 5 (Drovers says October 8). It sets a goal of restoring at least 500,000 head months on national forest land within two years, with no net loss of AUMs and vacant allotments reopened. Questions go to grazing@usda.gov, the address printed in the USDA letter. The catch: it is a goal "consistent with applicable laws," with no application steps, eligibility criteria, or deadlines. Separately, USDA announced about $1.8 billion in 2026 CRP payments on Oct 8, with nearly 1 million new Grassland acres accepted. Grassland CRP lets owners keep grazing and haying (FSA release via Drovers). I am not claiming any enrollment is open.
What to do
Permit holders: check your renewal status with your field office, and watch for the 30 day land list and the public map. Forest Service permittees can write to grazing@usda.gov.
Own private grass: compare your pasture rent to your state Extension survey. The Nebraska figures are a sample, not your local rate.
Look at Grassland CRP, which allows grazing and haying.
Keep your permit, base-property records, and any record of suspended or reduced AUMs, since the order reinstates suspended allotments and the proposed rule counts experience.
Shoppers: the order does not change the $6.79 you pay today, and herd rebuilding takes years.
Sources: Interior press release, Oct 27, Interior order page, Oct 27, Farm Bureau Market Intel, Feb 10, BLS ground beef via Beef Price Index, Oct 14, BLS ground beef via Basket Report, Oct 14, Western Livestock Journal market wrap, Oct 27, BLM and Forest Service grazing fees, 2026, Western Livestock Journal Nebraska pasture rent, Jul 31, WIBW, Oct 27, Drovers on the order, Oct 27, Federal Register proposed grazing rule, May 12, BLM grazing rule FAQ, June 2026, Public Lands Council, Oct 27, Western Watersheds Project, Oct 27, USDA letter to permit holders, Oct 5, Drovers on USDA grazing and CRP, Oct 2026
Is there a food recall today? Outbreak watch and the refrigerator rule
No new recall turned up for October 27 to 29, so this is an outbreak watch. FDA's list shows only Haifa sprats and the Taylor Farms H-E-B chop salad kit. FDA's table lists a Listeria outbreak (reference 1417) posted September 23, 46 cases, product not identified, with inspection and sampling begun. Food Safety News reports 50 cases and a new Salmonella Javiana outbreak of 59 patients, no food identified. That is not the ended jalapeno Javiana outbreak.
Listeria grows at refrigerator temperatures and freezing does not kill it, so keep the refrigerator at 40 F or below and the freezer at 0 F (FDA). CDC counts about 1,250 infections and 172 deaths a year, highest for pregnant women, newborns, adults 65 and older, and people with weakened immune systems.
What to do
Put a thermometer in your refrigerator and check it reads 40 F or below.
With fever, stiff neck, or confusion after eating, tell a doctor and mention Listeria.
Sources: FDA recalls, Oct 27, FDA outbreak table, Oct 21, Food Safety News, Oct 29, FDA Listeria, CDC Listeria, CDC Javiana, Oct 2
Why are broccoli and cauliflower prices up right now?
Wet fields in Salinas cut harvest. USDA's National FOB Review, dated October 23 (the latest available on October 29), puts Salinas-Watsonville broccoli crown cut, 20 pound cartons, at $12.50 to $20.95, mostly $15.55 to $17.45. Cauliflower in film-wrapped 12-count cartons was mostly $11.45 to $14.90. The market was "slightly higher," demand moderate. Shipping Point Trends (Oct 20) had called prices "much lower" than October 13, so the swing was down, then up.
In the October 23 retail report, broccoli crowns were $1.86 a pound in ads, bunches $3.50, cauliflower $3.44 each, with no significant vegetable price increases versus last year. Our arithmetic: $15.55 to $17.45 per carton is about 78 to 87 cents a pound at the shipping point versus $1.86 in ads. Yuma's first FOB report is expected the week of November 1.
What to do
Shoppers: buy crowns near $1.86 in ads now; expect steadier supply once Yuma starts.
Growers: watch the first Yuma report the week of Nov 1.
Sources: USDA FOB Review, Oct 23, Shipping Point Trends, Oct 20, National Retail Report, Oct 23
What fruits and vegetables are in season now?
USDA National Retail Report ad prices, Oct 23.
Navel oranges: season starting, light supplies from California and Arizona. A 3 pound bag is $4.96, down from $5.25 last week; $1.19 a pound, down from $1.44. Pick firm, heavy fruit (UC ANR).
Beets: $0.92 a pound versus $0.99 last week and last year, from California and Mexico crossings. Buy with tops on and keep the greens cool (Iowa State Extension).
Kale: $1.23 a pound on only 42 ads, so no reliable comparison. Store in a plastic bag in the coldest part of the fridge, 3 to 5 days (NC State Extension).
Grow note: beets and kale are cool season crops sown in fall in mild regions; citrus only in zones 9 to 11 or containers.
What to do
Buy navels by the bag.
Buy beets with the tops on and cook the greens.
Sources: USDA Retail Report, Oct 23, Shipping Point Trends, Oct 20, UC ANR, Iowa State, NC State, May 1
Could you grow this? How to grow tart cherries at home
Tart cherries, mainly Montmorency, are self-fruitful, so one tree sets fruit alone, and they are hardy in USDA zones 4 to 8. A mature tree gives 20 quarts or more (Penn State, June 10, 2026) up to 60 to 80 quarts (University of Missouri). First harvest comes in 3 to 5 years. Space trees about 20 by 25 feet, in well-drained soil at pH 6.0 to 6.5, with 8 hours of sun. Cold regions: Northstar and Meteor. Missouri also lists Balaton and Surecrop. Two trees cover a family of four with cherries left to freeze, our estimate from the yields. Nationally, 2025 output was 142.2 million pounds from 27,900 bearing acres (USDA NASS).
What to do
Order bare-root trees now for spring.
Soil test through county Extension and lime this fall to reach pH 6.0 to 6.5.
Plant in spring in the North; fall or late winter in mild regions.
Sources: Penn State, Jun 10, Penn State guide, Missouri Extension MG6, USDA NASS, May 2026
If you own land you are tired of mowing, see how we help turn it into a producing orchard.
What is the box tree moth quarantine in New Jersey?
Box tree moth (Cydalima perspectalis), a caterpillar that strips and kills boxwood, was confirmed in Cape May County in June. New Jersey's Department of Agriculture (NJDA) quarantined Cape May County June 24, then on August 26 added Cumberland and Atlantic counties after an August 21 find in Commercial Township. A federal quarantine for Cape May County took effect August 21 (Federal Order DA-2026-24). No later change was found. Hammonton is in Atlantic County, inside it.
NJDA says boxwood industries generate more than $9.8 million a year in economic activity in New Jersey and about $140 million nationally. The moth spreads 3 to 6 miles a year, and a plant can be defoliated within 10 days. Businesses need a compliance agreement and certificate to move boxwood out; individuals need written NJDA authorization. Moving plants, wreaths, or clippings is the spread route.
What to do
Check boxwoods for brown leaves and webbing; report finds to NJDA or county Rutgers Extension.
Double bag debris. Outside New Jersey, call your state agriculture department.
Sources: NJDA, Jun 25, Rutgers, Aug 27, Rutgers, Jun 10, APHIS, Aug 21, NJDA page
From the farm
Today we are in the office finishing up and sending out proposals from our backyard vineyard & orchard site visits we did last friday!
Own land? Stop mowing grass and start growing fruit
If you own land you mow, you may be sitting on an orchard, vineyard, or berry planting. We install and manage them locally in Southern New Jersey, and we offer remote consulting and design-only plans for landowners anywhere in the country. See how it works at www.curatednature.co/backyard-fruit-profits.
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