Livestock Leaders Pick Reno for Ranching Future

The Common Ground Coalition chose Reno for the first of its four 2026 regional summits, using the Nevada gathering to collect western ranchers’ recommendations on the future of the cattle business. Organizers said the April meeting was designed to feed a broader national effort on rural communities, food supply and producer-led policy priorities. The coalition said 33 attendees took part in the Reno session. Participants and follow-up interviews pointed to land access, financing, labor, mentorship and predator management as the main issues raised in the room. ### Why Reno, and what actually happened there? Reno hosted the coalition’s western-region kickoff in April, according to releases published by Western Ag Network and American Ag Network. The meeting was described as the first of four regional summits scheduled for 2026, with the goal of gathering recommendations from different parts of the country before combining them into a wider industry agenda. The Common Ground Coalition said the Reno summit built on an inaugural event held in April 2025. In the western session, attendees discussed what organizers called barriers to the long-term viability of livestock operations, especially for younger and emerging producers. ### Who was in the room? Thirty-three attendees participated in the Reno summit, the coalition said. The group included western livestock producers and other industry figures, though the public materials reviewed did not publish a full attendee list. Nevada rancher Sam Mori was quoted by organizers as saying the gathering gave producers “an opportunity to make a real difference.” Mori said the industry’s “success and survival” depended on participants working together and taking shared responsibility for its future. California Cattlemen’s Association President Rick Roberti later described the Reno meeting as an effort to identify a small set of shared priorities. Roberti said producers needed to agree on “four or five issues” and work on those first, rather than trying to settle every disagreement at once. ### What problems did ranchers say need fixing first? The coalition’s Reno summary listed access to land, capital, labor and risk-management tools among the main issues discussed. Organizers said those pressures were particularly acute for young and emerging producers trying to enter or stay in the business. Western participants also added regional concerns. The Reno recommendations called for protecting and restoring grazing acres, including public and deeded land, and for financing reforms to expand access to capital for livestock production. Predator management and Endangered Species Act policy were also part of the western discussion. Organizers said participants wanted those issues added to the coalition’s foundational work, and Roberti said gray wolf protections in California had become a major concern for ranchers there. ### Why does Reno keep showing up in cattle-industry planning? The University of Nevada, Reno already runs recurring cattle-focused programming in the state, including its annual Cattlemen’s Update. The university says that program has been held for more than 40 years and focuses on research-based information about productivity, profitability and sustainability in Nevada’s cattle industry. University of Nevada, Reno researchers are also publicly highlighting newer ranching tools, including virtual fencing research, through local media and extension programs. That existing agriculture and extension presence helps explain why Reno can serve as a meeting point for industry discussions, even though the coalition itself has framed the summit as a producer-led effort rather than a university event. ### What did participants say they wanted out of the process? Rick Roberti said one value of the Reno summit was forcing producers to think beyond the next production year. He said a question about where the beef industry would be in 20 or 25 years had stuck with him because many ranchers are focused on getting through immediate pressures. The coalition said its process was built around recommendations that could win consensus. Items that did not attract agreement were not advanced, according to the summit summary, and the western recommendations are expected to be compared with ideas from the remaining regional meetings. ### What happens next? The Reno summit was the first stop in a four-city 2026 schedule, according to coalition materials and follow-up reporting. The next meetings are planned for Omaha, Nashville and Fort Worth, where organizers say they will continue gathering producer-led recommendations before aligning the regional findings into the next phase of the Common Ground Coalition’s work.