Ranching in the Sierra Foothills

While wildfire has always been a part of our foothill and mountain environments, the scope and intensity of recent fires are well beyond anything most of us have experienced.

On to the Next Phase We've reached a new phase in our effort to learn how to bond a livestock guardian dog with cattle. As we described in previous blog posts, we are learning that we need to bond Sam, our 7-month old LGD puppy, with cattle and vice versa.

Like many of you, I expect, I've recently debated whether to keep my social media accounts - Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram sometimes seem like a bottomless pit of advertising and argument. But then something like this happens....

Over the last ten years or so, I've had the opportunity to help teach farm and ranch business planning courses (first, as a collaborating producer; more recently, as an extension advisor).

Working in partnership with CALFIRE Nevada-Yuba-Placer, sheriff's offices, and offices of emergency services in Placer, Nevada, and Yuba Counties, the livestock community established a 3-county Livestock Access Pass program for commercial livestock producers.