The eBEEF website has some great fact sheets and FAQs around beef cattle breeding and genetics. Alison Van Eenennaam is the UC Cooperative Extension Animal Genomics and Biotechnology Specialist at UC Davis. She, along with Cooperative Extension Specialists from other major livestock states, developed this website as a way to foster research and share the most up-to-date science with beef cattle producers and ag professionals. This is a great resource for ranchers who are looking for new ways to improve their bottom line!

Fact Sheet Titles Include

-        Beef Sire Selection Recommendations

-        Genetic Practices to Improve Beef Cattle Reproduction

-        EPD Basics and Definitions

FAQs give short answers to many genetic/genomic questions like those listed below. You can either watch the videos (usually around 1 minute) or read the video transcripts.

-        What is genomics?

-        What is an economically relevant trait, or ERT?

-        Why should I crossbreed?

To see the full list of fact sheets and FAQs, go the the eBEEF website and choose the Fact Sheets or FAQs icon under the "Resources" heading.  Also, if you have a question you can choose the Ask an Expert icon, type in your question, and get a response from someone who knows.

 

On February 16 I wrote a blog post to let you all know about the February 25 Pajaro Compass (Compass) meeting at the Hollister Veterans Memorial Building.  I was able to attend the meeting, which had around 35 people.  

The intent of the Compass is to improve coordination among conservation organizations, support working lands, and advance conservation with interested parties. Basically, it is group of agencies and non-profits that want to work together to help each other achieve their different goals, specifically in the Pajaro River Watershed. The photo to the right shows the Draft Goals from the group (click the photo to enlarge it). The goals were related to

• water resources
• biodiversity
• agriculture/working landscapes
• soil health
• recreation
• community

The Compass organizers want to make sure this effort benefits agricultural producers as well as the environment. They will be making a concerted effort, in the near future, to meet with farmers and ranchers to learn about and incorporate your goals.

You may be wondering what the Compass folks actually want to do on the ground. I've been wondering about that as well. Here are some ideas that came out of the meeting:

• Look for win/win projects, where there is a benefit to
  

  Group Brainstorming
  the land and a benefit to the rancher/farmer
• Help the San Benito Resource Conservation District (RCD) get funding to do weed control projects (yellow starthistle, tumbleweed, tamarisk, etc.) on ranches
• Help get more funding to clean out and maintain stock ponds
• Help the RCD develop a permit coordination program so permitting for pond maintenance and other projects doesn't take as long
• Find a way to reduce the amount of paperwork that producers need to do for these kinds of conservation projects
• Help get funding for conservation easements so ranches can stay in the family for future generations
• Try to develop short-term contracts to pay producers for the good land management they are already doing or for making small management changes that benefit plants, wildlife, or water quality. These short-term
  

  Several People Commented that the Compass Needs to Hear More From Ranchers and Farmers
  contracts could be between 1 and 10 years. That way producers could test it out and see if it's something they are comfortable with. This could be a good alternative to conservation easements.

One thing that became clear at the meeting is that the Pajaro Compass is a work-in-progress and there is still plenty of opportunity for more people to weigh in and help guide the outcome. They will be publishing a document in early summer that will summarize the process and vision that they have been working on for the past year. In June they will start hosting meetings for anyone who wants to join the conversation. They're also looking for more ways to involve landowners and managers going forward.

If you have questions or want to share your ideas/suggestions with the Compass organizers, please get in touch with Chris Coburn, Abby Ramsden, or Matt Freeman. You can also click here to download photos from the recent meeting or to see a list of people who have attended Compass meetings. 

Chris Coburn

RCD Santa Cruz County

831.464.2950 X 17

ccoburn@rcdsantacruz.org

 

Abigail Ramsden

The Nature Conservancy

415.772.0732

aramsden@tnc.org

 

Matt Freeman

Santa Clara Open S

pace Authority

408.224.7476

mfreeman@openspaceauthority.org

Come to the Central Coast Rangeland Coalition Spring Meeting on April 21 in Sunol (Bay Area, south of Pleasanton). Sign up soon!  Registration will be limited to 75 people and will fill up quickly.  The last day to register will be March 29.  The $10 fee covers lunch.

Ranchers, land managers, scientists, and others interested in rangelands will be there.  

The focus of this meeting will be economics of ranching, particularly on public lands.  Tim Koopmann, Clayton Koopmann, Paul Banke, and Ryan Nielson are local bay-area ranchers who will be speaking at this event.  Larry Forero is the Livestock/Natural Resource Farm Advisor for Shasta and Trinity Counties.  He'll talk about ranching cost, revenue, and profit. Dina Robertson, Rangeland Ecologist with AECOM with give an orientation to the Alameda Creek Watershed.

Here's the link for more info and to register: http://bit.ly/21lCyMr.

Here's the agenda for the meeting: http://bit.ly/1QxM2lU.

Did you miss today's Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) certification event at the Monterey County Cattlemen's Association's Spring Meeting?  Don't worry - from now through April 15 you can get certified for free at the BQA website!

Here are a few great tips we learned today:

Castration

- Castrate male calves before they reach 300 pounds and before they are 3 months old.

Vaccines

- Make sure to store vaccines at between 35 - 45 degrees F.

- Only mix the amount of vaccine that you will use in 1 hour.

- Hot water (more than 212 degrees F) should be used to clean syringes.  If you are using a modified live vaccine, soap and disinfectant can kill it.

Injection Needles

- When giving injections, if you bend a needle get rid of it and get a new one.  Don't try to fix and reuse bent needles. 

- With normal use, needles should be replaced after every 10 animals.

Injection Sites

 - Intramuscular injections should only be given in the neck.

- Subcutaneous injections can be given in the neck, dewlap, or elbow pocket.

I asked a few people what was the most important thing they learned today.  Here's what they had to say:

- It's interesting to know why some drugs are subcutaneous and some are intramuscular.  Time released drugs last longer and are given subcutaneously.  For drugs that are not time released, and you want a fast reaction, those are intramuscular. 

- Because of the Beef Quality Assurance program, livestock producers from all over the country are learning the same things from the experts, so everyone is doing it and doing it right.

- Vaccines, even as little as 10 cc, can travel in the muscles and tissue more than 1 foot from the injection site.

What's your most important BQA tip?  Let us know.  Leave a comment at the bottom of this blog post so we can all help each other remember the important things.  While your at it, check out the Monterey County Cattlemen's new website created by Monterey County local Celeste Settrini.

The last thing I want say is Scott Violini received the Monterey County Cattleman of the Year award and Shirley Rasmussen received the Monterey County Cattlewoman of the Year award!  Congratulations Scott and Shirley!