- Author: Devii R. Rao
UCCE San Luis Obispo County is hosting a one-hour Zoom workshop covering the following topics:
- Forage Production and Nutrient Quality
- Trace Mineral Supplementation
- Toxic Plants
- Healthy Soils / Composting
- Yeomans Plow
- Grazing Reduces Wildfire Risks & Severity
Date: Tuesday, September 29, 2020
Time: 4:00 to 5:00 pm
Location: Zoom
Cost: Free
To Register click here or Or call Hiromi at 805-781-5940.
Click here to see the flyer.
Central Coast Rangeland Webinar Flyer Final Sep 2020
- Author: Devii R. Rao
This is a summary of forage production clipping from 2020.
I was able to clip forage production at two sites in San Benito County: one in Rainfall Zone A and the other in Rainfall Zone B. Click here to see the Rainfall Zones.
Table 1 shows two forage production values for each rainfall zone. The two forage production values are as follows:
- The NRCS Web Soil Survey estimate of forage production in a normal rainfall year. The NRCS value is considered to be the typical amount of forage that will be produced in a normal rainfall year. Therefore, this year's estimates will be compared to the NRCS estimate.
- Forage production clipped this year (2020).
The last column in the table shows how different this year's production is compared to the NRCS estimate for a normal rainfall year. A plus sign before the number indicates that this year's forage production was higher than the NRCS estimate and a minus sign before the number indicates that this year's forage production was lower than the NRCS estimate.
Table 1. 2020 San Benito County Forage Production
* NRCS forage production data were not available for this site, so forage production from an adjacent soil type was used.
In 2020, forage production in Zones A and B was substantially higher than the NRCS estimates (220% and 290% respectively). Forage production in Zones C, D, and E were not measured.
Forage production was clipped on May 8, 2020. Average annual rainfall (from 1994-2017) for San Benito County according to CIMIS Weather Station #126 in Hollister, was 14.42 inches. CIMIS reported 10.9 inches for this station from October 2019 – May 2020. According to the San Benito County RAWS weather station at Pinnacles National Park, average annual rainfall (from 2001-2017) was 9.83 inches. The Pinnacles RAWS station reported 11.79 inches for from October 2019 – May 2020. Rainfall was lower than average this year in the northern part of the county, but higher than average in the central part of the county. The rainfall started slow this year with no rainfall in October. It rained some in November and picked up in December, but declined again in January. In February as with October, there was no rainfall. March picked up again, with less in April and almost no precipitation in May.
From a grazing perspective, a rancher from the northern part of the county said that the amount and quality of feed for the year were good because of two substantial rain storms that led to a "miracle March." However, there was very little feed early in the season which resulted in calves that were substantially lighter than they would have been in a year with more rain and feed early in the season. A rancher from the central part of the county said this year was probably better than average and that the quality of the feed was good. On the other hand, a rancher from the southern part of the county felt that this year was about average. Although the growth was good, the nutritional quality of the forage was lacking. This rancher started supplementing earlier and heavier than normal.
- Author: Devii R. Rao
The San Benito County Weed Management Area (WMA) is planning the Continuing Education Seminar for Ranchers which is normally held at the Vets Hall in Hollister in early December. Since health guidelines will likely not allow us to hold a large in-person meeting this year, our team is exploring an on-line option for this year's seminar. In order to plan a meeting that will best meet the needs of area ranchers, we really need to hear from you! If you are a San Benito, Monterey, Santa Cruz, or Santa Clara County rancher that has attended or planned to attend the annual Ranchers Seminar in Hollister, please take a couple of minutes to complete a short survey at this link.
OR, if you prefer to reply by email, please send your responses to the following questions to karminder.brown@gmail.com. (Responses will be kept confidential and used only to help the WMA plan the 2020 Ranchers Seminar):
1. Would you plan to attend an on-line (virtual) Ranchers Seminar tentatively scheduled for Thursday, December 3rd?
YES NO
2. If YES:
Would you join the webinar from a computer, tablet or smartphone?
OR
Would you join the webinar by dial-in phone with audio only? (This option might mean that you would be ineligible to earn continuing education credits from DPR).
3. If YES:
Would you still plan to attend if no DPR continuing education credits/hours were offered?
4. If YES:
Which specific weed or pest management topics would you like to have covered at the seminar?
5. If NO, why not? (Choose all that apply).
My internet access is limited or unreliable
I am unfamiliar with Zoom and other webinar platforms
I'm not available on that date
I don't need DPR continuing education credits
Other: ________________________________
Thank you for taking a few minutes to help the San Benito WMA team to plan the 2020 Continuing Education Seminar for Ranchers. We'll keep you posted as plans for the meeting shape up.
- Author: Devii R. Rao
I recently found some interesting documents that my predecessor, Sergio Garcia, published in 1999 regarding seeding mixes for the Central Coast.
Click here for his dryland range seeding recommendations.
Click here for his irrigated pasture seeding recommendations.
I'd be curious to know if you are doing any seeding, what species are working well in your area, and what seeding methods have been successful for you. Feel free to contact me at drorao@ucanr.edu or 831-205-3125 to share your stories!
DRYLAND RANGE SEEDING REC
IRRIGATED PASTURE SEEDING REC
- Author: Devii R. Rao
4-H needs your help! Watch this 1-minute video to learn how to contribute to San Benito County 4-H without spending any extra money or time! It's easy to do by using the 4-H Visa Debit Card for your regular everyday expenses. In order to get the 4-H Visa Debit Card for San Benito County, we need 60 people to fill out the interest form this month (September 2020).
Click here to learn more about the card and to fill out the interest form. No financial information is required on the interest form and it takes two minutes!