- Author: Devii R. Rao
The online and PDF presentation of these materials is the next evolution of the Ranch Water Quality Planning program, based upon the more than 30 years of research and education conducted by UC Cooperative Extension and partners. The Guide provides the resources and tools to plan and implement Ranch Water Quality Planning workshops and field days for grazing livestock producers, agency staff, and other stakeholders interested in grazing management and water quality.
These new resources provide a wealth of contemporary information about water quality management on rangelands. (For questions and additional information please contact David Lewis - djllewis@ucanr.edu or Ken Tate- kwtate@ucdavis.edu)
- Author: Devii R. Rao
The latest information on weed control and fire will be presented at the Managing Weeds in Grasslands and Rangelands in the Context of Fire in California webinar on Wednesday, November 18, 2020. The lineup of UC Cooperative Extension (UCCE) and UC Davis experts will discuss how fire interacts with plant communities in rangeland ecosystems, how grassland management influences fire severity and how management practices impact post-fire vegetation recovery.
“We realize that many communities across the state are dealing with the effects of fire this year, and we wanted to highlight the importance of weed management, particularly in grasslands and rangelands, which are heavily impacted by fire” said Whitney Brim-DeForest, County Director, UCCE Sutter-Yuba Counties, who is chairing this webinar event. “Weeds can have an impact on the spread of fire, as well as on the recovery of grassland and rangeland plant communities after a fire event.”
Presenters include
- Valerie Eviner, Professor and Ecologist, Dept. of Plant Sciences, UC Davis
- Tom Getts, Weed Ecology and Cropping Systems Advisor, UCCE Lassen, Modoc, Plumas, and Sierra Counties
- Chris McDonald, San Bernardino County Co-Director and Inland and Desert Natural Resources Advisor, UCCE San Bernardino, Imperial, Riverside, and San Diego Counties
- Scott Oneto, Farm Advisor, UCCE Central Sierra
- Rebecca Ozeran, Livestock and Natural Resources Advisor, UCCE Fresno and Madera Counties
- Devii Rao, San Benito County Director and Livestock and Natural Resources Advisor, UCCE San Benito, Monterey, and Santa Cruz Counties
The webinar begins at 9 AM and ends at 12 PM (PST). Continuing education credit pending approval from DPR and CCA.
The cost is $20. Registration is underway now—click HERE or visit https://ucanr.edu/survey/survey.cfm?surveynumber=32335.
Full AGENDA
Got questions:
- Program: Whitney Brim-DeForest [wbrimdeforest@ucanr.edu]
- Logistics and registration: Gale Perez [gperez@ucdavis.edu]
This webinar is sponsored by UC Cooperative Extension, UC Davis Dept. of Plant Sciences and UC Weed Research & Information Center.
- Author: Devii R. Rao
Nuestra Comunidad is a new blog that showcases stories from Latino academics, advisors, and educators from UC ANR. If you are a Spanish speaker or someone who is trying to learn, and you are interested in agriculture, this is a great resource. You can subscribe to get updates.
Here's the link: https://ucanr.edu/blogs/NuestraComunidad/index.cfm.
- Author: Karen Giovannini
Matchmaking grazing animals with grass and rangelands
Professional grazing of overgrown rangelands, pastures and parcels is proven to reduce the spread of dangerous and costly wildfires.
Do you have land but no livestock and feel concerned about fire fuels on your property? Or are you a livestock owner that can provide a grazing service and/or need land and forage for your animals? Match.Graze can help.
Match.Graze is a free online platform connecting landowners statewide who want grazing animals to livestock owners with animals that can provide vegetation management services, created by UC Cooperative Extension.
From small semi-rural communities to large open spaces, grazing can provide an affordable solution to the inevitable accumulation of fire fuels. Grazing can be more cost-effective for reducing fuels on landscapes that are too steep, rocky or remote for mowing or chemical treatment, or in the wildland-urban interface where burning is not an option.
“I've noticed on several fires, including extreme fires, the fence lines where the fire just stopped. And the one variable, the one difference, was grazing,” said Marshall Turbeville, CAL FIRE battalion chief.
Cattle, sheep, goats and other grazing animals all have different roles to play in grazing for fire fuel reduction. If you want to use livestock to help reduce fire risk in your area, visit MatchGraze.com.
“Every property is different and requires thoughtful consideration of how it should best be grazed,” said Stephanie Larson, director of UCCE in Sonoma County, UCCE livestock and range management advisor and co-creator of the livestock-land matchmaking service. “UC Cooperative Extension is here to serve, put Match.Graze to work and let's prevent catastrophic fire while helping landowners and agriculture.”
To find a local grazing partner, visit MatchGraze.com,
set up a free account, create a pin on the map and make a match.
- Author: Devii R. Rao
In order to understand the influence of grazing on PM and GHG emissions from wildfire we will use these estimates and model results in a state-wide context by
- Calculating the total grassland/rangeland area burned annually in the State over the past five to ten years.
- Comparing that to grazed rangeland acreage and the total amount of forage/fuel removed by cattle in California which we calculated in the previous study, and inferring how this could affect PM and GHG.
- Examining the recent large SCU lightening complex fire, as a case study. The SCU fire was entirely in rangeland, much of which was grazed.
We will focus on private lands and non-federal public lands. However, we will also identify US Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lease locations and acreages in order to compare PM and GHG differences on private and non-federal public lands versus federal lands.
Preliminary results are expected to be presented at a workshop or conference by the end of August 2021.
This research project is funded by the California Cattle Council.