- Author: John M Harper
For producers doing organic livestock:
USDA/AMS Proposing New Organic Livestock Regulations
The United States Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service proposes to amend the organic livestock and poultry production requirements by adding new provisions for livestock handling and transport for slaughter and avian living conditions; and expanding and clarifying existing requirements covering livestock care and production practices and mammalian living conditions.
AMS will host a virtual listening session on Aug. 19 from noon to approximately 2 p.m. eastern time to hear comments regarding this proposed rule. The deadline to register for oral comment is 11:59 p.m. eastern time on Aug. 15.
Click Here for more information.
Source: USDA/AMS |
- Author: John M Harper
UCCE Looking to Document LGD Bonding Techniques
The process of bonding livestock guardian dogs with livestock is crucial to their success as adult dogs. However, little if any research-based information is available on bonding techniques.
University of California Cooperative Extension Human-Wildlife Interactions Advisor Carolyn Whitesell and UCCE Livestock and Natural Resources Advisor Dan Macon have developed a producer survey designed to document the types of bonding processes used by commercial livestock producers. The researchers hope to build greater understanding regarding the approaches that result in successful bonding – and those that do not.
Project cooperators will complete a short online or telephone survey when they start the bonding process with a new pup. Follow-up surveys will be conducted monthly until the bonding process is completed. Surveys should take 10 to 15 minutes to complete. All responses will remain confidential.
If you're starting a livestock guardian dog puppy in the next year and would be willing to participate in this project, contact Macon at dmacon@ucanr.edu or 530-889-7385.
Click Here for more information.
- Author: John M Harper
Zoom Webinar Series hosted by the Range Management Advisory Committee and the C A Fire Science Consortium.
For details and to register see the attached file.
RMAC Registration 2021
- Author: John M Harper
Join us for our next webinar on Wednesday, June 17th at 1pm PDT, which will feature Dr. Tina Saitone, CE Specialist in Agricultural and Resource Economics, presenting "Can you Insure Against Drought? Information and Outcomes from the Pasture, Rangeland, and Forage Insurance Program".
Register at https://tinyurl.com/WRWs4
(we will email registrants a Zoom meeting link morning of the webinar)
Working Rangelands Wednesdays is a bi-weekly webinar series where we explore topics around rangeland agriculture in California and across the West.
You can view previous Working Rangelands Wednesdays sessions on the UC Rangelands YouTube channel.
For questions, please contact Grace Woodmansee at gwoodmansee@ucdavis.edu.

- Author: John M Harper
The current cost is $9/acre for 10 pounds/acre seeding rate and $10/acre for 20 pounds/acre seeding rate. If more landowners participate with more acres the price may go down. Gibson plans on being here on the Sunday after Thanksgiving which is November 26, 2017. Diane, Devon (Farm Bureau), Katie Delbar (FSA) and I are working together to get the word out not just the ranchers who have been affected by the fire, but also any rancher who would like to take advantage of the plane being in the area to get some seeding done. Diane was told that Gibson said that he would help to source seed. Feel free to share this information with anyone you think might want to be involved.
Usually the goal for a cattle, sheep or goat livestock operation is to maximize high quality forage production. Typically on the North Coast, a 50:50 mix of annual grasses and legumes are recommended and seeded at 20 to 25 lbs per acre. The grasses are usually annual ryegrass, brome and fescue. The annual legume is subterranean clover. In areas of less steep topography and good soils, Berber orchardgrass, a perennial, may be substituted for part of the grass mixture. Perennials extend the green season providing better forage and enhance carbon storage. Many, however, don't compete well with annuals and have difficulty surviving our hot dry summers. A recent paper in California Agriculture was just published on some other promising forage perennials. The study was done in the Sierra foothills and a few of those mentioned have been tested here. The link to the current issue is http://ucanr.edu/repository/fileAccessPublic.cfm?calag=fullissues/CAv071n04.pdf&url_attachment=N. The range seeding paper starts on page 239.
For those interested in using California native grasses and forbs check out the following publication at http://ucanr.edu/sites/BayAreaRangeland/files/267610.pdf. Be aware that seed sources for natives will often cost more than 10 times the typical forage species. Also some are toxic to livestock or are not great forage species.