- Author: Dan Macon
As a (relatively) new livestock and natural resources farm advisor, I'm fortunate to have known and worked with my predecessors (Roger Ingram in Placer-Nevada and Glenn Nader in Sutter-Yuba). I'm also fortunate to be working in a region where I've lived for most of my life. Even so, during my first year on the job, I've been conducting an informal needs assessment to determine the direction and focus of my research and extension program. And I've been learning a great deal!
One of the first things I realized in this process is that the breadth of geography, terrain and ecosystems in my four-county region is remarkable. The lowest point in Placer, Nevada, Sutter and Yuba Counties is 23 feet above sea level at Joes Landing on the Sacramento River (Sutter County). The highest point in my four counties is Mount Lola in Nevada County at 9,148 feet above sea level. Rangeland types extend from Sacramento valley grasslands and riparian habitats, through the vernal pools and blue oak woodlands of the foothills, through the mixed conifer belt and mountain meadows of the Sierra Nevada, and on to the eastside pine and sagebrush habitats east of the Sierra crest.
The livestock production systems in my four counties reflect this variation. The ranches in my region primarily produce beef cattle, sheep, goats, hogs and poultry. Operational size varies as well, from small-scale, part-time ranches to large-scale, extensive enterprises. Grazing resources range from annual grassland to irrigated pasture (valley, foothill and mountain) to mountain meadows to sagebrush steppe, as well as a significant amount of brush-land.
Ranch ownership tends to be somewhat less diverse (at least according to the 2012 Census of Agriculture). 86% of ranch owners identify as white, and 61% are male. My focus is on serving commercial livestock producers; targeted grazing contractors; land trusts and other nonprofits with an emphasis on rangelands; local, state and federal land and resource management agencies; and local community and consumer groups interested in local food systems and natural resource management.
As I said, my method for learning about the needs of the region was largely informal. Over the course of my first year, I met with a variety of ranchers, agency land managers, nonprofit organizations, and others. These conversations revealed three primary and interrelated areas of need for applied research and extension activities:
Based on these themes, I've initiated a number of research and educational activities, including:
- Research regarding specific rangeland drought management and response tools.
- Research and demonstration of tools for enhancing the productivity and sustainability of irrigated pasture.
- Research and demonstration of tools that help minimize livestock-wildlife conflicts.
- Development and facilitation of emergency planning and response tools (especially for wildfire) for commercial livestock producers.
- Development and demonstration of ranch business planning and economic analysis tools, including online tools.
- Continued development of hands-on livestock husbandry and grazing management educational programs.
- Research into and demonstration of grazing as a vegetation management and fuel load reduction tool.
I'm very fortunate to be working with extension colleagues within my region and throughout the state on many of these issues. One of the strengths of the cooperative extension system is this opportunity for collaboration and for tapping into cutting edge research led by our campus-based specialists. As I begin my second year as an advisor, I am working with colleagues on a variety of projects:
- We're starting a 3-year study into the economic and ecological consequences of weaning calves early as a drought response strategy. This research will be conducted at the Sierra Foothill Research and Extension Center.
- I'm leading an ongoing effort to better understand the direct and indirect impacts to ranching operations from a variety of predators, including gray wolves.
- We've developed research-based information regarding the effectiveness of a variety of livestock protection tools.
- We're continuing to offer a variety of farm and ranch business planning workshops and short courses designed to help beginning and established producers improve economic viability.
- We're conducting a cross-sectional survey of irrigated pasture management systems throughout northern California, including on five sites in Placer and Nevada Counties.
- I'm starting a research project evaluating livestock guardian dog behavior and wildlife interactions that may ultimately include ranch partners and researchers in other Western states.
Coming into this position from a production background, I've realized that there are more needs than any one person can possibly address. My needs assessment has helped me identify what I feel are the key priorities currently. Obviously, these needs will evolve as economic, environmental, and climatic conditions change. What an exciting prospect!
I'd still like to hear from and talk with more producers! Contact me at dmacon@ucanr.edu or (530) 889-7385 if you have questions, comments, or would like to schedule a ranch call!
/span>- Author: Dan Macon
Earlier this week, we started to see some signs that some of our feeder and replacement ewe lambs where infected by barber pole worms, a parasitic stomach worm fairly common in sheep that are grazing on irrigated pasture during the summer months. Sheep infected with these parasites are typically anemic and may have diarrhea. As part of our strategy to avoid developing resistance to our deworming products (a growing problem in small ruminants), we use the FAMACHA system to identify and treat only those individual sheep that are showing signs of anemia. (Click here to learn more about the FAMACHA system). To do this, we have to look at the color of the eye mucous membranes of each sheep in a group. We then treat those individuals with pale membranes (symptomatic of anemia).
In our operation, there are several ways we can accomplish this work. We can move our portable corral system to the pasture where the sheep are grazing; we can move the sheep back to our corrals; or we can simply use dogs to bunch the sheep in the pasture and catch each animal individually. Being an agricultural economist by training (and somewhat of a economics geek), my first inclination is to compare the costs of each of these alternatives!
Option 1: Move the Corrals: We have a set of homemade portable corrals that incorporate Bud Williams' alley design (a "Bud Box" system). Two of us can dismantle, load and re-assemble this set up in about 45 minutes. This system allows us to put sheep into a race or alley to check eyes and treat infected individuals with a drench dewormer. The work of treating the 39 sheep in this bunch takes about 30 minutes. If we value our own labor at $15/hour, I estimate that this option would cost us $108 in labor (if we include the time it takes to move the corrals back to our headquarters).
Option 2: Move the Sheep to the Corrals: The lambs are currently grazing about 0.34 miles from our corrals. To walk the sheep from this pasture to our corrals, we would need to go through 5 gates and cross over land owned by four different people. The move is not terribly complicated (and our border collies love the work!), but it does take about 20 minutes to walk the sheep to the corrals to be treated - and another 20 minutes to walk them back to the pasture. Treatment time is the same as in option 1 - the total labor cost for option 2 is about $35.
Option 3: Treat the Sheep in the Pasture: My cowboy friends would call this a "rodear," I suppose - this option simply involves holding the sheep in a bunch in the pasture and catching each animal individually. For a group of sheep this size, two good dogs are sufficient. The dogs hold the sheep in a tight group. One of us catches each animal and examines the eye mucous membranes; the other person administers the drench (as needed) and marks the sheep. Any sheep showing anemia is treated with a drench; any sheep without symptoms is not treated. So that we can keep track of which sheep we've examined, we put a blue mark on the rump of those who do not need dewormer and a red mark on the rump of those we treat. Examining 39 lambs and treating those with symptoms takes about 30 minutes - our total labor cost for this option is $15. I suspect that this system is less stressful on the sheep, as well!
Obviously, this simplistic analysis doesn't capture the capital costs of acquiring and training the dogs (or of building the corrals, for that matter). Nor does it account for the cost of feeding and caring for the dogs. It also fails to account for the investment in building our own skills - I certainly could not have treated 39 lambs in 30 minutes when I started raising sheep commercially nearly 15 years ago. That said, our ability to handle livestock and use dogs effectively allowed us to treat 39 lambs before work this morning!
If you're interested in building your own stockmanship and sheep husbandry skills, there are two outstanding learning opportunities next several months:
California Sheep and Goat Grazing School (September 14-15 in Auburn, CA)
Steve Cote's Stockmanship School (October 11-14 near Wells, NV)
- Author: Dan Macon
September 14-15, 2018
UCCE - Auburn
11477 E Avenue, Auburn, California 95603
This two-day, hands-on grazing school will provide participants with practical, field-based experience in applying the principles of managed grazing on rangeland, brushland and irrigated pasture. Working in teams, participants will learn to estimate carrying capacity and graze periods, develop grazing plans and monitoring systems, and create drought and predator protection plans.
Day 1 (Friday, September 14 - 8 a.m. - 8 p.m.)
- Principles of Managed Grazing
- Sheep Husbandry Basics (electric fence, carrying capacity, stockmanship, sheep husbandry, etc.)
- Setting up a 24-hour Graze (field activity)
- Goat Husbandry Basics)
- Matching Production Calendars to Forage Calendars
- Controlling Internal Parasites
- Dinner and Panel Discussion
Day 2 (Saturday, September 15 - 8 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.)
- Sheep and Goat Nutrition
- Pasture and Range Ecology (field activity)
- Grazing Planning and Monitoring
- Pasture Walk and Assessment
- Targeted Grazing
- Livestock Protection Tools
Cost: $200 (includes breakfast, lunch and dinner on Day 1; breakfast and lunch on Day 2). Also includes all course materials. No refunds - your payment guarantees your space.
Hotels are available in Auburn.
Click here to register online!
For more information:
Dan Macon
(530) 889-7385
- Author: Dan Macon
Steve Cote, author of Stockmanship, is offering a four-day, hands-on stockmanship school at Cottonwood Guest Ranch outside of Wells, Nevada. See the flyer below for all the details!
- Author: Dan Macon
In "A Livestock Guardian Dog by Any Other Name: Similar Response to Wolves Across Livestock Guardian Dog Breeds," authors Dan Kinka of Utah State University and Julie Young of the Wildlife Services National Wildlife Research Center compare several new (to the United States) breeds of LGDs with the typical American "whitedog" (Great Pyrenees, Akbash, Anatolian, Maremma, and crosses of these breeds). Some producers believe that because the American whitedog breeds were initially selected to protect small ruminants from coyotes, they may not be well suited to deterring larger predators (especially gray wolves and grizzly bears). As part of the study, Kinka and Young imported kangals from Turkey, karakachans from Bulgaria, and cao de gado transmontanos from Portugal. These breeds were selected because they were typically used in their home countries to protect livestock from wolves and European brown bears - and they were considered to be human-friendly. The imported dogs were placed with sheep ranchers in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming. The whitedogs used by these operations were considered to be a single control breed for the purposes of the study.
The study included direct observation of behavior during normal ranch operations, as well a decoy test designed to simulate mule deer and wolf encounters. Kinka and Young recorded five behavior components (activity, posture, vocalization, proximity to livestock, and out-of-view to the observer). Within these components a number of specific behaviors were documented (like scanning, investigation, vigilance, chasing, etc.).
While the authors noted some subtle differences in behavior and responses to simulated wildlife encounters between breeds, they noted "that kangals, karakachans, transmontanos and whitedogs spent equivalent proportions of time in most behaviors during both baseline sampling and simulated wolf encounters." They also found that LGD age and time of day influenced LGD behavior and that sex had no effect on any behavior - observations I've made with my own LGDs. For example, our LGDs always seem to be much more active and vigilant at dusk than during the middle of the day. Ultimately, the authors suggest, "the homogeneity of behavioral data for multiple LGD breeds suggests that regardless of breed, LGDs operate in much the same way. As such, breed may be a less important predictor of a 'good dog' than often suggested."
So what makes a good dog? Obviously, this definition varies from one operation to the next based on context. In our operation, a good dog needs to stay with our sheep, inside our electro-net fencing. A good dog shouldn't chew on or chase (or kill!) the livestock it is protecting. A good dog should be reasonably friendly with people but prefer the company of sheep. And good dog should deter coyotes, mountain lions, black bears and other minor predators in our environment.
If wolves continue to move south, I suspect my definition of a good dog might evolve. I know ranchers in the northern Rocky Mountains who are using larger dogs (including some of the breeds evaluated in this study). A large-scale targeted grazing contractor who has grazed sheep and goats in wolf territory in Montana and Idaho swears by intact male whitedogs. Last week, I visited a sheep permittee as they turned out onto a Tahoe National Forest grazing allotment approximately 12 miles northeast of where the California Department of Fish and Wildlife detected a GPS-collared wolf in early June. The ranch manager indicated he'd be adding more dogs to each of his two bands of sheep. For those of us in California, wolves are a wild card - our dogs have never had to contend with a large, pack-hunting predator.
While formal research on the behavioral attributes of successful LGDs is critical, we also need to share our on-the-ground experiences! What do you look for in an LGD in your operation? Do you use different dogs for different situations? I suspect each of us will have a slightly different answer to these questions! I hope you'll join in this conversation!
Reference
Kinka, D., Young, J.K., A Livestock Guardian Dog by Any Other Name: Similar Response to Wolves Across Livestock Guardian Dog Breeds, (2018), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rama.2018.03.004