- Posted by: Gale Perez
The IPM Hour is a monthly online seminar covering a variety of IPM-related topics and research. It's held the second Wednesday of each month at 12 noon Pacific Time and features two 20-minute presentations followed by 10 minutes of discussion each. You can tune in live or check out the recordings on the Western IPM Center YouTube channel.
November's guests included Jane Mangold, Professor and Extension Invasive Plant...
- Author: Rebecca Ozeran
*UPDATED ADDRESS*
Saturday, May 11 • 9:00am to 2:00pm
Ruth McKenzie Table Mountain Preserve (Fresno County)
22477 Auberry Rd, Clovis
Join us for a hands-on, field-based day exploring weed identification, management options, and local best practices! Topics include chemical and cultural weed control, post-fire...
- Author: Rebecca Ozeran
Tarweeds, vinegarweed and turkey mullein are native forbs that stand out in Fresno and Madera County rangelands during the summer. Unfortunately, they aren't the most welcome. Horse owners despise tarweed because its sticky resin turns even brightly colored horses a grim muddy color; many rangeland owners dislike vinegarweed for its pungent smell; and turkey mullein, though common, is often disregarded until it looks like it has taken over dozens of acres overnight.
Although their native status may appease some landowners – they can provide food and habitat for some bird and pollinator species – most ranchers couldn't care less. Why, you may ask? These plants are poor forage for livestock, and most animals tend to...
- Author: Rebecca Ozeran
In the job listing for my position, weed identification and management were never explicitly mentioned. “Natural resource efforts” in the listing only mentioned water, forage, soils and “the wide array of issues” relating to rangeland ecosystem services. Of course, pests are an issue relating to rangeland ecosystem services (healthy water, soil, and air; biodiversity; etc.), but when I first joined UCCE, I did not expect to spend a large amount of time on weeds.
Now I know, a year and a half in, an incoming phone call is more likely to relate to weed management than to any other topic. Ranch visits for any purpose will usually include a discussion of weedy species on the property. While weed management is...
- Author: Theresa A. Becchetti
- Posted by: Gale Perez
Here is a short summary written by Theresa Becchetti, University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) Livestock and Natural Resource Advisor on the Effects of Medusahead on Beef Cattle Gains project.
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Livestock and Natural Resource Advisors, Specialists, and faculty have been researching Medusahead (an invasive grass with lower grazing quality) for many years now. We know it reduces carrying capacity on rangelands, creates a thatch that can become a fire hazard, and reduces the diversity of plants on rangelands to the extreme...