- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
About 50 ranchers gathered this week in Willows to learn how they can convert straw left over from the rice harvest into a palatable and nutritious feed for cattle, reported Tim Hearden in Capital Press.
By baling rice straw before it dries and tarping it to keep the straw moist until it is fed to cattle, the feed, called "strawlage," is comparable to low-quality alfalfa, UC Cooperative Extension scientists say.
“We haven't figured everything out, but with the drought conditions as serious as they are, we feel the time is right to share our research with growers,” said
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
A storm is dropping some much-needed moisture in California today, but the drought drags on. Using UC sources, the media has been reporting on the effect of a prolonged rainless period this winter and well-below-average rainfall the last three years.
A story in the Los Angeles Times this week opened with the concerns of cattle ranchers. Without winter rain rangeland grass doesn't grow. Ranchers must decide whether to buy expensive feed or cull their herds to weather the drought.
"Their struggle is a bellwether for California's $45 billion agriculture sector," wrote reporter David Pierson. The repercussions will be felt beyond the state's borders. "The Golden State produces nearly half of...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
When spring 2013 passed without a healthy rainy season, ranchers pinned their hopes on good growth in the fall. However rain came late, leaving pastures to wait for warm weather to get grasses growing again, reported Ching Lee in the Sierra Sun Times.
"Things may germinate, but they'll just sit there," said Glenn Nader, UC Cooperative Extension advisor for Yuba, Sutter and Butte counties. "There's not going to be any rapid growth until March — unless we get an unusually warm December."
The state needs...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
UC Riverside research that resulted in the new, seedless mandarin variety Tango was featured in a Smithsonian magazine article written by Sarah C. Rich.
The story recounts how plant geneticist Mikeal Roose used irradiation on W. Murcott budwood to induce mutations that improve the fruit.
“Farmers have long selected citrus varieties that are low-seed, that have the same kinds of chromosomal rearrangements stimulated by the same thing—there’s natural radiation around all the time and it can affect the trees at any time.”
The advantage of inducing mutations, Roose...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Several studies suggest that eating grass-fed beef elevates precursors for Vitamin A and E, as well as cancer-fighting antioxidants such as glutathione and superoxide dismutase, compared with eating beef from grain-fed animals, says a research review published in the current issue of Nutrition Journal.
The review, written by three Chico State professors and UC Cooperative Extension livestock advisors Glenn Nader and Stephanie Larson, reported that grass-fed beef has an overall lower fat content.
"However, consumers should be...
