- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
A group of 4-H members were part of a crew shearing the valuable fleece off of alpacas at a Marin County farm owned by Sandra Wallace and Michael Frankel, two LA medical doctors, reported Janis Mara in the Marin Independent Journal. The farm's 81 alpacas yield 3 to 6 pounds each of alpaca wool for warm, comfortable suits and sweaters.
"If they have too much fleece, they can die from the heat," said Kylie Horn, 14, one of the 4-H members helping out.
UC Cooperative Extension livestock advisor Theresa Becchetti, said alpaca operations are typically hobby farms, unlike...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Rainfall in February and March have left California foothills emerald green, but ranchers say the growth is too late to be of any use, reported John Holland in the Modesto Bee.
Ranchers rely on unirrigated rangeland to feed cattle through the winter. This year, a lack of rain required ranchers to bring in supplemental feed and cull their herds early.
Theresa Becchetti, UC Cooperative Extension advisor in Stanislaus County, said much of the grass growth on rangeland has slowed and is going to seed, though there are some grass species still growing that “can...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
The long rainless winter resulted in grass growth on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley about 80 percent less than usual, reported John Holland in the Modesto Bee. Spring rain pushed somewhat more growth on the valley's east side, which was charted at 55 to 70 percent less than normal.
Theresa Becchetti, UC Cooperative Extension advisor in Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties, a livestock expert, and Diana Waller, district conservationist for the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service, reported the conditions in a letter last month to county and federal agriculture...
