- Author: Pamela S Kan-Rice
UC Cooperative Extension expertise available in English and Spanish on small-scale livestock production, pasture management, pests and predators, weed management and emergency preparedness
A team of University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources advisors has created a new comprehensive website for small acreage landowners in California and beyond. The Small Acreage Landowners website, at https://ucanr.edu/sites/smacreage, is designed to be a one-stop shop for backyard livestock producers, youth raising livestock, and other small acreage landowners. Information on livestock husbandry, pasture management,...
/h3>- Author: Mary Burich, CLEAR Center
Are cattle a secret weapon for taking on California wildfires?
California's cattle ranchers contribute a significant amount to the region's culture, economy and food supply, but do they also inadvertently help to temper the wildfires that have been plaguing the state? And if so, is it a better alternative – environmentally speaking – to letting grasslands burn?
A new study published in the journal Sustainability delves into the topic, weighing the advantages – and disadvantages – grazing cattle bring to the table. Researchers, including scientists from University of California,...
/h3>- Author: Theresa Becchetti
- Author: Sheila Barry
- Author: Gaby Maier
Adapted from Wildfire Aftermath: Beef Cattle Health Considerations, Russ Daly, DVM, South Dakota State University and Wildfire, Smoke and Livestock, John Madigan, David Wilson, Carolyn Stull, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis.
During a wildfire, your immediate concern for your cattle may be losing them to the fire. Burns may be so severe that the humane thing to do is to put them down, but unfortunately, that may not be the end of the worries about their welfare, which is why their status must be assessed daily. Wildfires can result in longer term health complications. Animals may stop eating after a few days to weeks when their...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
After the destructive LNU Complex Fire burned through farms and ranches where Morgan Doran lives and works, he immediately volunteered to help families and local authorities take care of animal victims.
Doran, the UC Cooperative Extension livestock and natural resources advisor for Yolo, Napa, Solano and Sacramento counties, spent two full days the weekend of Aug. 22-23 in a truck with a county sheriff's deputy escort to search for live animals and provide information on how to handle dead livestock.
Nearly 300 animals – mainly horses, sheep, goats and alpacas – were killed during the LNU Complex Fire in Solano County. Some were hit by vehicles, others couldn't escape burning buildings.
“I...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
When California was part of the Wild West, it took a certain amount of guesswork to move cattle from their home range to summer pastures while making sure sufficient forage was left behind to hold the cattle over till fall rainfall spurred new growth.
“Ranchers eyeballed it,” said Theresa Becchetti, UC Cooperative Extension livestock and natural resources advisor. “In time, second-, third-, and fourth-generation ranchers got pretty good at deciding, but UC Cooperative Extension introduced a more scientific approach.”
In the spring of 1936, the USDA Forest Services began measuring ungrazed forage at the San Joaquin Experimental Range in Madera County....