The current water crisis and threat of reduced water supplies has irrigators in a critical position to ensure each application of water is maximized. An ongoing project at the Sierra Foothill Research & Extension Center, led by Larry Forero, UCCE Director for Shasta County and Livestock and Natural Resources Specialist, examines pasture irrigation efficiency and timing to provide potential solutions for limited water resources.

For this project, researchers and staff regularly monitor and assess four factors associated with the production of foothill flood irrigated pasture utilizing pipe and ditch delivery methods. These factors include the amount of water applied to the pasture, the amount of water run-off, the effectiveness of irrigation, and the production of the pasture (measured in biomass and AUM harvest).

Soil moisture monitoring is a simple yet useful method utilized to determine irrigation efficiency. Ranging in price from less than ten dollars to several hundred dollars, soil moisture sensors allow irrigation managers to measure water levels beneath the surface and at different locations throughout the field.

Preliminary findings indicate that the interval between irrigations could be lengthened in the fall as the days shorten and become cooler. Fewer applications result in less water being used, saving ranchers time, money, and stress. The monitoring for this project will continue through the summer and fall, so check back for additional updates.

With July being “Smart Irrigation Month” this is the time for ranchers to explore opportunities for more efficient irrigation methods using resources like those offered in this post.

Follow this link for additional information about current projects focused on grazing and management of dryland and irrigated pasture at SFREC. Here is a previous blog post about sustainable irrigation practices at this center. This Basic Surface Irrigation Theory In Irrigated Pasture presentation by Allan Fulton, UC Irrigation And Water Resources Farm Advisor, offers basic pasture irrigation principles. The Rangeland Watershed Laboratory with UC Davis provides additional publications, drought information, and links to other resources.

Adaptation to changing weather and economic conditions is fundamental to farm and ranch survival but this year's drought is pushing variable adaptation strategies to their limit. The international community is closely watching how this dire situation is progressing in California and on June 19^th the Canadian Broadcast Company (CBC) visited the Sierra Foothill Research & Extension Center (SFREC) to document how ranchers are adapting to these extreme events and the implications these events have on agriculture and ultimately food production worldwide.   Filming involved capturing interviews of three ranchers to explore their perspectives as well as a tour of SFREC to examine potential adaptation strategies to drought.

Joe Fischer, cattle rancher and President of the Placer County Farm Bureau, told CBC the economic impacts and emotional toll of the drought on ranching families have forced ranchers to rethink their management strategies and find innovative ways to manage the land. “Ranchers tend to be profitable if the land is productive,” Fischer said. “We have to look ahead five to ten years or more and try to be as conservative as possible with our stocking rates. Under these conditions, we have a much smaller margin for error so we have to be more precise than ever with our management strategies.”

Fifth generation rancher, Cari Koopman-Rivers, discussed how her family was recently forced to sell 60% of their cattle due to diminishing water sources on their land. “In addition to grass production, drinking water for the cattle is a major concern,” said Koopman-Rivers. “We are continually working to develop more water systems for both drinking and distributing the cattle into areas they wouldn't normally be willing to graze.”

SFREC Director Jeremy James and Livestock and Natural resource Advisor Glenn Nader used SFERC as an opportunity to demonstrate how intensive grazing management, agricultural by-products and culling strategies could be deployed to mitigate some of the impacts of drought. Many producers with limited feed sources are utilizing agricultural by-products that are available in their area in order to sustain the nutritional requirements of their livestock. Nader, pointed out that almond hulls are high in energy and have limited protein, which allows cows to more efficiently digest hay and can limit the quantity of hay they need to consume. Nader warned that the almond hulls fed must contain a low level of almond shell, in order to avoid problems with rumen digestibility. Rice straw and rice bran are more local agricultural by-products that, under the right conditions, have been utilized as dietary supplements for cattle.

Dan Macon of Flying Mule Farms said that the challenges that arise from this drought and various other climatic events from the past remind ranchers that they need to look further out into the future and make sustainable plans for the long term. After culling 40% of his sheep flock, Macon has found success with contracting with landowners who are looking to reduce forage on their property. He is able to bring his sheep, along with electric fencing into areas that other livestock may not be able to access as easily. “This is not a new norm, it is a continuous norm,” said Macon, responding to how he is adapting to the drought. “No one year is ever the same on any ranch. Adaptation is what we do to sustain ourselves and the land and it is how we will continue to do so regardless of the climate conditions we face in the future.”

To view the proceedings from the January 29th SFREC Drought Workshop, click here.

The annual California Grazing Academy held at UC SFREC and led by Roger Ingram, Nevada/Placer County UCCE Director and Livestock Advisor was once again a widely attended and engaging event. Over a third of an inch of rain cooled off the 24 participants that attended the two-day event that mixed lectures and hand-on activities to explore and demonstrate key principles that drive the ability of producers to be successful grass farmers. Topics included controlled grazing principles, water and mineral cycles, pasture cell design, rest/grazing periods, nutrition and supplementation as well as grazing planning and monitoring. Each participant had the opportunity to visually estimated carrying capacity, install electric fencing, move cows with calves into their designated paddocks, and watch the cattle consume pasture grass over a period of 24 hours.  This annual training has remained hugely popular across California and the West with some participants coming as far as Utah to learn from UCCE and Roger Ingram. We looked forward to another year!

Water - the focus of countless issues, headlines, and studies - is arguably a more precious resource than gold.

Dependence on water application ranges far and wide in today's thirsty society – from drinking to sanitation to agriculture. This valuable resource needs to be managed efficiently to ensure each drop is spread the furthest.

Individuals involved with the University of California's Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources are actively evaluating management practices to ensure and develop water-wise irrigation methods.  At the Sierra Foothill Research and Extension Center, many research projects have focused on water quality, runoff, and irrigation efficiency. A current project led by Livestock Farm Advisor Larry Forero monitors surface runoff and soil moisture content in flood irrigated pastures at SFREC.

The goal of this project is to ultimately estimate the efficiency of a “wild flood” surface irrigation system so practical opportunities for reducing irrigation water use can be suggested without impacting production. Gary Childers, staff member and key irrigator at SFREC for over 30 years, frequently collects data from watermark sensors located at various points across two pastures. The sensors are at depths of 6”, 12”, and 24”. A key component of this project compares the amount of water delivered to the site with the amount of tailwater leaving the pasture. All irrigation water at SFREC is received via pipeline or channeled through ditches by the Brown's Valley Irrigation District, fed from Collins Lake.

Although over 100 miners inches (2.5 cf/s) are purchased annually by SFREC, sustainable water utilization methods are executed. “Nearly every application of irrigation water is used at least twice, but as many as four times – just on this property. Once the water leaves, additional uses occur but are unknown,” explained Childers.

Gold may be in high demand - with the current value exceeding $1320 per ounce - but once water becomes scarce, it is truly priceless. By taking the initiative to research innovative water management practices and develop a better understanding of sustainable irrigation methods, SFREC and the entire UCANR division are enabling water availability and conservation for the future.