- Author: Megan G Osbourn
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 19th 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.”
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.
To view the proceedings from the January 29th SFREC Drought Workshop, click here.
- Author: Dustin Flavell
Peak standing crop at SFREC for the 2013-2014 forage production year occurred on May 20, 2014 and yielded 2300 pounds per acre for the season. This is 77% of the historic average of 2971 pounds per acre. Ending the forage production season at 77% of average is better than originally predicted, considering the cold, dry fall and early winter , along with the historic low forage production through January.
Precipitation totals for the season came to 16.63 inches which is 56% of the historic average of 29.5 inches annually. Considering we received 12.5 inches of rain from February to May further shows that rain during the rapid forage growth season means more to overall forage growth than total precipitation. In fact, had we not had the very cold early December temperatures that immediately followed the 2.26 inches of precipitation at the end of November this forage season would have looked altogether different. Starting the rapid forage growth season at 98 lbs per acre instead of closer to our average of 515 pounds per acre is what most likely kept this from being closer to or better than an average forage season.
- Author: Jeremy James
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!
- Author: Dustin Flavell
Forage growth through the end of January at SFREC set an all-time low of 98 pounds per acre. Typically we should be around 515 pounds per acre this time of year. Forage composition is also leaning pretty heavily towards broad leaf species like filaree which can dry up pretty quick. The chances of having an average or above average forage year this season seems highly unlikely based on history, but there is still hope to have a decent below average year. In the 1990-91 forage production year forage production values through February indicated 162 pounds per ac and we reached 2,565 pounds per ac at peak standing crop, which was 86% of average, this was the year of the "Miracle March”.
Making the forage year look more optimistic, SFREC received over 5 inches of rain over the weekend brining our totals up to about 9.3 inches. While we should normally be around 17 inches this time of year it is a big step in the right direction.
- Author: Maddison Easley
Water - the focus of countless issues, headlines, and studies - is arguably a more precious resource than gold.
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.
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.