- Contributor: Ben Granholm
Initiated by Jerry Tecklin and Dr. Steve Beissinger in 2002, the Black Rail Project monitors the population dynamics and movements of two very secretive wetland birds, the Black Rail and the Virginia Rail. Over the past decade, researchers have examined a wide range of questions regarding these difficult-to-study birds including genetics, dispersal of young, West Nile Virus, territoriality, wetland type and vegetation preferences, and diet. Now in its thirteenth year, Nathan Van Schmidt is researching how the rails cope with drought, seasonal hydrology regimes, and the "rescue effect."
Check out the video for details!
Related Links:
- Contributors: Madison Easley, Larry Forero and Nikolai Schweitzer
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).
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.
- Author: Ben Granholm
Epizootic bovine abortion (EBA), also referred to as foothill abortion, is one of the most serious cattle diseases in the Western United States. UC researchers, Professor Jeff Stott and Specialist Myra Blanchard from the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine have made major headway in developing a vaccine for this disease and currently are mid-way through a multi-year field trial examining vaccine field efficacy. This disease is carried by ticks and is present in many foothill regions making SFREC a natural outdoor lab to evaluate field efficacy.
Last Wednesday researchers checked pregnancy status and condition on heifers assigned to the study. By August, heifers will be moved to irrigated pasture where SFERC staff can monitor animals closely for how the vaccine improves calving success and calf health. To read more about the efforts of SFREC researchers to combat foothill abortion, click here.
- Author: Ben Granholm
At the end of May trained SFREC staff along with members of Cal Fire conducted a prescribed burn to manage vegetation on the center. There are many advantages to conducting a burn rather than other management practices. These advantages include the ability to kill off weed-seed violations and remove any unwanted species that threaten the native species in an ecosystem. However, with the current air-quality regulations and state of drought, a prescribed burn can be difficult to get approved this time of year. SFREC had a burn scheduled last week that was postponed to a later date because of these difficulties.
The burned area will be used to look at the utility of spring burns to manage vegetation and eliminate invasive species such as medusa head and star thistle as well as look at the success rate of the native species after the invasion and burn.
We thank the members of Cal Fire for working with our staff to conduct a safe and successful burn.
- Author: Maddison Easley
Producers from the Food and Farm Show filmed and interviewed multiple speakers at the Future of Farming and Ranching Forum at the Sierra Foothill Research and Extension Center on February 22nd. The Food and Farm Show highlights local agricultural events, news, and issues. They are part of Touchdown Productions, which films other regional activities like the “Game of the Week” on the local news channels.
Three episodes were released featuring the Future of Farming Ranching event at SFREC. Important speakers interviewed include Jamie Johansson, farmer and 2nd Vice President of the California Farm Bureau; Susan Hoek, 5th generation rancher in Penn Valley; and Roger Ingram, UCCE Farm Advisor for Placer and Nevada Counties.
These 30-minute videos give the viewer a taste of what the event covered. Click on the following links to watch:
Episode 1 – featuring the keynote speaker Jamie Johansson and the introduction
Episode 2 – interviews with Jamie Johansson and Roger Ingram
Episode 3 – featuring Sue Hoek speaking from experience about resource planning and preparing for the future
With media attention like this, SFREC is becoming more visible throughout the region. Collectively, the educational events occurring at all of the Research and Extension Centers help enforce the tangible impacts of UCANR within communities statewide.