On October 21^st and 22^nd, UCCE Farm Advisor, Roger Ingram and the Sierra Foothill Research and Extension Center hosted a Low-Stress Stockmanship School taught by Steve and Susan Cote. Steve has 27 years of experience as a range-soil conservationist for the USDA, and over 17 years of experience instructing others on the practices of stock handling based on the teachings of Bud Williams. Steve believes that animals that are handled properly will allow for better range management applications and better overall health.

During the two day event Steve discussed the practices of approaching and moving a herd, placing cattle, weaning cattle in a field setting, sorting cattle, working stock in facilities, and Bud box design and use. In addition to time in the classroom, the students also had the opportunity to put their newly learned skills to use, working cattle in both corral and pasture settings. A total of 24 participants were able to take home useful strategies to apply on their own operations.SFREC would like to give a huge thank you to Steve and Susan for sharing their incredible knowledge and to Roger Ingram for planning the event.

On Wednesday, October 5th, SFREC hosted over 170 high school students enrolled in FFA and 4-H programs across six counties for the 3rd Annual Beef & Range Field Day. Students had the unique opportunity to engage with UC researchers and industry leaders, exploring key topics related to beef cattle and rangeland management.

The field day kicked off with a keynote address by Congressman, John Garamendi (CA-3), who spoke with students about the roles they will be able to pursue within agriculture and food productution as they chart out their future careers. Garamendi encouraged his audience to think outside of the box when it comes to creating solutions to the many challenges agriculture will face in years to come.

Following this address the students rotated through five hands-on learning demonstrations developed by UC researchers that explored major topics in beef cattle and rangeland management. Dr. Nancy Martin, DVM, discussed health issues in beef cattle with Dr. John Angelos from the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine following up by highlighting his research in the development of a vaccine for pink eye in cattle. UCCE Farm Advisor, Jeff Stackhouse discussed the use of technology in managing livestock and wildlife, while Dr. Roberto Sainz of the UC Davis Department of Animal Science explored the ruminant digestive system. Roger Ingram, UCCE Advisor in Placer/Nevada/Yuba & Sutter counties demonstrated principles related to dryland and irrigated pasture management. Students had the opportunity to evaluate soil properties, classify rangeland plants and observe beef cattle grazing behavior.

This event was made possible by the following Sponsors: PG&E, Yuba-Sutter Farm Bureau, California Beef Council and Farm Credit West. We are grateful for this generous support. The time donated by FFA leaders and UC staff was instrumental in making the third year of this annual event a major success and a great opportunity for students to interact with ongoing research led by the University of California.   

Sponsored By:

Over the past 15 years there has been an increase in the craft beers trade and contruction of micro-breweries throughout the North State. One of the byproducts of the brewing process is wet brewers grain (WBG), which must be disposed of in a biohazard manner because it has been through the fermentation process. Disposal can be costly for breweries; however, WBG is an excellent source of protein and energy for cattle. Thus, utilizing WBG as a feedstuff for cattle grazing annual rangelands may provide an additional source of income for breweries and significant cost savings for cattle producers.

Researchers in the College of Agriculture at CSU, Chico in collaboration with Sierra Nevada Brewing Company (Chico, CA), UC Cooperative Extension agents, Glenn Nader and Josh Davy, and the Sierra Foothill Research and Extension Center (SFREC) are working to determine the effect of supplementing nursing cows with either WBG or molasses tubs on cow body condition, reproduction, and calf performance.

During the 2014 and 2015 grazing seasons (i.e., ~ November 1 - January 30), 50 angus-influenced cows and their calves were randomly sorted into two treatment groups. Control cows received ad libitum access to a 29% CP (crude protein) molasses protein tub and the treatment group was supplemented three times per week with WBG (29% CP). Both the control and treatment supplements offered 1.5 lbs CP/hd./day. Cow body weight, body condition scores, and calf body weight were collected in 28 day intervals.

The third and final supplement study will begin this November at SFREC; however, preliminary results indicate that WBG is an efficient source of protein for cows grazing winter annual rangeland. In addition to investigating this important nutritional interaction, this collaboration has provided an excellent outdoor classroom for Chico State students pursuing a degree in animal science and land resource management. Students are able to gain hands-on research experience by helping to collect animal performance data as well as vegetation samples from the pastures where the cows are grazing.

Medusahead and barb goatgrass are two harmful invasive annual grasses in California that have caused problems for ranchers and land managers since their introduction. UC researchers have made significant advances in developing and understanding techniques to manage these noxious weeds (see overview of key research areas here) but many management practices are costly or logistically difficult to deploy. Of the potential management tools, grazing and mowing may be the most cost effective and practical ways to control these species but the outcome of these practices can vary depending on when in the growing season these practices are deployed.

Figure 2. Boot phase of barb goatgrass when stems (culms) are lengthening but before the seed head and awns have emerged. Photo: E. Laca

 

 Over the last few years a team of UC researchers have explored the potential of using plant phenology to identify when targeted grazing or mowing can be applied to have the largest negative impact on medusahead and barb goatgrass.  Phenology refers to the timing of biological events throughout the year and how they relate to climate and landscape. Medusahead and barb goatgrass are mostly typical of other annual grasses in California (Figure 1) in that they germinate after the start of the fall rains, grow through the winter (Figure 2), and then produce reproductive parts, flowers and seeds, in the spring. This research shows that if grazing or mowing are applied before the stem begins to elongate, the effect of these control treatments on seed production is minimal.  Applying grazing or mowing treatments after the stem elongates but before the seed head emerges can decrease seed production by more than ten-fold.

 

 

Parts associated with the flower and seed head play a big role in why these noxious weeds are undesirable. Both of these grasses produce long, stiff awns that make them unpalatable to livestock (and produce discomfort to people and pets when they become stuck in our clothes). In addition, analysis shows that the nutritional content of these grasses falls below adequate levels as forage for cattle and sheep as they begin to produce flowers and awns (Figure 3). Once seed heads develop mowing or grazing will not prevent the seeds from becoming viable and germinating (Figure 4).

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

These observations on how the traits of medusahead and barb goatgrass change through the growing season have allowed us to define limits for when targeted grazing and mowing should begin and end. Once medusahead and barb goatgrass become susceptible to defoliation in the spring, there is a 2 to 3 week window during which targeted grazing can be used to treat medusahead (at stocking rates of 1 to 3 Animal Unit Month, or AUMs per acre, depending on the initial standing crop of forage) followed by a 5 week window during which mowing can be effective to treat either medusahead or barb goatgrass. More information on treating these two noxious weeds will soon be available in the UC ANR publication 8567, “Barb Goatgrass and Medusahead: Timing of Grazing and Mowing Treatments” that will be available on the SFREC website  and through the ANR Catalog site.