UCCE Central Sierra Livestock & Natural Resources

Forest Service rangeland on the Stanislaus National Forest

Addressing the Needs of Ranchers and Rangeland Managers in the Central Sierra Region

October 27, 2026

By Daniel K Macon

IntroductionUpon transferring to the Central Sierra region (from Placer-Nevada-Sutter-Yuba) in October 2024, I began an informal needs assessment with commercial livestock producers and rangeland managers, with the twin purposes of understanding needs and building community relationships. This process…

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Goats grazing with virtual fence collars.

4-Legged Fuel Reduction - 2026 Edition

June 10, 2026

By Daniel K Macon

IntroductionI grew up in Tuolumne County in the 1970s and 1980s - my family moved to Jamestown when I was just 4 months old. My Little League baseball career began in 1974 or 1975 for a team in Standard (where I attended Curtis Creek Elementary). Our home field was provided by the Pickering Lumber Company -…

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Livestock guardian dog surrounded by sheep

Musings on Livestock Guardian Dogs

April 3, 2026

By Daniel K Macon

If you've followed Ranching in the Sierra Foothills for very long, you'll know that I've written about livestock guardian dogs (LGDs) frequently. I've owned LGDs for 20 years; I've researched their effectiveness and behavior for nearly 9. As a sheep (and recently, goat) producer in the Sierra foothills…

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Direct Marketing Meat

October 3, 2025

By Daniel K Macon

A Rancher’s Guide to Understanding the Economics of Direct MarketingWhen the live cattle market isn’t at record high levels (as it is currently), direct marketing beef from your ranch seems like an attractive (and profitable!) option. Even during these record prices, most of us remember the difficult years…

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Sheep grazing with virtual fence technology

Four Legged Fuel Reduction

September 3, 2025

By Daniel K Macon

My Four-Legged Fuel Reduction Strategy When I took this job as the UC Cooperative Extension Livestock and Natural Resources Advisor for the Central Sierra Multi-County Partnership, I purchased a home on six acres between the Calaveras County communities of Mountain Ranch and Railroad Flat. My home sits…

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An ecological calendar combines ranch-specific ecological and climate conditions with production and economic considerations.

Flexibility

January 6, 2025

By Daniel K Macon

Since the millennial drought of 2012-2016, I've developed a habit of periodically checking the U.S. Drought Monitor, especially during our normal rainy season.

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Hello (Again), Central Sierra!

October 2, 2024

By Daniel K Macon

As I write this blog post, I'm wrapping up my first official day as the Livestock and Natural Resources Advisor for the UC Cooperative Extension Central Sierra office, based in San Andreas! While I'm new to this office, I feel a bit like I'm coming home again I grew up just to the south outside of...

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Dan Macon standing in front of a flock of sheep.

Headed South on Highway 49

September 17, 2024

By Daniel K Macon

Writing my last blog post as the Livestock and Natural Resources Advisor for Placer, Nevada, Sutter, and Yuba Counties is bittersweet. When I became the advisor in 2017 (filling Roger Ingram's enormous shoes), I assumed I would stay in this job until I retired. Life had other plans for me.

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A livestock guardian dog watching over a ewe and her lambs.

The Genetics of Livestock Guardian Dogs (Past and Present)

July 29, 2024

By Daniel K Macon

Folks new to the world of working livestock guardian dogs (LGDs), whether they are producers or dog aficionados, often ask, What's the best breed? or What breed is your dog?

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Accidental Drought

April 9, 2024

By Daniel K Macon

As of this writing, we're on track for a "normal" rainfall year here in Auburn. Even if the rainy season ended with last week's storm, we'll finish the year at 90 percent of our long term annual average.

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Ranching in the Sierra Foothills: Article

Spring 2024 Workshops!

March 25, 2024

By Daniel K Macon

We have several outstanding workshops coming up in the next three weeks! Contact me at dmacon@ucanr.edu or (530) 889-7385 for more information! Livestock Health & Wildfire Webinar (Thursday, March 28 - 6:00pm-7:30pm) - Virtual: Join Extension Veterinarians Dr. Gaby Maier, Dr. Rosie Busch, and Dr.

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Foothill Precipitation and Forage Update - March 2024

March 8, 2024

By Daniel K Macon

A local rancher called this week, and as usual, our conversation turned to grass and moisture conditions (I don't think ranchers and rangeland geeks like me can have a conversation WITHOUT discussing these topics).

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Changes Ahead

February 21, 2024

By Daniel K Macon

As some of you know, 2023 was an incredibly difficult year for my family and me. My wife of 33 years, Samia, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer last February.

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2024 NAHMS Sheep Study

January 26, 2024

By Daniel K Macon

Later this month, the USDA's National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) will kick off its fourth national study of the U.S. sheep industry.

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Lighting a prescribed fire to control barb goatgrass

Rancher's Fire Academy

December 14, 2023

By Daniel K Macon

There's still time to register for our first-ever Sierra Foothills Rancher's Fire Academy! We'll be covering topics like using prescribed fire to control rangeland weeds, planning your own prescribed fire, fire tool basics, ranching hardening, and managing livestock during wildfire.

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Things We Don't Like to Talk About

November 7, 2023

By Daniel K Macon

Some of you probably know what my family has experienced over the last 10 months. I won't rehash it all here - if you're interested, I invite you to check out my personal blog at www.flyingmule.blogspot.com. Needless to say, 2023 has been quite a year.

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Rancher Carol Kramer managing barb goatgrass with prescribed fire. Jul 13, 2023.

Lighting (Rx) Fires in July

September 14, 2023

By Daniel K Macon

Barb goatgrass (Aegilops triuncialis L.) is a winter annual grass native to the Mediterranean region and western Asia. According to a UCANR publication, it was introduced to Sacramento and El Dorado Counties via the importation of cattle from Mexico.

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2023 Nevada-Placer-Yuba Livestock Disaster Pass Registration is Open!

May 8, 2023

By Daniel K Macon

Ranchers in Placer, Nevada, and Yuba Counties, along with UC Cooperative Extension (UCCE) and the County Agricultural Departments from these three counties, have established a Disaster Livestock Access Program to facilitate livestock and human safety before, during, and after wildfire and other emer...

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Cows grazing on rangeland near Lincoln, CA

We're STILL in a Drought? Seriously?!

May 4, 2023

By Daniel K Macon

Fair warning - you might want to file this blog post under the category, "Aren't Ranchers Ever Happy?!" I'll admit - last year, I was worried about warm temperatures, lack of soil moisture, and dried-up stock ponds here in the Sierra Foothills. We'd had the driest January-March ever recorded.

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Cattle grazing on annual rangeland in Western Placer County - March 20, 2023

An "Average" Year? What's That?!

March 29, 2023

By Daniel K Macon

Looking back at more than 20 years of precipitation data I've collected since my family moved to Auburn, I can't say that we've ever had an average year that is, we've never had exactly 32.68 inches of rain. Some years, like 2016-17, we measure quite a bit more than average (62.

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Livestock and Natural Resources

Welcome to the Central Sierra Livestock and Natural Resources Home Page!

I'm Dan Macon, Livestock and Natural Resources Advisor: I serve as the Livestock and Natural Resources Advisor for the Central Sierra Office (serving El Dorado, Amador, Calaveras, and Tuolumne Counties). Previously, I served in the same role for Placer, Nevada, Sutter, and Yuba Counties, and I was an associate specialist in rangeland science and management at UC Davis. My research and extension activities are focused on ranch economics and business management, drought resilience, predator-livestock coexistence, and prescribed grazing. I have a master’s degree in integrated resource management from Colorado State University and a bachelor’s degree in agricultural and managerial economics from UC Davis.

We hold a variety of hands-on, production focused workshops and activities throughout the year.

Be sure to check out my blog at http://ucanr.edu/blogs/RanchingintheFoothills/.

You can also follow me on Twitter at @flyingmulefarm or on the UCCE Foothill Sustainable Ranching Facebook page at www.facebook.com/FoothillSustainableRanching/.

To schedule a ranch visit, please call me at (209) 454-8472 or email me at dmacon@ucanr.edu.

Two people in a grassy field tending to a small lamb.

Group — (a)White goat with curved horns standing in tall grass. (b)Brown calf lying on green grass in a field. (c)Sheep standing beside a lamb resting on grass under trees. (d)Three small piglets standing together on straw.

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