Ranching in the Sierra Foothills

When we finally received a more than two inches of rain in mid-November, I was relieved that we would finally have germination on our foothill rangelands - better late than never! Today, after two weeks of sunshine, I am indeed seeing a little green coming up through last year's dry forage.

October 2020 Beef Production and Targeted Grazing Webinars Now Available on YouTube! Thank you to everyone who was able to join in one or more of our Beef Cattle and Targeted Grazing webinars during the month of October! We had great discussions on everything from managing parasites in cattle to bid...

or what to do if it just won't rain! Over the last thirty-plus years they've been keeping records at the UC Sierra Foothill Research and Extension Center (SFREC), we've received a germinating rain, on average, around October 21.

Wednesday, October 28, 2020 6 p.m. (via Zoom) The University of Cooperative Extension (UCCE) is organizing an informational meeting on forming a Rancher's Fire Safe Council in the Sierra Foothills and beyond on Wednesday, October 28, from 6-7:30 p.m.

In the meantime, how are you going to cope? Having lived (and ranched) through California's 1000-year drought from 2012-2015, I often find myself recalling the autumn of 2013. Believe it or not, we had a germinating rain on September 3 - I measured 0.75" of rain here in Auburn.