Ranching in the Sierra Foothills

Multi-species grazing - grazing cattle, sheep, goats, or even poultry or pigs in the same pastures - is often cited in the popular small farm press as a beneficial practice. Each of these livestock species has different forage preferences and grazing behaviors.

Last week, I held my first California Cattle Grazing School at the UC Sierra Foothill Research and Extension Center in Browns Valley. The two-day school, an adaptation of Roger Ingram's long-running California Grazing Academy, included classroom talks and field-based learning activities.

While it may be difficult to imagine with another atmospheric river storm bearing down on Northern California this evening, irrigation season is just around the corner.

April 27-28, 2018 UC Sierra Foothill Research and Extension Center 8279 Scott Forbes Rd., Browns Valley, California This two-day, hands-on grazing school will provide participants with practical, field-based experience in applying the principles of managed grazing on rangeland and irrigated pasture.

Since I haven't posted an update to my Livestock Guardian Dog Journal for four months, I thought an update on this project might be timely! We've been training a new dog to work during lambing (with some interesting observations about behavior).