Ranching in the Sierra Foothills

Register now for the Sierra Foothills Cattle & Sheep Grazing School! If you look back far enough in the histories of most foothill cattle operations, you'll find... SHEEP! Believe it or not, many long-time cattle operations also had sheep at one time.

Last month, between dog food and vaccines, we spent just over $103 on our three livestock guardian dogs (LGDs). For the first part of April, our two older dogs (Bodie and Elko) were with our ewe-lamb pairs on annual rangeland west of Auburn. Our younger dog (Dillon) was protecting our rams.

With the month of May upon us, wildfire season (at least here in the Sierra foothills) is just around the corner.

When it comes to livestock protection tools, there are no "silver bullets"....

Like many people in the rural areas of the Sierra foothills, my family raises chickens. Our dozen or so laying hens keep us supplied with eggs year-round.