Sierra Foothill REC

One of the questions I'm asked most frequently when it comes to livestock guardian dogs is, "How many dogs do I need to protect my sheep/goats/cows?" As you might imagine, the short answer is, "It depends." The long answer is more complex.

Direct marketing, for some farmers and ranchers, can be a way to capture more of the consumer dollar. By bypassing the middlemen - wholesalers, distributors, and retailers - direct marketing can allow a producer to receive retail value for his or her product.

As we move into the dry season on our annual rangelands, I thought it might be useful to post a few resources on feeding supplemental protein to livestock to maintain forage intake! Annual Rangeland Forage Quality (UCANR Publication 8022) - this 2001 publication provides a useful overview of the sea...

For many of us in Northern California, the 2017 and 2018 wildfire seasons are still very fresh in our minds. The late-season fires in Sonoma County in 2017, and the Camp Fire in Butte County in 2018, were among the most destructive deadliest fires in California's history.

Every spring, there comes a stretch of time when I wish we had 10 times as many sheep. Since we're stocked at a level where we're comfortable we'll have enough grass in bad years (and in the autumn months - see my December 2018 post, Fall Feed...

We have a variety of livestock and pasture-focused workshops scheduled this spring! Check out the links for more information.

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Do you love the Yuba watershed? Would you like to learn more about it?

I realized this morning that it's been some time (nearly a year, in fact) since I posted an update on my progress with our youngest livestock guardian dog, Elko.

Spring is here and the Healthy Soils Demonstration Project (to read about the background of this project, click here) has been busy since the composts were applied last fall. We have observed the onset of spring, the grasses and wildflowers on the plots are actively growing.