Sierra Foothill REC

If you're like me, you were probably surprised to look at the calendar this morning and realize that irrigation season begins in here in the Sierra foothills this week.

For the 2019-2020 field season, we have made some adjustments to the Healthy Soils Demonstration Project at the Sierra Foothills Research and Extension Center (to read about the background of this project, click here) in response to a spontaneous grass fire in June 2019.

As I've written numerous times, research into the efficacy of livestock protection tools, including livestock guardian dogs, is difficult (if not impossible).

As for most of you, I imagine, my world seems upside down at the moment, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. As I write this, my youngest daughter is finishing her junior year of high school through online courses.

As I write this post on the morning of March 19, 2020, several of the counties surrounding Placer County, where I live, work, and ranch, have issued "shelter in place" orders in an effort to limit the spread of COVID-19.

I've kept daily weather records since we moved to Auburn (nineteen years this week, in fact).

Last month, I had a chance to attend the Society for Range Management annual convention in Denver, Colorado.

Given the nature of rangeland livestock production in California, some conflict with wildlife is probably inevitable. In our part of the Sierra Nevada and Sacramento Valley, grazing livestock and wildlife (including a number of predators) often occupy the same landscapes.

Mark your calendar! We have a number of outstanding workshops already booked for 2020! More details will follow in the coming weeks! PASTURE LAMBING SCHOOL (March 7 - Auburn, CA): This hands-on, half-day school will provide you with knowledge and skills necessary to successfully managing lambing ewe...

Several years ago, I started a social media project I called Sheep 365. Every day for a full year, I posted a photo of something we were doing in our sheep operation. At first, I thought it would simply be a fun way to share my shepherding year with friends and family.