Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/30523
6A – Daily News – Saturday, April 30, 2011 Agriculture & farm April has been a month of rain showers and sun- shine. Many ranchers have finally gotten the spring calves branded when it wasn‚t raining. Others are ordering livestock trucks for the annual migration to Ore- gon or the mountains. Our family had planned to ship to their summer ranch the end of April, but had to cancel the trucks when they got six or eight inches of snow on top of the rain soaked ground at East- er time. Earlier they had gotten the hay pastures ready for irrigation when we had the weeks of no rain in early April. Bill, Mike and Jenny have put up the electric fence around the area where the cows and calves will drink water from the creek when they are gath- ered from the upper range. We call it a water gap, since it is an enclosure on the creek, on land owned by our neighbor. *** The North Wind was blowing hard here in the valley, but it was a pleasant day at the Emory Blodgett ranch near Manton when we were guests at the 96 Ranch branding in early April. They had hoped to brand in March but it had been raining every week- end when they could assemble a crew. Roping were Clint and Jesse Brewer, Howard Finn, Dave Geijsbeck, while Hazel Brown brand- ed each calf with the 96 brand on the left hip. Hop Brown did the earmarking and Zane Glines did the castrating of the bull calves. There was a good ground crew since the calves were big, with Dave Carr, Derek Wise, Matt Hall, Chris Bartlett, Dusty Krois, Katie Qual, Don Krois and Corky Kramer. Sharon Finn kept the tally, noting if it was a heifer or steer. Hazel had prepared the food for the branding crew the day before by grilling four or five tri tips and slic- ing them, to be placed on a roll with condiments. The spinach salad was assem- bled at the table, and still crisp and fresh. There were sliced tomatoes and red Courtesy photo Branding time at the Hazel and Hop Brown, 96 Ranch on a sunny spring day. onions in a vinaigrette dressing, and a delicious pasta salad to go with the beer, sodas, and water. The ground crew enjoyed the chocolate fudge brownies, lemon bars and rice krispie bars before remounting their horses and helping move the cattle across the road into the pasture they had been gathered from, early in the morning. *** You may have noticed the small block advertise- ment in the Daily News earlier this month, that read: “Ranch Trail Ride, sponsored by cattlewomen, May 21, 2011, Dye Creek Ranch, Entry $ 40, Tiffany @ 727-8055.” Jean Barton Tiffany Hol- brook had the idea of having a trail ride, spon- sored by Tehama County CattleWomen and has worked with Dye Creek Preserve, Los Molinos, to host the Inaugural Trail Ride. More 50 rid- ers, men, women and chil- dren, have sent in reservations to Tracy Bjornestad, Box 2368, Flournoy, CA, 96029, with a deadline of May 13. Dye Creek Preserve is a 37,540 acre working cattle ranch managed by The Nature Conservancy, and also has guided hunting. Helping on the ground crew with check-in, park- ing, and not riding will be Tracy, Joyce Bundy, Jill Gard, Cathy Tobin, Jean Barton, Paula Holden. Two Buds Barbecue will be catering the luncheon when the riders return from their ride. Known as the Trail Posse will be Jeanne Smith on a 4 wheeler with radio and a first aid person, that hopefully won‚t be used. Riding will be Charlene Priest, Tammy Chrisler, Jill Egly, Sherry Garvin and riding drag will be Barbara Ubry, Susie Blackburn. It is an opportunity to ride your horse on the his- toric ranch. From Cheryl Conard Haase book Too Many Irons in the Fire. “With Cone’s death Sept. 12, 1894 the large Cone Ranch was divided between his widow, Anna, his son, Douglas and his two daugh- ters, Mary Runyon and Josephine Cone. As the years passed the land was sold off until most of the original ranch became small farms and ranches, however, a large parcel of land remained intact. Smith Crowder and D.B.Lyon ran cattle on 40,000 acres between Mill Creek and Dye Creek, on the south and Little Antelope Creek on the north and formed the Lyon Cattle Company in 1911. “On March 30, 1917 the McKenzie Stover Co. bought the entire holdings of the Lyon Cattle Compa- ny for approximately $200,000. The deal involved 19,000 acres of rangeland on the east-side foothills and a 3,500 acre summer range in Lassen County, plus about 1,600 head of cattle. “Charley Stover and Earl McKenzie bought out Lulu McKenzie‚s interests on March 3, 1936. She had taken her husband’s (Bert McKenzie) place in the partnership in 1917 when Bert died. “In the latter part of 1940, Charley Stover bought out Earl McKen- zie’s half of the McKenzie Stover Company and the Lyon Cattle Company.” The Sacramento Bee, April 3, 1960: “His head- quarters is in Tehama County on the east side of the Sacramento River. There he owns 35,000 acres of valley and foothill land with the ranch build- ings at the mouth of Dye Creek Canyon. The head- quarters ranch is on part of the grant given to Job Dye in 1847 by the Mexican Government. “Charley became ill in 1957 and was hospitalized periodically because of two severe heart attacks he suf- fered. Hanging up your spurs is a heart wrenching feeling. It is a term which means you will never be in the saddle again, riding a good horse on the land you love, experiencing the wonderful scents and see- ing the canyons and mead- ows that you rode for so many years. Papa died on Oct. 26, 1961 and Bertha would follow him in Feb. 15, 1962. “In an auction at the Red Bluff Courthouse, the Stover Ranch, the proper- ties in Lassen County, and all of the leases were sold to Bill Keeler from Neva- da. Bill Keeler would own the Dye Creek Ranch until he gave it back to the Bank of America in 1989. The land in turn would be given to the state and is now con- trolled by the Nature Con- servancy, being named the Dye Creek Preserve.” Jean Barton can be reached at jbarton@theskybeam.com. Bumper Crop Soil Amendment & Potting Soil Buy 3 Bags Get 1 LIC #808524 Call For Free Information Toll-Free (800) 464-1403 or (530) 365-1403 COMPLETE AUTO REPAIR 6183 MEISTER WAY ANDERSON, CA 96007 (530) 365-1403 (800) 464-1403 Red Bluff Garden Center 766 Antelope Blvd. (next to the fairgrounds) 527-0886 All makes and models. We perform dealer recommened 30K, 60K, 90K SERVICES AT LOWER PRICES Smog Check starting at $ (most cars and pick-ups) 2595 + cert. Pass or FREE retest 527-9841 • 195 S. Main St. FREE ranch Rain delays April ranch activities Water district election The Shareholders of the Los Molinos Mutual Water Company have elected the Directors of the Company for the next three years. From District No. 1 it is Roy L. Garlett, Jr.; District No. 2 it is Loyd R. Spencer and from District No. 4 it is James R. Brandt. The other Directors are William Hardwick, Susan N. Junge, Susan C. Mustaine and Darl A. Smith. The Board of Directors at their April 14, Board Meeting elected Roy L. Garlett, Jr for President, William Hardwick for Vice-Presi- dent and Darrell E. Mullins for Secretary/Treasurer. This is the Board of the Los Molinos Mutual Water Company for 2011. Check irrigation pumps Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) urges irriga- tion pump owners to check that pumps are working before they are needed. Since many irrigation pumps are powered by dedicated electrical lines, poles and transformers, dam- age caused by winter storms may go unnoticed until grow- ers and ranchers try to irrigate. The earlier pump problems are reported, the better the chance that PG&E or a pump company can make repairs before they are needed. If there is no power to pumps, contact PG&E Customer Service at 800-743-5002. Be sure to have meter numbers or account numbers on hand when calling. Visitors generate income for California’s small farms Nearly two-thirds of California agritourism operators surveyed said they planned to expand or diversify their farm's tourist business over the next five years, according to a survey in the April-June 2011 issue of the University of California's California Agriculture journal. The research article, and the entire April-June 2011 issue, can be viewed and downloaded at http://californiaa- griculture.ucanr.org. Agritourism is any income-generating activity conduct- ed on a working farm or ranch for the enjoyment and edu- cation of visitors. This includes on-farm produce stands, pumpkin patches, corn mazes, U-pick operations and spe- cial events such as weddings and conferences, as well as overnight stays, cooking classes, festivals, tours and lec- tures. Three-quarters of those surveyed cited the need to increase profitability as a reason for entering into agri- tourism.