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ASantaBarbaraCounty CattleWoman friend, Pa- mela Goforth Doiron has written the following story, and allowed me to share it with you. I Could Be a Flying U Rodeo Bucking Bull — Or a Bucking Bronco Today our plumber, Jeff, came out to the ranch to repair a "flow issue" due to having 75 relatives at the ranch for a Doiron family reunion. It was a beautiful day with a slight breeze and a comfortable 85 de- grees under a blue, blue sky. After Jeff completed his adjustments, he com- mented that he planned to take his kids, ages 11, 8 and 6 to the Santa Ma- ria Rodeo for the first time this weekend. He was ex- cited. However, a client yesterday told him, "You know that those animals are not happy." He gri- maced. "In my next life I want to be one of Cotton Ross- er's rough stock," I told him. "My godmother lives across the road from Cotton's ranch, and I used to drive in from Feather River Boule- vard across the river, and park nearby to catch the school bus for another 30-minute ride to school." Every day I could look out the window and see the shaggy buffalo, the muscular bulls and those husky horses that would perform for their eight seconds during rodeo season. What a life! Just imagine. You are born to a sire and dam, specially selected for their athletic ability, attitude and conformation. You live with your mommy in a grassy pasture under close supervision for nearly a year. After weaning, you get to live another year or two on a special diet and play with your friends. Your trainers introduce you to your rodeo gear, and if you play your cards right, you get to join the circuit! Different breeds of dog are known for their abil- ity to track with their ex- quisite sense of smell, or dig furiously with an in- bred sense of accomplish- ment. My Golden Re- triever is a mellow com- panion whose only goal in life is to make you happy, to welcome every visitor to the ranch, and to play with each canine that arrives. It's the same with bulls and horses. Bucking bulls come from long lines of bulls who are genetically disposed to kick up their heels. Same with horses. You don't have to prod them or injure them to make them do what they do best. If you scoff at that idea, any cowman will tell you that not every horse on the ranch is "cowy" and not every horse is a good roper no matter how you train them. Others take to it and en- joy it immensely. I have a couple of horses that, when we are riding on an- other ranch and we see cows, I have to rein them in and tell them, "Those are not our cows, not our cows." They know. So after these buck- ing bulls join the circuit, here's the deal: you get to visit many different areas. You get a pen with all of your buddies (remember that cattle are herd/prey animals, and even with a thousand acres, will crowd together beneath one un- derfed, water-starved, bee- tle-ridden tree in 100-de- gree weather). You get a special diet to keep you healthy, including plenty of feed, vitamins, and min- erals, and a regular vac- cinations to be sure you don't get sick along the way. All you have to do is let them strap a leather band around your chest so the young buck on your back can try to stay on, and another near your hips to enhance that buck- ing prowess. The back strap is an- noying, but contrary to what the PETA people want you to believe, it's not full of spikes or hot pepper sauce or wires or shock devices. Who would do something like that to an animal that's so valu- able? It doesn't make sense to injure an animal that by now is worth thousands of dollars of investment. So you work for about — 8 seconds a night for a couple of days a week for a few weeks out of the year. You go home to rest until the next season, and if you gain enough points be- cause of how successfully you get rid of those annoy- ing young men on your back, you get a special prize — breeding rights! That's correct, you live out the next few years making even more bucking bulls with all of the hot mamas assigned to your breed- ing pen. What a life! What the heck — maybe I'll go to the rodeo, too, just to fantasize about be- ing one of Cotton's buck- ing bulls! Round-UpMixer It is Round- Up time, and don't forget the Cow- boy Mixer at Reynold's Ranch and Farm Supply on Thursday night, the 16th starting at 5:30 p.m. Tehama County Cattlemen and members of Red Bluff Tehama County Cham- ber of Commerce are the hosts. $10 mixer badges are available at The Loft, Pal- omino Room, chamber or at the door. Chad Bushnell and band will be perform- ing for the dancing and listening, until 10 p.m. Free admission for PRCA contestants with card. Co-chairmen for the cat- tlemen are Chris Marenco, Adam Davy, and Fred Hamilton while bar cap- tain is Mike McCluskey with Steve Zane at the Co- ors and Wally Roney, Dick O'Sullivan at the Bud- weiser beer stands. Bar tenders will include TCCA directors Jeff White, Bryce Borror, Andy Cox, Dave Stroing, Ron Hum- phrey, Chad Amen and Steve McCarthy with their wives. Vic Woolery and crew will be barbecuing the tri tip for the fajita wraps the Tehama County Cat- tleWomen will be serving, under the chairmanship of Joyce Bundy. High School Rodeo This is the final week- end for the Jr. High mem- bers of California High School Rodeo Association, with the awards after to- morrow's rodeo at Cotton- wood. At rodeo #5, March 7 in Cottonwood, Tan- ner Darst, Gerber was All Around Cowboy, with Bai- ley Small, Fall River Mills reserve all-around. Cole Bunting, Red Bluff was 2nd runnerup, Trent Wat- kins, Lakeport and Keith Johnson, Etna were 3rd and 4th. Red Bluff cowgirls Kay- lee King and Marlee Meadows, Clay Ames from Los Molinos also placed in the rodeo. The top five in each event will compete at the state finals for Jr. High in Plymouth on May 14-16. The high school rodeo members of District 1 will also be competing today and tomorrow in Cotton- wood, but they will rodeo in Etna May 1-3 for their final rodeo. Local high school ro- deo contestants in- clude Red Bluff — Cara Hencratt, Kolton King, Ashtin Lopeman, Kaylee Loewen, Brittany Man- ner, Casey Moore, Mack- enzie Moore, Mikayla Moore; Gerber — Bailey Bean, Michell Woolbert; Corning — Gianna Es- teve, Tucker Hammons, Wyatt Spencer. Cotton- wood — Shelby Adams, Jayden Byrne, Sabrina Cantu, Erin Clendenen, Caleb Heitman, Cameron Jones, Kristen Loverin, Scotti Murphy, Taylor Re- nihan, Nicole Tomasello. JEANBARTON What a life, dreams of being rough stock COURTESYPHOTO The 11Days of Round-Up started with the Cowboy Coffee and music by Loosley Strung, at Red Bluff Dodge Thursday. A cowboy breakfast was catered by The Palomino Room. Tractor Supply Co. and the National FFA Founda- tion are proud to report another year growth for their third annual Grow- ing Scholars program. From Feb. 20 to March 1, customers across the coun- try donated $563,482, an increase of more than 25 percent from 2014 dona- tions. This year's donations will result in 427 $1,000 scholarships awarded to FFA members in their pur- suit of a college degree. The Growing Scholars program was supported nationally by each of the more than 1,400 Tractor Supply stores as part of National FFA Week. Trac- tor Supply customers sup- ported local FFA chapters and their members by pur- chasing an FFA emblem for $1 at store registers during the checkout process. For the final report of funds raised, visit www. TractorSupply.com/FFA. SCHOLARSHIPS Store receives support for FFA California is enter- ing year four of a historic drought that is impacting residents and businesses throughout the state and there have been some claims about almonds and agriculture more generally that lack context or — in some cases — are simply wrong. Here's a look at some facts that seem to have gotten lost in the shuffle: 1) All food takes water to grow. Despite all the focus on almonds recently, al- monds make up less than 12 percent of the state's to- tal irrigated farmland and use only 8 percent of the state's agricultural — not total — water. 2) Agriculture uses 41 percent of California's to- tal water supply — not 80 percent as often quoted. 3) Farmers are sharing in the painful sacrifice. The state government is providing farmers with a 20 percent water alloca- tion this year and the fed- eral government is provid- ing zero allocation. In 2014 alone, the drought cost farmers $1.5 billion and caused the loss of more than 17,000 jobs related to agriculture. Almond growers up and down the state are making diffi- cult decisions, including pulling out orchards, or are simply providing just enough water to keep their trees alive. The suggestion that agriculture has been let off the hook doesn't stand up to scrutiny. 4) Total agricultural wa- ter use is not increasing. Many have suggested that the shift in crops towards higher value crops like nuts and wine grapes has led to an increase in agri- cultural water use. But ac- cording to the Department of Water Resources, the to- tal amount of agricultural water has held steady since 2000 and actually declined over a longer pe- riod. Meanwhile, the value per gallon has increased. 5) Agriculture is critical to California's economy. Some have tried to belittle agriculture's contribution to the state by saying it only represents 2 percent of the state's GDP. First, that figure leaves out the food and beverage manu- facturing sectors, which are directly related to the state's agricultural sec- tor. Second, that figure neglects the importance of agriculture to the pop- ulation of a large region of the state — the Central Valley. 6) Almond grow- ers have adopted effi- ciency measures. Several sources have pointed to micro-irrigation and ir- rigation scheduling as places farmers can and should conserve water — 70 percent of almond growers use micro-irri- gation systems and more than 80 percent use de- mand-based irrigation scheduling. 7) Most almond grow- ers are not "big ag" — they're small, family farm- ers. As with any indus- try, business sizes vary, but according to the 2012 USDA Census of Agricul- ture, more than 90 per- cent of almond farms are family farms and about three-quarters are less than 100 acres. 8) So how much water does it take to grow al- monds? According to data collected from growers, they apply an average of 35.58 inches or 2.97 acre- feet per acre. This is in line with the per-acre needs of many other California crops. DROUGHT Facts about almonds and agriculture STOVEJUNCTION The TheNorthState'spremiersupplierofstoves 22825 Antelope Blvd., Red Bluff 530-528-2221 • Fax 530-528-2229 www.thestovejunction.com Over 25 years of experience Tues-Sat9am-5pm• ClosedSun&Mon Now Carrying! GreenMountainGrills & Accessories Serving Butte, Glenn & Tehama Counties StromerRealty 590 Antelope Blvd RedBluff (530) 527-3100 Specializingin Residential to Ranches Smog Check (MOST CARS & PICK-UPS) 527-9841 • 195 S. Main St. starting at $ 29 95 + $ 8 25 certificate SERVICESATLOWERPRICES All makes and models. We perform dealer recommened 30K, 60K, 90K MembersWelcome Servicingyourdisposalneedsin Tehama County, and the City of Red Bluff including Residential, Commercial, and Temporary bin services. 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