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4A Daily News – Saturday, May 18, 2013 Agriculture farm & ranch Tour of Central Coast of California Last Saturday night I was invited by the Borror family to "Experience Joy" when the North State Symphony with Kyle Wiley Pickett, Music Director performed Ludwig Van Beethoven Symphony No. 9 in Chico. Many years ago I studied music appreciation at U.C., Davis but I have never attended a symphony with large orchestra and a 115 member choir Jean (from California State University, Chico and Shasta College.) It was a powerful experience, and looking forward to attending another performance of the North State Symphony. ***** We had a third of inch rain and hail in the Thursday night lightning storm. It came too late to save the range grasses, and was not welcome by the ranchers who have cut hay in the fields, or stacked bales of hay. ***** The California Beef Cattle Improvement Association (CBCIA) tour visited the Central Coast of California this year, as we combined ranching with history. It was a smaller group than usual, because many ranchers are gathering, shipping or haying. We had expected it to be green and many cattle grazing on the rolling hills in early May. Instead they are experiencing a drought, with rainfall less than a fourth of normal, and the cattle were shipped in March. Still, it was a great tour with ranching friends. This was my first tour where Tony, the bus driver for Via Bus Lines, Madera gave us a safety demonstration before starting out. We learned which windows will pop open, how to work the roof hatches, and where the fire extinguishers are kept. Also which lever opens the door. Our tour guides were Mike and Wendy Hall. Mike recently retired after 34 years as beef instructor at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and he knew who owned the different ranches we drove past and we learned so much. I knew Wendy as a livestock photographer, but what a hostess!!! She arranged the meals, and they were great; plus all the little details of a tour. Before each stop, there was a thank you card passed around and all of us signed the card. A thank you gift with the card was presented to each host. When we started our tour we had a brand quiz, to identify all the brands found in the information in our tour bag. The first person to get them right won a wonderful book. People with smart phones looked up the CA Brand book, without studying. We visited the following: Greg & Alan Renz at AGCO Hay Co; Frank "Lud" McCrary at Big Creek Lumber Co; Cal Poly's Swanton Pacific Ranch, Cal Poly, Teixeira Cattle Co; Flag is Up Farms, Santa Ynez Historical Society, Peach Tree Ranch, and Mission San Juan Bautista with the different brands to identify. We saw the Big Creek Lumber Company at Davenport, north of Santa Cruz. There are 5 retail stores in CA. They cut 2nd growth coastal redwoods, and there are 12 grades of redwood. Currently not milling the Douglas fir since building has slowed. There was heavy logging in the Santa Cruz Mts. from 1875 to 1925.All the Douglas fir and redwoods in the Santa Cruz mountains were cut when San Francisco rebuilt after the 1906 earthquake. Ellen Rinde said the family came in 1860, and they have 75 mother cows , while 6,000 to 7,000 acres is in timber.. Cal Poly has a 3,280 acre ranch known as Swanton Pacific Ranch at Red House, Davenport, where they have 25 students in the stocker operation from January to June. There are 27 pastures of perennial grasses, and the brush takes over if is not grazed. Barton FRESH FROM THE GARDEN GROW YOU OWN VEGGIES, HERBS, BERRIES & FRUIT Courtesy photo Three Red Bluff High School classmates met on the CBCIA tour of Central California Coast. Pictured at the Peach Tree Ranch are Jean Barton, Jacqueline Leininger and Ione Conlan. When Linda and I visited Hawaii last year, we met Dr. Tim Richards of the Kahua Ranch. Kahua Ranch sends 530 stocker calves to Swanton Pacific to graze from first of February until first or middle of June. Gordon Claussen is livestock manager at SP. He was at Cottonwood Creek Ranch, when Bill was TCCA president and our field day was held at the ranch. Small world. There are 60 – 70 cows that are spring calving cows for the natural beef, grass fed program. SP is half range land and half timber, plus 65 acres is leased for organic farming of herbs. They cut 100 semi- trucks of selectively harvested 2nd growth redwood a year. Cal Poly has a forestry unit and there are 500 students a year in that program. We enjoyed lunch on the grounds near the Swanton Pacific Railroad Society miniature railroad depot. It was used in the 1915 Fair in San Francisco celebrating completion of the Panama Canal. A hot pulled pork sandwich, with watermelon and grapes, chips, toss green salad, cookies, bottled water, soda pop and coffee. Colorful and delicious. Then we enjoyed a ride on the train to view the timber and the remains of a flood in 2008, when they got 6 inches of rain in 24 hours. The forestry students have learned how to repair stream banks and manage the timber. There was a massive forest fire on the ranch and they are also learning how to harvest that. Forgot to write down the date of that fire, but it was recent. We drove the historic El Camino Real to San Luis Obispo, and our visit to Cal Poly, with the Feed Mill first. It was built in Minnesota, in six modules and assembled in two days. It is very new, and gives the students an opportunity to work in a modern mill. Their focus is lots of small research diets, but they also mill for the beef, dairy, poultry, swine and sheep units. Ledwell & Son of Texarka, TX had given them a Stinger Truck. Then a cattlewoman on the tour said "we just call it a feed wagon". The new meat lab was my favorite. 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Aaron Lazanoff, beef operations mgr. told us that 170-200 bulls were arriving for their bull test and sale next fall. Usually the students manage about 200 mother cows, but have cut back to 160 because the springs have dried up, and the feed is short. The San Luis Obispo Cattlemen with the Young Cattlemen served a delicious dinner at the beef unit, with garlic bread and sausages for appetizers with the Central Coast wines. Tri tip, baked potato green salad, chocolate cake and ice cream. More next week. Sutfin Large Animal Mobile Veterinary Practice Stromer Realty Specializing in Farms and Ranches 590 Antelope Blvd Red Bluff (530) 527-3100 (Still serving the North State) Cell: 530 227-1459 Office: 530 934-3801