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6A – Daily News – Saturday, July 31, 2010 Agriculture & farm In late June Joan and Jerry Hemsted, Shirley Davis and I were on the California Beef Cattle Improvement Associa- tion (CBCIA) tour of Sierra Valley after enjoy- ing riding the California Zephyr from Davis to Truckee. I hadn’t been on that section of Amtrak before, and I was pleasantly sur- prised at how quiet and smooth the ride was, with lots of legroom compared to an airplane. When we rode the train from Williams, Arizona to the Grand Canyon and back, it was noisy and bumpy. There was public address, that told a bit of history of each town we went through. Some were thinking ahead and promptly headed for the lounge/observation car and had wonderful views of the scenery. Next time that is where I will be although the scenery was spectacular from our car. We stopped briefly in Sacramento, and another town or two, as the rail- road followed the origi- nal route through Rose ville, Applegate, Col- fax, Gold Run, Baxter, Blue Canyon, Emi- grant Gap, Soda Springs and the ski lift going over the train tracks, looking down on Don- ner Lake as we were up in the snow, and final- ly Truckee. I think we went through 25 tun- nels and several snow sheds. The hospitality of the Plumas/Sierra Cattlemen and CattleWomen on entire trip was outstand- ing. We were met at the Truckee train depot with full ice chests of iced water, beer, sodas on the back of pickups, and handed a souvenir bag of information and snacks. On the drive to the Maddalena Ranch in Sierraville we had step on guides telling a bit about the history of the valley, identifying the trees and brush, and men- tioning we were in Tahoe National Forest. Tony Maddalena welcomed us to his ranch in Sierrav- ranch Cattle country tour by rail Courtesy photo Lorenzo Larrucea of Sierra Valley Ranch, Calpine, with his wife and daughter. Larrucea was a District 1 CHSRA roper from Red Bluff, as was his sister Jamie. ille, and we saw the new loading chute of metal and concrete that had just been completed the day before. Nearby in a pas- ture by the barn were two Angus bulls, one from Byrd Cattle Co; and the other from Tehama Angus Ranch. Jean Barton The Maddalena Ranch sold on the Western Video Market sale July 12-15, 110 Angus, Angus- cross steers weighing 920 lbs for $1.0750 a lb. They were ranch raised with first calf born June 29, 2009, and were age and source ear tagged. The steers were grazing on irri- gated mountain meadow grass with a complete mineral pro- gram. Last year the steers graded 92 percent choice or prime. Maddalena told us that originally there were dairy cattle in Sierra Val- ley, then Milking Short- horns and Holsteins. When beef cattle came it was Longhorns followed by Shorthorns and Here- fords. Francis Carmichael had Here- fords crossed with Short- horns, and C. Roy Carmichael had Here- fords. Then there were Brangus, and now it is Angus with some Bal- ancer bulls in the valley. They lease various ranches in the valley enjoyed staying in the vacation rental on the ranch. When the parents left, their two story home by a brook was converted into a four bedroom, two bath rental and many vacationers appreciate the silence with the wind blowing through the pine trees and looking across a green meadow with cattle grazing. This ranch also sells timber, rocks and in the fall there are horse- back trail rides. That evening we enjoyed a steak dinner at Sierra Valley Ranch in Calpine. This was for- merly the Dan Russell ranch, and Russell had cleared the sagebrush and planted crested wheat. It is a cow and calf and background yearlings ranch (the yearlings graze on grass before going to a feedlot for fin- ishing) owned by Paul Roen. They will leave Sierra Valley and spend the winter months between Oakdale and Folsom. The Plumas/Sierra cattlemen had a full host- ed bar, plus cheese and crackers, salami, olives and grilled oysters in gar- lic butter. Then there were grilled New York steaks, chile beans, toss green salad, fruit salad, garlic bread followed by ice cream sundaes and coffee. Red Clover Valley in Plumas County was our destination the next day. Cindy Noble had pre- pared a history of the area since her grandfa- ther Ed Noble acquired the ranch in 1931, and for many years Jim Owens leased the ranch for grazing. We went north from Beckwourth on a county road headed toward Taylorsville. It got its name from the red clover found growing in a wet season in most of the valley. LIC #808524 Call For Free Information Toll-Free (800) 464-1403 or (530) 365-1403 6183 MEISTER WAY ANDERSON, CA 96007 (530) 365-1403 (800) 464-1403 The primary operation of Red Clover Valley was providing dairy products to Reno, the Comstock and San Francisco. First settled by Richard Bagley who came from Grizzly Valley, to the west, in 1863. Other names that were in the area about the same time included Elliot Holms, Peter Anderson, Charles Beard, Harrison David- son, Moses Chase. In 1866 the road lead- ing from Beckwourth to Red Clover Valley was declared a county road and in 1867 the remain- ing distance to Genesee was finally completed. Richard Bagley built a grand hotel in 1872 in the far west of Red Clover Valley that was said to have a barroom, parlor, dining room and kitchen on ground floor. On sec- ond floor were several guest rooms and a ball room. Porches surround the building on both lev- els. There were many out buildings that included barns, sheds and a car- riage house. At one time in the valley there was a post office and a school house, with last record of a teacher in 1883 . Bagley sold his hold- ings to John L. Crow, and the original 1,200 acre ranch known as Red Clover was patented by Crow in Sept. 1878. Moses Chase married a Crow daughter; the ranch was sold to Charlie Laf- franchini, who sold the ranch to Ned Bogunda who it is said to have built the large, still standing barn on the Noble ranch. Bogunda was also known to have had a very successful bootlegging business in the area. Next owner was Mr Hammond who sold to Ed Noble. The Clover Valley Lumber Company was in operation from 1920 to about 1957. There were short line tracks that were placed, picked up and reused to log the whole valley. The logs were hauled via a short- line rail road down to Sierra Valley near where the Nervino Airport is today, and then traveled on the Boca & Loyalton rail road to the mill in Loyalton. Now the area is grazed in the summer and fall months and occupied by only two separate operators, Noble and Goodwin Ranch, George Goodwin owner and Scott Thomp- son manages the cattle. To everyone’s disap- pointment we didn’t see cattle on this tour, but made three stops during the day to see different water projects. The Red Clover/McReynolds Restoration Project had 21,000 feet of restored channel, 375 acres of restored meadow, 50,000 feet of fencing to keep the cattle out, four off- site water sources and three with solar pumping. Total project cost $1,100,000. The creek was making 8 to 12 feet deep cuts, which drained the mead- ows and allowing sage- brush to encroach. They used dirt plugs to make ponds on the creek and it recharged the meadow, by increasing the water table. Jean Barton can be reached at jbarton@theskybeam.co m. Hereford program at Chico Dave Daley, Ph.D., associate dean and University Farm administrator, California State University, Chico, conducted a three-year crossbreeding study and found an economic advantage to using Hereford bulls over Angus bulls in a predominately straight-bred Angus cow herd. Results of the study have generated significant national interest in establishing crossbreeding pro- grams. The research, funded by the Agricultural Research Initiative, the American Hereford Association, Lacey Livestock, Harris Ranch Feeding Co. and Harris Ranch Beef Co., found improvements in feed efficiency, ani- mal health and net economic return. As a result of the study, the American Hereford Association and other breeders donated cattle and embryos to help launch a Hereford program at CSU, Chico. “The breeding program offers one more area of field experience for students,” Daley said, “and gives stu- dents the opportunity to interact with an additional seg- ment of industry professionals.” The three-year study was conducted as a field trial under real-world range conditions on ranches in central and eastern California. Angus cows were mated to both Hereford and Angus bulls under typical western range conditions. The hypothesis of the study was that there would be an economic advantage to crossbreeding, especially in the finishing phase. Angus cattle have been effectively marketed to con- sumers for such things as quality grade — marbling — and tenderness. Crossbred animals, however, are gener- ally expected to exhibit hybrid vigor resulting in advan- tages in traits such as longevity, health and reproductive fitness, which directly affect net profitability to the pro- ducer. For more information about the study, call Daley at 530-898-6343 or e-mail him at ddaley@csuchico.edu. Cows hoof it after slaughterhouse truck wreck GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — Police say 12 cows being driven to the slaughterhouse made a break for freedom when the truck that was transporting them overturned in west Michigan. Police say the bovine escapees hoofed it over high- way guardrails, forced traffic detours and caused at least one accident. The 42-year-old truck driver suffered minor injuries in the accident in Kent County about 4 a.m. Wednesday. All but five of the fugitive cattle had been rounded up by Thursday morning. The animals from a farm in Farwell, Mich., had been destined to end their days at a slaughterhouse in Mil- waukee, Wis. Michigan State Police Trooper Joe Young said when all the animals are captured they will be euthanized.