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8A – Daily News – Saturday, November 6, 2010 Agriculture & farm Irrigation Aid ends season With the recent rains soaking the North State, this will be the last weekly issue of Evapotranspiration (ET) data for the 2010 irrigation season. This was the 37th season of providing ET information for the North Val- ley. The ET data will be made available next spring at the start of the 2011 irrigation season. This information is provided as a joint effort by the California Department of Water Resources’ Northern Region Office (formerly Northern District), the Univer- sity of California Cooperative Extension in Tehama County (a.k.a. Tehama County Farm Advisor's office), and this newspaper. It is intended as an aid to irrigators to help determine when to irrigate and also how much water to apply. The ET data, which appears weekly in this newspa- per during the irrigation season, is a measure of the amount of water that is lost from the soil rootzone due to crop use and soil surface evaporation. These are typ- ically the most significant losses of soil moisture dur- ing the growing season. To gain the maximum value from this information you need to look for it each week during the irrigation season and compare it to how much irrigation water is applied with your irrigation system or how much rainfall is received. If this is the first time that you have observed this information, you may want to note that these reports will be resumed approximately April 2011, depending on the spring weather conditions. In the meantime, you may want to make note of the season totals and com- pare them to your district water bills or estimates of groundwater pumped per acre. The comparison might provoke some interesting questions. Information on how to use these weekly reports can be found at http://cetehama.ucdavis.edu. When at this web page, select "Water / Irrigation Program"; and then select "Weekly Soil Moisture Loss Reports". Each weekly soil moisture loss report is posted at this site including a two-page article with examples of how to use the report. A request for a hard copy of this article can be made at University of California Cooperative Extension in Red Bluff at 527-3101x 3. Assistance is also available at the Tehama County Mobile Irrigation Lab at 527-3013 x 102 or by calling the California Department of Water Resources, Northern Region Office at 529-7301. The 5th annual Tehama County Farm Bureau Farm- City Bus Tour saw what Roger Brooks saw when he was exploring Tehama County, and said that Man- ton was a jewel that was overlooked. We rode a Mt. Lassen Transit bus exploring the area above the Manton Cor- ners Store when we visited Ringtail Vineyards, 32055 Forward Road. The leaves on the Petite Sirah vines were turning color, and the tall pine trees in the back- ground were a beautiful backdrop. The elevation was 2,500 feet and the owner felt the warm days and cool nights created the ideal location, with the rich volcanic soil for the grapes. Robert Carrillo, the owner of Ringtail Vineyards is a fourth generation grow- er, and planted the vineyard in the late 1990s. Jocelyn and Donna were pouring Chardonnay/Viog- nier, a Œ07 Petite Sirah, and a gold medal Sweet Petite Sirah Dessert, similar to a Port in the tasting room. It was interesting to learn that dark chocolate was paired with the Sweet Petite Sirah, and it was delicious. Many prospective buyers were disappointed that the Gewurtztraminer was sold out until January or Febru- ary. During the summer there was music on weekends and people enjoyed barbecues and gourmet box lunches with their wine. There have been weddings and private parties on the grounds. Our other win- ery was Indian Peak Vineyards, with Donna and Fred Boots, at 31559 Forward Road. This is a family owned win- ery at 2,200 ft elevation. We enjoyed our box lunches from Rolling Hills Casino inside the building beside the large oak casks of wine, after tasting the Indian Peak Cabernet Sauvingon, Mer- lot, Chardonnay. They also make a blend of Syrah and Zin called Abstract Red, Port and Sauvignon Blanc. Leslie Stone of Pacific Sun Olive Oil had a tasting of oils for us. I learned my niece and nephew in Vir- ginia buy the Blueberry Balsamic vinegar by the case. When I sampled that flavor I could taste why they buy cases. When we had checked in at the Elks Lodge for break- fast, courtesy of Tehama County Resource Advisory Committee we were each ranch Farm-City Bus Tour Courtesy photo At Mt Lassen Trout Farm, John Povy was carrying a tray of fertilized fish eggs to be placed in the water, while on far right Dan Brown was answering a question on the TC Farm Bureau Farm-City Tour. given a small bag with almonds, raisins, honey stick, bottle of water and “Tehama Trail,” an agricul- tural journey through Northern California’s Tehama County Olive and Wine Tasting locations. Donna Boots suggested Jean Barton every household in the county should have a copy of “Tehama Trail” when they have company from out of town. Great sugges- tions of where to find olive and wine tasting in the county, www.tehama- trail.com. We also visit- ed Lima Huli Lavender Farm, 22005 Manton School Road, with Kendra Howell as our hostess. Her thousand plants are grown for the oil that is distilled, and used in soaps, lotions, Spritzers, sachets, spice mixes, laven- der essential oil, lavender honey, dried bouquets and fresh bouquets when the plants are in bloom between May 15 and the 4th of July. A beautiful location under the Oak trees for a wedding by a pond in the summer. The plants have been trimmed for winter, and the fallen oak leaves are allowed to mulch the base of the plants and protect from heavy frost. Mark Lathrop, commu- nity relations manager for Sierra Pacific Industries talked about the ecological processes of managing forestlands by using a 100 year plan that relies on even-age forest manage- ment. Even-age management can restore vital wildlife habitat by providing a Planting Class November 7 @ 1pm Blub Tree Care Class November 20 @ 10am 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 Please call to reserve a seat. Find us on Facebook Red Bluff Garden Center 527-0886 766 Antelope Blvd. (next to the fairgrounds) mosaic of forest types rang- ing from young to mature across the landscape. Dur- ing harvesting, some trees and existing dead wood are retained to provide snags, cavities or nesting platforms and other necessary wildlife homes. Buffer strips are also left along streams and meadows to protect water quality and preserve near- stream habitats. Even-age forest management is also utilized for tree species that need direct sunlight to thrive such as pine or Dou- glas fir. The state Timber Har- vesting Plan are particularly stringent for even-age forest management, whereby trees must be 50-80 years old before they can be harvest- ed, and harvest units are generally limited to 20-30 acres. SPI units average 17 acres. I especially enjoyed the visit to Mt Lassen Trout Farms, Inc. Carl Fink at St. Bernard Lodge near Chester established a hatch- ery and ponds in 1929. Clifton Hildebrand, a prominent attorney from Oakland purchased and originated MLTF. He and Fink built an additional facility at Meadowbrook Ranch in 1949, and another near Dales Station in 1950. Keith “Hoppy” Brown pur- chased the business from Hildebrand in 1974. Phil Mackey went to work for Mt Lassen in 1971; worked as general manager during the period of expansion to over 12 different facilities, and purchased the company from Brown in the 1990s. Mt. Lassen began selling Rainbow trout eggs in the late 1950s and developed into the second largest pri- vate producer of trout eggs in the United States. Hilde- brand strain of trout was known internationally for its rapid growth, efficient feed conversion and hardiness in a variety of environmental conditions. By the 1990s Mt Lassen had sold eggs into The Electric Man For all your electrical needs • New Outlets / 220 • Fans / Fixtures • Pools / Spas • Code Corrections • Troubleshooting • Panel Upgrade • Telephone Wiring $10.00 Customer Discount FREE Estimates License# 826543 347-4441 A Clean, Reliable, Trustworthy, Chimney Company... Possible? ”Their tarps are always clean and my home is always clean afterward. What I like best is their reliability and quality.” “I can trust them!” Dr. Evan Reasor Flue Season 527 3331 THE Chimney Professionals COMPLETE AUTO REPAIR 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. 41 states and 26 foreign countries. They developed one of the first private applications of photoperiod control to produce eggs at all times of the year and one of the first to market all-female and all- female triploid eggs. Dan Brown, operations manager told how impor- tant the temperature of the water was, because the growth rate of the fish depends on water tempera- ture. Here it is 57-58 F com- ing from an artesian spring at 5 cubic feet per second. The concrete runs are four feet high with 3 feet of water for the fish, and then it drops two feet to get more oxygen in the water for the next pond of fish. They fol- low water quality control guidelines and rules, to ensure the tail-waters that flow into the creeks and streams meet or exceed Cal- ifornia Water Quality Con- trol Board standards. They cannot use creek water for raising fish because of the possiblity of contracting pathogens from the wild fish that live there. We noticed netting over the ponds to protect the trout from predators, such as black bears, raccoons, blue heron, osprey, snowy egret and river otters. The preda- tors can transfer pathogens from the wild fish they con- sume as well as prey on the captive hatchery trout. There was a barrel above each pond, with a wire hanging down. It is an on- demand feeder; the fish bump the wire and pellets are dropped into the water. They can adjust the feed rate, and saves labor. The pellets contain fish meal, soybean meal, wheat prod- ucts, and other ingredients as well as vitamins and min- erals. John Povy, research director demonstrated the stripping of eggs from the Golden Rainbow trout to provide all-female triploid eggs for fertilization. JOIN 4-H Call the 4-H office for information November 23, 2010 527-3101 Last day to join