Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/250522
Wednesday, January 29, 2014 – Daily News 3B BULL & GELDING SALE Drought means some ranchers can't afford to feed cattle In January, business at the 101 Livestock Market's cattle auction on California's Central Coast is usually slow. The busy season is normally in June or July, when ranchers have had time to fatten their animals for weeks on spring grasses. This year, however, business is bustling, with packed pens of moaning cattle and cowboys standing on tip-toe to get a glance at their potential prizes. Because of historically dry conditions, California's soil moisture — a key ingredient for the forage that cattle graze on — is low throughout the state. With feed costs high and weeks of dry weather in the forecast, ranchers are already selling off parts of their herds as normally green grazing pastures have turned brown. "We're in the drought now, so a lot of these are going back to Texas," said rancher and auction house co-owner Monty Avery, gesturing to a pen packed full of cows. "We usually sell about 100-150 animals per week. Now we're seeing 800-1,000 per week, so the volume's jumped up." Gov. Jerry Brown has formally proclaimed a AP photo A calf is presented at an auction at the 101 Livestock Market in Aromas. drought in California, a move that codified what farmers and ranchers in the state had known for weeks. The U.S. Drought Monitor has said there are "extreme drought" conditions in central and northern California, where much of the state's ranching is located. California is now in its third dry year, with little snowfall so far this winter and forecasts suggesting only more sunshine. Precipitation in most of the state is less than 20 percent of normal and reservoirs are dwindling — one town on California's far northern coast says it has fewer than 100 days of drinking water in storage. The state is the nation's leader in dairy cows, and fourth overall in the U.S. for total number of cattle, trailing Texas, Nebraska and Kansas, according to the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. With little free food available for cattle, some ranchers have already started controlling costs. Romaldo Martin, a cattle rancher who runs M&M Farms in Hollister, has sold more than 160 cows and calves at 101 Slow-Roasted Beef Recipe The method: Sear, then roast slowly at a low temperature. In general, roasts cooked using the slow-low method will follow the doneness temperature guidelines of 125 for rare, 130-135 for medium-rare and 140 for medium; that is particularly true of roasts from the rib or loin, especially the tenderloin. However, when you are roasting shoulder, round or rump roasts, the doneness temperatures should be adjusted 5 degrees higher; for best results, cooking beyond 145 degrees is not recommended. For narrower-shaped cuts of beef, such as eye of round, roast at 170 degrees for 2 hours per pound. Boneless shoulder roast is available locally at Giant Food stores. Meat that has been seared or covered with olive oil might not brown as well in slow-low roasting; if you would like to use some fat, try 1 tablespoon of canola or vegetable oil or bacon fat in the skillet. INGREDIENTS FOR THE MEAT 4 to 6-pound beef roast, such as a boneless shoulder roast, top round roast or eye of round roast FOR THE MEAT AND SAUCE Kosher salt or celery salt Freshly ground black pepper 4 carrots, trimmed, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces 4 ribs celery, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces 2 onions, quartered 1 head garlic, top 1/2 inch trimmed off to expose the cloves FOR THE SAUCE 1 cup dry red wine 1 cup store-bought or homemade low-sodium beef broth DIRECTIONS For the meat: Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Have ready a large roasting pan and a skillet large enough to hold the roast. Pat the roast dry with paper towels. Heat a dry skillet over medium-high or high heat. Season the meat with salt and pepper to taste, then sear on all sides until well-browned. Spread the peeled and cut vegetables in a single layer on the bottom of the roasting pan or on a flat rack inside the pan, then place the roast on top, fat side up. Place in the oven and reduce the temperature to 170 degrees. Cook for 2 1/2 hours per pound (for medium-rare). Transfer the roast to a platter or cutting board, tent loosely with aluminum foil and allow to rest for at least 15 to 20 minutes before carving. (At this point, the cooled roast can be covered and refrigerated to carve later.) When ready to carve, discard the fat layer and cut the meat against the grain into thin slices. For the sauce: Discard the garlic's papery skin and peels; combine the carrots, celery, onion and garlic cloves to taste in the bowl of a food processor; pulse just until finely chopped. (This also can be done by hand.) Combine the wine and broth in a medium saucepan over medium heat until just bubbling at the edges. Add the chopped vegetables and stir to mix well; let the mixture return to bubbling at the edges and cook uncovered for 30 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer, discarding the solids; return the sauce to the saucepan. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper; for a slightly richer flavor, cook over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes to reduce the liquid. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary. Serve the sauce on the side with the warmed slices of roast beef. Livestock Market over the past two weeks and plans to sell at least 100 more. He said it's too expensive to buy hay to feed his herd, and the water on his land is drying up. "If the weather doesn't change, I might need to get rid of all of them," said Martin, who is in his 70s and used to run about 600 heads of cattle. "I've never seen anything like this in my life … It's a disaster." The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Jan. 16 declared a drought disaster in some California counties, which allows farmers to apply for lowinterest loans to help them cope. Ranchers are not included in the program. To help them navigate the historic dry weather, the University of California's Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources is holding workshops. "From previous droughts we've learned that feeding the whole herd through the drought may spell the end of business," said Glenn Nader, adviser for the program in Sutter and Yuba counties. Some of California's herd will be headed to Texas, which is recovering from its own severe drought. That state's herd of five million head of cattle has shrunk over the past few years by a quarter, said Jason Cleere, a rancher and beef cattle specialist with Texas AgriLife Extension at Texas A&M University. But as the drought has eased in most of Texas, the herd is being rebuilt, creating a market for California's ranchers looking to sell. "There's a lot of room for more cows to come into our state, and for ranchers to add some back," Cleere said. While in the short term selling cattle can help ranchers cope, it can push more of them out of business in the long run, ranchers said. Rebuilding a herd isn't as easy as buying new cattle. It often takes time to get new cows acclimated and can take years for the animals to breed and grow. Meantime, the state's herd will be thinned as ranchers trim costs and hope things will improve. "You can't keep buying $7,000-$8,000 a load for hay. Pretty soon you're in this hole, so you sell your cattle and try to buy them back next year," said rancher Jim Warren, who co-owns the auction house.