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Green Mountain Grills & Accessories Serving Butte, Glenn & Tehama Counties 900 Jackson St. • 527-1833 Lic. #0530362 Home Auto Farm Commercial www.andy4ins.com ANDY HOUGHTON Insurance Agency Motorcycle Boat RV Life Agriculture farm&ranch FFA students speak up I wish you could have been with me when I attend- ed a meeting where Red Bluff High School FFA stu- dents met with Curtis Grima, district representa- tive for State Senator Jim Nielsen and Raeann Magill, an intern. I was so proud of the FFA officers and members in their uniforms as they used parliamentary proce- dure skills that many adults could learn from, as they addressed their concerns about Governor Brown's budget cuts. Other FFA members attending the meeting spoke of their concerns using skills learned in FFA, although they were not in uniform. There were Green- hands (freshmen) to Seniors in the group. When Gov- ernor Brown released his 2014-15 State Budget the first part of January he proposed the complete elimi- nation of fund- ing for the Agri- cultural Educa- tion Incentive Grant, which supports high quality ag edu- cation standards in the public schools. The grant program was designed to provide match- ing funds for districts who commit to meeting state approved program stan- dards in Ag Education, including classroom instruction, supervised agri- cultural experience projects, and leadership training through the Future Farmers of America (FFA) student organization. I did not realize the Agri- cultural Education Incentive Grant program was how the barn at the school was built, or the olive orchard the stu- dents had planted. The Incentive Grant sup- ported local ag education program and FFA activities in over 300 high schools statewide, with over 74,000 students enrolled in pro- grams in a variety of rural, suburban and urban schools. 51% of current ag educa- tion enrollment is Hispanic students, while 35% are white. If Governor Brown's proposal defunds the Ag Incentive, and applies it towards paying schools money that he already owes them, the debt will be gone when the money is paid back, and so will the Ag Incentive Grant. But, if the Governor's proposal is rejected, the dis- trict will still get the money the Governor owes, plus we get the Ag Incen- tive Grant Funds. In the January budget proposal he essentially ter- minated the $4.1 million dedicated for the ag incen- tive grants. A revised budget will be submitted in May. The Red Bluff FFA students have expressed a desire to go to Sacramen- to on March 19th, Ag Day at the Capitol and speak to the leg- islators and hopefully Gov- ernor Brown to keep the ag incentive program. Adults are also urged to express their concerns about Governor Brown's pro- posed complete elimination of funding for the Agricul- tural Education Incentive Grant to our legislators and the Governor. *** While in Nashville with 6,200 other beef cattle pro- ducers at the 2014 Cattle Industry Convention and Trade Show we had the opportunity to hear Captain Richard Phillips, the inspi- ration for the movie Captain Phillips, starring Tom Hanks. The movie is based on his book A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy Seals and Dangerous Days at Sea, the recounting of the first hijacking of a US ship in more than 200 years. The ship was a 17,000 ton ship, he was the "float- ing CEO" in charge of the day-to-day operations of a multi-million dollar ship and its crew. When he took over the ship after having his 90 days off, he had a drill to plan for the worst. A back-up safety drill if they should be attacked by pirates. The crew was to hide. He said there was no swell, no wind, a perfect day for pirates and the Somali pirates came aboard. He was a prisoner for five days before the Navy Seals rescued them. The things he learned were: 1. We are stronger than we realize. 2. Nothing is lost, till we give up. 3. Be flexible, nothing is static 4. Stay calm. Creative approaches will get us through, and don't surren- der in face of adversity. Joan Hemsted, Cotton- wood was honored as American National Cattle- Woman Outstanding Cat- tleWoman of the Year. She was recognized for her years of beef education combined with music and literature in the classroom, as well as her leadership as California CattleWomen president and ANCW Region VI director. Siskiyou County cattle- woman Melanie Fowle was elected ANCW president- elect. *** You may have wondered why I always mention the vaccinations we give our cattle but after reading about the "wreck" we had in 1979 you will understand how important the various shots are. March 1979. We were really concerned with a fer- tility problem with our cows, when there were few calves to brand this month. Our new veterinarian Dr Stouffer bled 21 cows of all ages and 2 bulls. The tests showed we had Lepto. Grippotyphosa and Hardjo, while we were only vacci- nating for Lepto Pomona. Also had a titre for Vibrio; IBR-BVD, and Blue Tongue. In August we were at the California State Fair to see Mother representing the Willard Ranch at Susanville inducted into the "100 year club" at the State Fair. We had been eligible since 1974, but hadn't gone to be honored with medal- lion and dinner. The range land here at Red Bluff will be 100 years with the Willards in Feb. 1981. We had a lovely luncheon with CA wines at the Turf Club and watched some races. Bill had his first view of the "new" State Fair, and he was certainly disappointed with the whole thing. In Sept. Bill and I went to the CBCIA Field Day at Tehama Angus. Bill Borror did a demonstration of 3 cows, and the one you would immediately pick was the one with the poor- est production record, while the one you over- looked or would cull was the cow that had calves that weaned higher than herd average. He did the same thing with bulls; the big, good looking bull had lower semen count and smaller scrotal circumfer- ence. Remember this was still before EPDs, Expected Progeny Differences. Oct. Some deer hunters had seen some of our cows on Duffy Creek. We found 6 of ours, 2 of Arlo's and 1 Dye Creek. Finally sold the steers for 90 cents, and heifers for 80 cents to Jack Owens. 579 lbs on steers and 497 lbs on heifers. It would have been nice if we had had more steers to sell….that abortion had really hurt us. Nov. Bill and I went to Fred Weeks funeral. He was 95, and a long time family friend. He was a peach grower, and as a child I remember the trays of peaches being dried at his orchard in the sun shine. Jean Barton can be reached at jbarton2013@gmail.com. Courtesy photo The Red Bluff High School agriculture students with State Senator Jim Nielsen's representatives and Red Bluff High Principal Ron Fisher as they toured the farm and olive orchard. Jean Barton Soil moisture loss reports The Northern Region of the California Department of Water Resources and the University of California Cooperative Extension in Red Bluff have teamed up to provide "Weekly Soil Moisture Loss Reports" to agri- cultural water users. This is the first Weekly Soil Moisture Loss Report for the 20l4 irrigation season. It includes water use information for a variety of crops. Background infor- mation about the reports and ways to use them in on- farm water management are outlined in this article. Estimates labeled "West of the Sacramento River" are based on weather measurements taken near Ger- ber. Estimates labeled "East of the Sacramento River" are based on measurements taken near Durham. They are for healthy crops, where soil moisture is not limit- ing crop growth. Estimates are for bearing orchards (typically fifth leaf or older). Estimates suggest a maximum amount of irrigation water needed. NOAA forecasts of weekly water use are also provided. Rainfall received during the growing season and stored soil moisture from the dormant season con- tributes to meeting these estimates and will reduce the irrigation water needed. Because the winter of 2013/14 has been quite dry, visually assess the begin- ning soil moisture storage in fields in mid February and consider site specific conditions when applying information from these reports. When rainfall is scarce, dormant season irrigations improve orchard conditions for managing cold and frost risk, improve efficacy of some dormant pest control practices, and reduces the urgency for irrigation when orchard crops break dormancy and are more susceptible to root dis- eases. Irrigation during dormancy should be done in moderation (enough to wet soils at least two or three feet deep), more than this may result in unnecessary energy costs if rainfall eventually occurs. Irrigation decisions based on this information should be con- firmed with field monitoring. Irrigation systems that apply water with a high uniformity require less water to supply the crop needs. Referring to the first table, select the crop in ques- tion and compare the "Accumulated Seasonal Water Use" since leaf-out to the "Accumulated Rainfall". As the seasonal water use exceeds accumulated rainfall, compare the difference to the water holding capacity of the soil in the crop root zone. The choice is to rely on soil storage to supply the difference or to begin to irri- gate. An Example: Accumulated seasonal water use for almonds from March 1 through March 14, 2013 was 0.69 inches while accumulated rainfall from the Gerber station on the Westside of the river since March 1 was 0.30 inches. Rainfall measurements taken from your own farm or ranch will improve the accuracy of this projection. In the case of almonds, which are the earli- est orchard crop to leafout and begin developing a full canopy, a 0.39 inch soil moisture deficit has developed through March 14. When the deficit accrues to an amount greater than will be applied with a single irri- gation event, it may be time to begin irrigating. Crops go through phases of growth and the weather can be highly variable during the season. These weekly reports can be used to help adjust for changing growth phases and weather conditions. In order to apply this information, the water applica- tion rate from the irrigation system must be known. For orchards, this can be estimated with a count of micro sprinklers or drip emitters per acre along with a reliable estimate of the water emission rate per micro sprinkler or dripper. Another option is to contact the Tehama County Mobile Irrigation Lab listed below and arrange an irrigation system evaluation. In the past, this service has been available at no cost but a fee may be required in 2014. Almond Orchard Example: One micro sprinkler is used per almond tree; each micro sprinkler emits nine gallons of water per hour; and the orchard design has 151 trees per acre. The hourly water application rate for this example is 1359 gallons per acre. This equates to a water application rate of 0.05 inches per acre per hour of operation. The math is as follows: 1) 151 micro sprinklers per acre multiplied by 9 gallons per hour emission rate equals 1359 gallons per acre per hour; and 2) 1359 gallons per acre per hour divided by 27,154 equals 0.05 inches per acre per hour of operation (there are 27,154 gallons of water per acre-inch, a common volumetric unit of measure used in irrigated agricul- ture). Suppose an upcoming weekly report shows that almonds (west of river) from May 2 to May 8, use 1.80 inches of water per acre and they are irrigated with the micro sprinkler system described above. At an hourly water application rate of 0.05 inches per acre per hour of operation, a maximum of 36 hours of operation would be needed during the week to match the estimat- ed soil moisture loss. The weekly hours of operation may be reduced further if rainfall occurs or if a reason- able contribution from soil storage is allowed. Additional water is needed to compensate for non- uniform application of water. Field evaluations con- ducted by the Tehama County Mobile Irrigation Lab suggest 10 to 15 percent more water may be necessary. Table 2 in the Weekly ET Report helps determine how much water is needed based upon your systems irriga- tion efficiency keeping in mind that less efficient irri- gation systems apply water less uniformly. For more information, call Allan Fulton, UC farm advisor at 527-3101 or send an email to aefulton@ucdavis.edu.