Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/646059
Afterfiveyearsofnot hosting a Beef Day at Chico State, a full house of young cattlemen mem- bers and ranchers were present to hear the key- note speaker, Dr. John Pa- terson, PhD, PAS, and Ex- ecutive Director of Edu- cation for the National Cattlemen's Beef Associ- ation. His topic was "Per- ception vs. Reality: What are consumers percep- tions about beef producers vs. what really happens on the ranch?" The world population is continuing to expand, and more food will be con- sumed in the next fifty years, than in the previ- ous 7,000 years. 3 billion people will move from low-low incomes to low- middle or upper-middle incomes. As the per cap- ita income increases, their meat consumption will in- crease. We are seeing the con- sumers dictate how we produce beef, because in a 2011 survey, they wanted it to be safe, tender/juicy/ flavorful, and know where and how it is produced. Now they want to know the welfare of the animal as well as the previous concerns. The consumers don't trust scientists, govern- ment, or government em- ployees, but they want to be assured they are eat- ing safe food. We ranchers need to do a better job ex- plaining how we take care of our animals, because we too want safe, tender, juicy, flavorful beef, lamb, pork or chicken. Our consumers don't re- alize that through technol- ogy we can produce more food. Paterson mentioned a farmer used to get 30 bushels of corn per acre, and now he can raise 350 bushels. It used to be that it took 4 to 5 years to get animals to market weight, and now from birth to beef in the butcher shop it is 14 to 18 months. Gene editing is now in the news for humans, with perhaps a break through in cancer research. Producers are using DNA testing to predict traits in cattle already, be- cause we can predict aver- age daily gain, tenderness, marbling, quality grade, yield grade, fat thickness, ribeye area, heifer preg- nancy rate, stayability in herd, calving ease, docility, hair coat color (homozy- gous black), breed specific horned/polled, multi-sire parentage, and we have tests for genetic defects in cattle. Dr. Paterson concluded that record keeping will be more important in fu- ture to document produc- tion practices and genomic testing will be common- place. Dr. Michael Karle, DVM in Orland spoke on Judi- cious Use of Antibiotics for veterinarians and pro- ducers. Judicious use means we have preventative strat- egies in place, with nu- trition, vaccinations, and have a correct diagnosis of disease process. We select proper anti- microbial if appropriate. We give the correct dose in cc, by correct route of in- termuscular or sub-q. We minimize the duration of treatment, but giving the right level of drug. We don't vaccinate the whole herd, when only one ani- mal is ill. SB 27 takes effect on Jan. 1, 2018, and applies to livestock, but regulations have not been written yet, because it is a funding is- sue. The state law definition of Veterinary Client Pa- tient Relationship (VCPR), CCR, Title 16, Division 20, Article 4, Section 2032.1 reads: (a) it is unprofes- sional conduct for a vet- erinarian to administer, prescribe, dispense or fur- nish a drug, medicine, ap- pliance, or treatment of whatever nature for the prevention, cure, or relief of a wound, fracture or bodily injury or disease of an animal without having first established a veteri- narian-client-patient rela- tionship with the animal patient or patients and the client, except where the patient is a wild an- imal or the owner is un- known. Ken Tate spoke on Ranching and Water Qual- ity in California. Califor- nia rangeland is 57 million acres, of which 22 million acres are privately owned. There are 500 active US Forest Service grazing al- lotments on more than 8 million acres. It is a 3 bil- lion annual sheep and cat- tle industry. Over the past 25 years there has been a partnership to improve rangeland water qual- ity, because over 80% of CA surface waters are de- veloped from or stored on rangeland. FromRangemagazine Dan Dagget, in the Spring 2016 Range mag- azine, quotes a self-iden- tified "radical environ- mentalist" who told cattle ranchers after being given a tour of a ranch and be- ing asked what he thought they could do to improve the ranch. "'There's only one thing you can do to make this place better. You can leave. Because if you stay, no matter what you do to the land, no matter how good you make it look, it will be unnatural, and there- fore bad. "'And if you leave, what- ever happens to this place, even if it ends up being as bare as a parking lot, will be natural, and therefore good.' "The underlying prem- ise of this statement is that the earth is only nat- ural when it is untouched by humans, that humans are not a part of nature, only wild animals and birds and trees and grass and unplanted forage are natural. "This helps explain the intransigence of the peo- ple who see agriculture as the enemy. While this phi- losophy may seem foolish to some, it has taken hold in our universities, in gov- ernmental agencies, and in the minds of some in the general public." I don't know where this "radical environmental- ist" thinks his food comes from. Spring Field Day Tehama County Cattle- men are planning a two day Spring Field Day on March 19 and 20, at Roll- ing Hills Casino, near Corning. Entries are now open for 3 man calf branding, stock horse and stock dog trials. It is open to the public instead of just cat- tlemen members. The horse events will be on Saturday in the Rolling Hills Equestrian Center. Entries are now open for the 5 man teams shoot- ing sporting clays, and the 4 man scramble golf tour- nament, also open to the public on Sunday the 20th at the casino. For more details and to register for the events, visit www.tehamacoun- tycattlemen.org. Entries close on March 15. A Vic Woolery steak dinner will be served at 6 p.m. on the 19th at the Equestrian Center and the public is invited. Sponsorships are avail- able. Call Chad Amen at 949-4723 or write to vet- boy21@yahoo.com. JeanBartonhasbeen writing her column in the Daily News since the early 1990s. She can be reached by e-mail at jbarton2013@ gmail.com. JEANBARTON The return of Beef Day at Chico State CONTRIBUTEDPHOTO Keynote speaker Dr. John Paterson, PhD, PAS, NCBA spoke on what really happens on the ranch versus consumer perceptions about beef producers at the Chico State Beef Symposium, co-sponsored by California Beef Cattle Improvement Association and CSU Young Cattlemen's Association. The Northern Region of the California Department of Water Resources and the University of California Co- operative Extension in Te- hama and Glenn counties have teamed up to provide Weekly Soil Moisture Loss Reports to agricultural wa- ter users. This is the first Weekly Soil Moisture Loss Report for the 20l6 irrigation sea- son. It includes water use information for a variety of crops. Background informa- tion about the reports and ways to use them in on- farm water management are outlined in this article. Estimates labeled "Te- hama County — Gerber South" are based on weather measurements from CIMIS station #222; those labeled "Butte County — Durham" aretakenfromCIMISstation #012; and estimates labeled "Colusa County — Colusa" aretakenfromCIMISstation #032. They are for healthy crops where soil moisture is not limiting growth. Es- timates are for bearing or- chards (typically fifth leaf or older). The following weeks estimated crop ET (ETc) are alsoprovided.Estimatessug- gest a maximum amount of irrigation water needed. Rainfall received during the growing season and stored soil moisture from the dor- mant season contributes to meeting these estimates and willreducetheirrigationwa- ter needed. Irrigation de- cisions based on this infor- mation should be confirmed withfieldmonitoring.Irriga- tion systems that apply wa- terwithahighuniformityre- quirelesswatertosupplythe crop needs. December and January rainfall was substantial and has effectively refilled part or all of the soil pro- file. February rainfall has fallen short of expectations but earlier rains have sup- plied sufficient soil mois- ture storage to provide a good beginning point for us- ing these Soil Moisture Loss Reports. On-site assessment of the soil moisture storage beginning in early February is still suggested to consider site specific conditions when applying information from these reports. Referring to the first table, select the crop in question and com- pare the "Accumulated Sea- sonal Water Use" since leaf- out to the "Accumulated Rainfall". As the seasonal crop water use exceeds ac- cumulated rainfall, compare the difference to the water holding capacity of the soil in the crop root zone. 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 ap- ply this information, the water application 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. For more information contact Allan Fulton, UC Farm Advisor, 527-3101 or aefulton@ucdavis.edu; Dani Lightle, UC Orchard Systems Farm Advisor, 865- 1153 or dmlightle@ucanr. edu; Mark Rivera, Califor- nia Department of Water Resources, Northern Re- gion, 529-7301 or mark.ri- vera@water.ca.gov or Kevin Greer, Tehama County Re- source Conservation Dis- trict Mobile Irrigation Lab, 527-3013 x 102 or kevin@te- hamacountyrcd.org. IRRIGATION Soil moisture loss reports to assist farm water management Call 877-4DAD411 or visit www.fatherhood.gov be a dad today. Take time to FARM » redbluffdailynews.com Saturday, February 27, 2016 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A10