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IT only T A K E S A S P A R K . O N L Y Y O U C A N P R E V E N T W I L D F I R E S . s m o k e y b e a r . c o m Please Everyoneisinvitedto enjoy the Tehama County Cattlemen's Spring Field Day, today and tomor- row at the Rolling Hills Casino Equestrian Center with horse events today, and the golf and sporting clays tomorrow. Tonight about 6 p.m. is a Vic Woolery steak dinner at the Equestrian Center $25. The first field day was held April 10, 1965 at Te- hama Angus Ranch, Ger- ber, and Jack Alford was TCCA president. The fol- lowing three years, Jack Owens was president and the field day was at Abner McKenzie ranch, Cotton- wood Creek Ranch and the Loren Miller Ranch. Slowtraffic Last weekend was the California CattleWomen and the California Women for Agriculture Spring Meeting at the Harris Ranch, on I-5, near Coal- inga. After that trip, I feel that instead of the Bullet Train, California should repair their freeways. The pot holes in the pavement made it dangerous driv- ing. Three lanes on I-5 would have been help- ful on Friday afternoon and Sunday morning. We were caught in the traf- fic below Elk Grove, and the cell phone could only tell us "slow traffic", as we crawled along, stop- ping and inching forward. It took us one and a half hours to go 11 miles, when we finally saw that a truck had blown off the free- way overpass in the gusty winds. Tow trucks had pulled it back up on the freeway by the time we got there. This year I noticed many large flocks of sheep grazing the different fields below Westley. The grass wasn't as lush and deep green on the easements and pastures below Santa Nella, and the women that came from San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Kern counties said they hadn't had the rains like we had received. Some or- chards had dead trees that hadn't been pulled, and we noticed more pista- chio's being planted near Coalinga. I saw more signs along the freeway this year. The larger ones were banners attached to wag- ons. "Stop Dams or Trains, build water storage now." "Get the delta peo- ple and pumps working, join the fight." "No wa- ter — no food, higher food cost." "Over 3 million jobs in CA depend on Ag." "CA grows half of the US fruit, vegetables & nuts." "Solve the water crisis — con- tact, but we were past the sign before I could write it down." "Farm water cut — higher food cost." "Is growing food wasting wa- ter?" "No water — valley farms — no jobs." There were many "Stop the Con- gress created dust bowl" signs along the north bound freeway. Ranching is risky I didn't know this young woman, but: ATV acci- dent serves as a reminder to ranchers to be safe this spring by Amanda Radke in BEEF Daily. The beef industry lost a great cattle woman earlier this week. Jordan Straight Muxfeldt, age 27 of Iowa, was killed in an ATV ac- cident on Monday, along with her two unborn twins who were due to arrive this spring. Her three-year old son, Wayde, was also riding the four-wheeler at the time of the accident, but for- tunately, he survived the crash. When something horrible like this happens, I can't help but think that perhaps God wanted to send us a reminder about how short and fickle life can really be. Spring is a particularly dangerous time of year for farmers and ranchers. In the thick of calv- ing season, producers are often working alone to weigh and tag new calves, while avoiding trouble from protective mamas. The tractors and other equipment we use to feed hay, grind feed and plant our crops are heavy, quick and can be very unforgiv- ing. ATVs are often driven on rough and steep ter- rain, making them easy to flip and crush us. We work in all weather conditions, and this time of year, the mud can make us slower and more susceptible to injuries. The average age of the rancher is nearing 60 years, so many folks aren't as quick and agile as they once were, yet they continue to do the same laborious tasks they did in their 20s and 30s. We are often in a hurry to get one more thing done be- fore the sun sets. During busy times, we work lon- ger hours to get tasks ac- complished, leading to fa- tigue and clumsiness. We work under great stress at times, which can cloud our judgment, and we push the limits often to a dan- gerous degree. Accidents happen in the blink of an eye, and we must always stay dil- igent to avoid unneces- sary risks, remember farm safety rules, choose to take the longer, slower route in- stead of the rushed and more dangerous one, tell our family and friends we love them often, and be forgiving of ourselves and the deadlines and expec- tations we impose on our- selves during busy, stress- ful times. Succession Planning At our joint spring meeting, we had the op- portunity to hear Kevin Spafford on Succession Planning. 877-523-7411, www,Legacy-by-Design. com. The numbers that keep you awake are 70/90/96. Spafford said that 70% of farms/ranches will not pass to the sec- ond generation. 90% of the farms/ranches will not pass from second to third generation. 96% of the farms/ranches will not pass from third to fourth generation. You need good communication because families are more splin- tered. And the older we get, the less willing we are to give up control. 97% of family wealth is tied to the farm. Land rich, cash poor. A family meeting on succession should be scheduled in a neutral lo- cation with an agenda. What the follow-up will be after meeting. Ground rules for the meeting. With technology, no ex- cuse for why you can't at- tend. Use skype if needed. Invite the inlaws in, so ev- eryone hears what is said. You are an in-law to some- one. Have someone record the meeting, to be held ac- countable. You have to plan for dis- ability, divorce and death on the family farm. Karen Ross, Califor- nia Secretary of Agricul- ture mentioned that Satur- day was the International Day of Women, and in Cal- ifornia 16 women are the County Ag Commissioner. She encouraged everyone to tell how we take care of our livestock. Women in agriculture can communicate that ag- riculture is important. California has sophisti- cated consumers, hyper- active foodies, the con- cerned mom, and all want healthy food. We need to use shared values, not scientific facts when we speak to millennials about food. In California 25% of our tourism relates to food or the view. Think of Napa Val- ley and the wines, Yosem- ite or San Diego and the ocean with mild weather. It is a critical time for ag- riculture, and we do take care of the natural re- sources. JeanBartonhasbeen writing her column in the Daily News since the early 1990s. She can be reached by e-mail at jbarton2013@ gmail.com. JEANBARTON Cattlemen's Spring Field Day set for this weekend CONTRIBUTEDPHOTO California CattleWomen and the California Women for Agriculture during the Spring Meeting at the Harris Ranch. The California Chapter of the American Society of Farm Managers and Ru- ral Appraisers announced Wednesday that Jim and Mary Rickert are recipients of the 2016 Distinguished California Agriculturalist Award. The Rickerts are owners of Prather Ranch in Fall River Mills. Over the past 37 years, the Rickerts have in- creased the Prather Ranch operation from a 3,000 acre pasture, hay and timber ranch to more than 35,000 acres consisting of a ver- tically integrated cow and calf beef operation, feed yard, slaughterhouse, re- tail meat outlets and hay- ing operation. Among the Rickerts' many accomplishments include: operating a closed herd for 26 years, provid- ing bovine raw materials for the bio-medical indus- try; permanently preserv- ing 9,000 acres encum- bered with conservation easements for cattle oper- ations; providing habitat on the ranches for large resident herds of deer and elk as well as the endan- gered bank swallow and wild turkeys; and the in- stallation and use of solar power. The couple is known for hosting groups of urban dwellers to become edu- cated about ranching prac- tices and the industry; the restoration of 250 acres of wetland, funded and sup- ported by Ducks Unlim- ited, the California Water- fowl Association and the Natural Resources Conser- vation Service; and the de- velopment of their branded beef product, Prather Ranch Meat Company, with a retail outlet in San Fran- cisco marketing beef under the Humane Farm Animal Care Certification. The list of accomplish- ments continues, contrib- uting to numerous awards being received by the Rick- erts recognizing their tre- mendous contributions to agriculture. Most recently, they were honored with the presti- gious 2015 California Leo- pold Conservation Award, presented by the Sand County Foundation, a non- profit conservation organi- zation dedicated to working with private landowners in North America to advance ethical and scientifically sound land management practices that benefit the environment. The Distinguished Cal- ifornia Agriculturalist Award is presented annu- ally at the California Chap- ter, ASFMRA's Spring Out- look Agribusiness Confer- ence. The award honors indi- viduals who have, through accomplishment, contrib- uted in a significant and highly visible way to the betterment of California agriculture. The Outlook 2016 Con- ference will take place on Thursday, April 7 in Visa- lia. Visit www.calasfmra. com for registration fees and complete details. 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