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Didyouknowthatvirtu- ally all water consumed by Californians flows through private rangeland? That California ranchers contrib- ute more than $2.1 billion to our economy each year? That endangered species de- pend on rangeland for their habitat? In fact, 95% of fed- erally threatened or endan- gered species live on private ranches. Did you know that in a state where hundreds of lo- cal foods are grown, beef is the fifth largest commodity grown in the Golden State? Most ranches in Califor- nia are multi-generational family businesses. Many have been in existence for more than 100 years, oper- ated by fourth and fifth gen- eration ranchers. Conservation easements allow privately owned rangelands to remain work- ing landscapes that support wildlife habitat, clean water and healthy food supplies. The California Range- land Trust (CRT) is a 501c3 non-profit organization that works to conserve Califor- nia's working ranches that provide stewardship, open space, and natural habitat for future generations. Last Saturday, "A Western Affair"celebratingourWest- ern culture was held at the WoodRanch,westofOrland. Our hosts were the Wood Family, Darrell and Callie, Dennis and JoEllen, and their sister Diana Wemple. Darrell and Callie are mem- bers of Tehama County Cat- tlemen and CattleWomen. A longtime Susanville friend Jack Hanson is chair- man of CRT, and was among a group of ranchers who cre- ated CRT in 1998 and served on the founding Board of Di- rectors. He owns and oper- ates Willow Creek Ranch, a traditional family cow/ calf operation with his wife, Darcy, and sons, Wyatt and Brad. In the morning there had been two man sorting, and three man where they sort and doctor an animal. There was a trail ride on the 2,600 acre ranch for others who brought their horses. In the auction benefiting CRT, Crooked River Ranch Horses had donated a cus- tom team sorting clinic for six people by Bubba Kelly at theWoodRanch."Perfectfor all levels whether you're in- troducing your horses to cat- tle for the first time or are looking to shave seconds off your best time." Crooked River Ranch Horses and Prince Ranch Horses also donated a ladies only branding clinic for 10 gals. "One of a kind chance for you ladies to learn or just practice ranch roping and workinginthebrandingcor- ral without husbands or sig- nificantothersyellingatyou. We'll cover ground work, dragging calves to the fire, and team work in the cor- ral. We will also be spend- ing a lot of time on the slid- ing rope and dallying." AuctioneerwasJohnRod- gers, president, The Stock- man's Market, and an- nouncing the sale items was Celeste Settrini, CS Connec- tions in Salinas, with ring- men Brad Peek, Justin Nie- sen and J C Niesen of Shasta Livestock Auction. Next Saturday, May 14th, the Shasta Historical Soci- ety will have a free program featuringEllingtonPeek,the man behind the Shasta Live- stockAuctionYard,1:30p.m. at the Historic Cascade The- atre, in Redding. Lot 12 in the auction fea- tured spending the day with Ellington Peek, and receiv- ingacopyofhisbook"When to Buy, When to Sell." A bid- ding duel resulted with the winner paying $1,500 and the runner-up got a day too, paying $1,400. The cocktail party, dinner and dancing was held in a large covered arena, with live music by Chad Bushnell and his band. Cattle indus- try friends came from many locations. Bacio Catering of Chico had young men circulat- ing during the cocktail party with delicious hors d'oeuvres. My favorite was the bacon wrapped jalape- nos stuffed with creamed cheese, but the chili and cheese quesadillas with chi- potle grilled chicken, cow- boy "caviar" cups with black bean salsa, cilantro and av- ocado, and the smoked salmon canape with Orland Farmstead Creamery cheese and roasted pepper was also good. The dinner started with Scott and Karen Stone car- rying the American and Cal- ifornia flags on horseback as Chad Bushnell sang the Na- tional Anthem acappella. The dinner featured grilled Panorama rib eye grass fed beef that was carved at the buffet and of- fered with a red wine pep- percorn sauce and creamed horseradish. I will admit that I still prefer a "conven- tional" rib eye, where the beef animal has been fed a corn ration for at least 120 days before harvesting. We also had spring greens; delicious blanched asparagus with snow peas and roasted mushrooms; a pilaf made with Lundberg basmati and black japonica rice with Bell Carter olives, inasavory"crush"ofroasted Bordin Farm almonds, wal- nuts, olive oil and herbs; and horse radish smashed pota- toes with butter and gar- lic. The artisan breads were from Tin Roof. Wood Ranch sells their beef as Panorama Grass Fed to Whole Foods and other hi-end stores, and you no- ticed the other local produc- ers mentioned in the menu. Wine was enjoyed with the meal, and each table also had a pitcher of ice water to refill your water glass. 4-H members directed ev- eryonetoparkbythecorrals, while three other 4-H mem- bers from the Glenn County Horse Club used ATV's to take us from our cars to the party, and return. ••• A friend wrote on Face- book: "Mark had a very lov- ing memorial with 300+ in attendance.Beingtheglueof the community, or the com- munity connection that he was,hewas spokenofhighly andlovinglybymanyfriends that represented all aspects of Tehama County. All gen- erations from 5 years old to his mentors in their 80s spoke well of Mark. Karma is now in Mark's hands so I guess there are a few that must be grateful Mark was not a vengeful man. He was loved by many and his pass- ing sucks." Mark Eidman's celebra- tion of life, had the C. Roy Carmichael Sheep Judging Ring stands on the Tehama District Fairground filled with friends. There were people who shared his passion for sheep, both on the farm and in the show ring. There were coun- try folks and there were city folks paying tribute to Mark Eidman. His father Glen Eidman wasawell-knownsheepman in Glenn County, known for his ability to judge livestock and wool. Wes Patton, a mentor from Chico State days re- called how he had been at the sheep barn with Al Vi- erra, and learned judg- ing from Hutchings. Mark would be asked to judge the wool fleeces at national shows and livestock at fairs after CSU days. Jacque Brown recalled working with Mark during the 13 years he was Tehama District Fair manager. We were chuckling at some of the memories, and had tears in our eyes as others shared their memories. JeanBartonhasbeen writing her column in the Daily News since the early 1990s. She can be reached by e-mail at jbarton2013@ gmail.com. JEANBARTON WesternaffairsupportsCalifornia'srangelands COURTESYPHOTO A Western Affair presented by California Rangeland Trust, with host Darrell Wood, Nita Vail, CEO and Rep. Doug LaMalfa. By Diane Nelson Strawberry farmers and industry leaders say new science, education and col- laborationsunderwayatthe UCDavisPublicStrawberry Breeding Program bode well for the quality and sus- tainability of strawberries in California. The breed- ing program has launched a large-scale genetic dis- ease-resistance experi- ment, added students and staff researchers to its ex- panding team, and planted strawberry-yield trials on five farms from Ventura to Watsonville. "It's a privilege to partic- ipate in the novel research they're doing at UC Davis," said Tom AmRhein, a long- time member of the Cali- fornia StrawberryCommis- sion and a strawberry pro- ducer with Naturipe Berry Growers Inc., near Castro- ville, site of one of the yield trials. "Growers are happy about the new focus and positive energy the team is bringing to the program. And because everything they develop is available to all strawberry growers, it protects the viability and sustainability of the whole industry." TheUCDavisstrawberry breeders will present yield- trialdataattwoStrawberry Field Days in Watsonville and Santa Maria in June. Exact dates will be deter- mined soon. Breeders will also present an update on the program's activities, in- cluding: Improving genetic resis- tance to disease Strawberries are espe- cially vulnerable to soil- bornepathogens,whichcan destroyanentirecrop.Since the1960s,strawberrygrow- ers have depended on fumi- gants like methyl bromide — a colorless, odorless gas — to control disease. But methyl bromide has been linked to lung disease and ozone-layer depletion, and will no longer be available after 2016. UC Davis breeders re- cently took an important first step in developing a berry with improved ge- netic resistant to soil-borne disease. In collaboration with the UC Davis De- partment of Plant Pathol- ogy, they planted strawber- ries representing 914 gen- otypes in a field south of the campus to begin iden- tifying genes that influence resistance to the fungi Fu- sarium and Macrophom- ina, two common culprits in California, where 80 per- cent of U.S. strawberry pro- duction takes place. "Thiswillhelpusidentify genes of interest, which we can analyze further in the lab," said Glenn Cole, a staff research associate with the Strawberry Breeding Pro- gram. "It's the first step in developing cultivars with greater genetic resistance to disease." Integrating genetic tools The program is incorpo- rating advanced, genetic tools into its breeding, and will soon conduct DNA fin- gerprinting on the entire UCcollectionofgermplasm, thelivingtissuefromwhich new plants can be grown. Integrating genomic infor- mation, statistics and the latest breeding strategies will accelerate the crop im- provement process. Toimproveacrop,breed- erstraditionallycrossplants with desired traits and se- lect the best offspring over multiple generations. Some traits, like flavor and size, are often determined by manygenesactingtogether, while other traits, like dis- ease resistance, may be reg- ulated by a single gene. Ad- vanced genetic tools help breeders home in on genes that affect specific traits and select for those genes at an earlier stage, which speeds up the process. "Genetic tools are an in- tegral part of a successful breeding program," said Professor Steve Knapp, di- rector of the Strawberry Breeding Program. "We look forward to helping de- velop 21st century straw- berry breeding." Gathering germplasm Breeders need genetic diversity of germplasm to develop quality crops that can resist constantly evolv- ing pests, diseases and en- vironmental stresses. The Strawberry Breeding Pro- gram is building diversity by collecting strawberry species from the wild and germplasmfromtheUSDA. The new material is se- curely stored with the pro- gram's already impressive collection of material, in- cluding some 1,700 culti- vars. Of those 1,700 culti- vars, 180 are considered elite, and most likely to de- velop into a winning vari- ety. The UC Davis breeders have planted those 180 cul- tivars on five farms along California's "strawberry belt," from Ventura to Wat- sonville, each with its own particularclimateandcrop- management strategies. UC DAVIS Industry upbeat about strawberry breeding research We Do Alignments, Brakes, Shocks, Struts, Oil Changes, Suspension, Trailer Repairs, Batteries & Wipers 530 529-0797 1375MontgomeryRd. 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