Forage Continued from Page 13
REAL ESTATE
REAL ESTATE
COOLEY RANCH WINTER grass ranch located 14 miles west of Red Bluff. 3,689acres ith several seasonal creeks and lots of stock ponds. Fenced and cross fenced. Ranch is open for graz- ing this winter season. Lots of game. Black tail deer, wild pigs, wild turkeys and more. Ranch being offered as part of estate sale. Shown by appointment only. Priced at $4,041,739. Contact Quinn Ranch Realty. Bill Quinn, Broker (bre#0082135) (530) 604-4365. billquin n@shasta.com. www.ranch-lands.com INTERO SHOWCASE RE Sutter Co. 545ac. M/L in 4 Parcels. 240ac.M/L pro- ducing walnuts. 40 ac. ready to plant. 170 ac. Hunting/Habitat & 47 ac. pro- ducing walnuts. 10 ac. potential home site. Very scenic. Five excellent wells. Yolo co. 161 acres of 5th leaf Almonds. Contact: Mike Smith (530) 682-0533 DRE 01263942 msmith@interomove. com
299-ACRE YOLO COUNTY WALNUT ORCHARD : Very nice Walnut orchard in Yolo County between Winters and Davis. Class I and II soils, two sources of water with three wells. 70 acres of open ground to plant and 190 acres of producing walnuts, nice older main house and smaller second house. Many outbuildings. Lots of potential with this one! $7,500,000. CALIFORNIA AGRICULTURAL PROPERTIES, INC. SCOTT STONE, BKR 530-681-1410 • www.calagprop.com
which the feed degraded under the summer sun. The forage productionpenalty under drought conditions was sub- stantial: The average peak pasture productionof nearly 4,000 pounds of biomass an acre in the wettest year plummeted to around 1,200 pounds an acre in the driest year. But the problem did not end there, as forage in the field in spring and summer degraded significantly faster in a dry year. Larsen said the forage percent losses were highest in 2015 at 61.5% for the season, or 9.7%permonth, and the lowest during 2017, 46.5% or 7.3% per month. Significantly more of the forage is lost during the summer in drought years, nearly 10%amonth, because the sparse grass provides less protection from the sun. “The forage that was lost depended on how much total biomass you startedwith,” Larsen said. “The lower the biomass, the higher the percentage of forage loss through the summer months.” He said solar degradation was the dominant cause of the break- down and resulting loss of biomass through the summer dry season. “That is why there are differences each year,” Larsen said. “When startingwithhigher amounts of biomass,more of the forage is shaded fromdirect sunlight than when starting with less biomass.” There were also important differences in the composition of the forage, depending on whether it was a rainy or dry year. In the wettest of the three years in the study, with an average of nearly 20 inches of rainfall, grasses outweighed forbs by nearly a five-to-one ratio. But in the drought year with just 5 inches of rain, the forbs predominated. “Each year was different, both in howmuch forage grew andwhat species of plants grew,” Larsen said. “We found that themain forage type, that of grasses and forbs, depended mostly on the amount of rainfall received.” The mix between forbs and grasses matters because the forbs are significantly higher than the grasses in crude protein. “The amount of crude protein livestock get depends on the com- position of the forage they have,” Larsen said. “In general, forbs are much higher in crude protein than grasses are. We found that crude protein in the spring, plants that were mature but still green, was much higher in 2015 than 2016 or 2017.” Although forage productionwas low in 2015, he said, “Therewas a much higher percentage of forbs resulting inmuch higher CP levels than during 2016 and 2017.” Just as forage biomass declines under the sun over the season so, too, does the protein content of the forage. It is important tomonitor whether the “banked” forage will still have enough protein to be of some good to the animals. “Not only is biomass lost, but the quality of the forage also declines significantly,” Larsen said. “Livestock need a minimum of 7% crude protein in their diet. As expected, crude protein concentrations sig- nificantly decreased from still green springtime forage to the old, weathered dry forage.” Perhaps the only benefit of the drought year is that the forage— whichwas predominantly higher protein forbs—stayed safely above 7% crude protein as it degraded. The forage you see in the pasture in the spring is not the same as the feed that will sustain the animals in the summer and early fall. The “banking” calculations are made even more complex by the need to leave enoughplant in the groundafter the late-seasongrazing to allow the pasture to experience a proper rebirth when the rains come next winter. “The significant loss of aboveground biomass, along with de- creased forage quality, can affect livestock grazing strategies,” Larsen said. “Forage biomass losses through the dry season should be con- sidered when determining how much feed you need to ‘bank’ for later use and how much you may need to leave to achieve proper residual dry matter levels for the new rainy season.” The complete studywas published this year in volume 76 of Range Ecology andManagement. Larsenwrote a summary in the Livestock, Range andWatershedManagement newsletter for San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara andMonterey Counties (cesanluisobispo.ucanr.edu/ newsletters/Livestock-_Range-_Watershed-_Oaks89681.pdf ). (Bob Johnson is a reporter in Sacramento. He may be contacted at bjohn11135@gmail.com.) August 25, 2021 Ag Alert 19
9± ACRES – Bing cherry orchard. Great location for custom home 11± ACRES – Cabernet vineyard on wire, planted in 2001. Contracted 13± ACRES – Primitivo Zinfandel with contract. 3 parcels. West Side Lodi 15± ACRES – Bungalow style home on 10± acres with Old Vine Zin. 20± ACRES – Syrah vineyard located just east of Highway 99 20± ACRES – Slightly sloped farm ground. Build your dream home & plant an orchard 24± ACRES – Over 1,500± ft of Mokelumne River frontage. Great soils for planting 36± ACRES – Chardonnay & Zin. Small farm house. West Side Lodi. 40± ACRES – Zinfandel vineyard with large 3,850± sq. ft. shop 58± ACRES – Home and vineyard overlooking the Mokelumne River 58± ACRES – Income producing Bing cherries and Pinot Grigio grapes 60± ACRES – Located in the Clarksburg Ava, planted to Alfalfa 79± ACRES – Cattle ranch located east of Lodi with 2 houses 79± ACRES – Located in the Borden Ranch AVA. Plant an orchard or vineyard 87± ACRES – With 40± acres dry farmed for hay with quick access to Hwy 99 89± ACRES – Bare land slated for residential development. Hwy 99 frontage. 100± ACRES – Winery & vineyard w/tasting rm, tank storage, boat dock & more 104± ACRES – Multiple homesites with valley views. Minutes from Camanche 166± ACRES – Multi-varietal vineyard with Consumnes River frontage 166± ACRES – Located in Clarksburg, currently planted to Alfalfa and Dichondra 350± ACRES – Irrigated pasture with beautiful home, horse & hay barn and shop 391± ACRES – Multi-varietal vineyard with contracts in place. Clarksburg AVA 408± ACRES – 3 parcels. Large reservoir. Fenced for cattle. Shop. Valley Springs 881± ACRES – Irrigated pasture in Dixon, located in the North DeltaWater Agency
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