Grazing Continued from Page 11
conditions—including sustained freezing rain—combined to put Mundell’s herd of mixed-Angus cattle in jeopardy. By mid- June, he was still collecting displaced cattle from deep in the rangeland’s canyon and from neighbors’ herds. Yet the aftermath of the storms gave rise to lush fields for grazing, after prolonged drought dried pastures and drove up feed costs for California ranchers. “I hope it’s another wet year next year,” said Monterey County cattle rancher Mark Farr. “I could get used to years like last year. The water for grass and cattle is a nice sight to see.” Farr oversees a flexible, rotational graz- ing program at Corral de Tierra Cattle Co., which has 150 Angus cattle on 4,000 acres of rangeland in the Arroyo Seco region in south Monterey County. He said this year’s storms under- scored the importance of sustainable grazing practices. “Through rotational grazing,” Farr said, “we feel our land has a better op- portunity to catch the moisture that falls, stay growing and fertile longer during drought and provide a more diverse eco- system for our cattle and the wildlife that call our ranch home.” Gilgert said ranchers are buying into proactive practices that integrate native plants and use rotational grazing to protect against soil erosion over time. “If you lose the thickness of a dime over
Ranch manager for the Gabilan Cattle Co. says strategic grazing practices have helped regrow native plants and grasses on its coastal property.
an acre, you lose 5 to 10 tons of topsoil,” said Gilgert, adding there is new urgency to safeguarding that topsoil. If not, he said, cattle production can wither, and “all of a sudden, that ranch that could sell 400 calves a year sells 200.” Increasing organic matter in the soil by just 1% on cattle ranches results in holding an additional 13,000 to 22,000 gallons of water per acre each year, Gilgert said. “For every 20 to 25 acres, (ranchers) would hold an acre-foot of water more in
the soil profile,” he said. “Everybody talks about building a reservoir, but nobody talks about soil as a reservoir.” Mundell and Farr partner with various conservation agencies on land manage- ment policies. Gabilan Cattle Co. works with or- ganizations including The Nature Conservancy and California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Corral de Tierra Cattle Co. is a member of California Rangeland Conservation Coalition and
Big Sur Land Trust. The ranchers say dedicated steps toward sustainable land practices are paying off. “It’s a slow process trying to build resilient landscapes,” Mundell said. “Anything we can do to prepare for un- predictable weather events is money and time well spent.” (Caitlin Fillmore is a reporter in Monterey County. She may be contacted at cslhfillmore@gmail.com.)
CIMIS REPORT | www.cimis.water.ca.gov
CALIFORNIA IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM
For the week of July 20 - July 26, 2023 ETO (INCHES/WEEK)
YEAR
3.0
THIS YEAR
2.5
LAST YEAR AVERAGE YEAR
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
MACDOEL II (236)
BIGGS (244)
DAVIS (06)
MANTECA (70)
FRESNO (80)
SALINAS-SOUTH (214)
FIVE POINTS (2)
SHAFTER (5)
IMPERIAL (87)
THIS YEAR LAST YEAR AVG. YEAR % FROM AVG.
1.89 1.95 1.77 7
1.79 1.79 1.76 2
1.89 1.84 1.84 2
1.85 1.96 1.78 4
2.08 2.22 1.97 5
1.50 1.43 1.33 11
2.00 2.21 2.03 0
1.95 2.17 1.82 6
2.08 1.99 2.00 3
W eekly reference evapotranspiration (ETo) is the rate of water use (evapotranspiration—the sum of soil evaporation and crop transpiration) for healthy pasture grass. Multiplying ETo by the appropriate “crop coefficient” gives estimates of the ET for other crops. For example, assume ETo on June 15 is 0.267 inches and the crop coefficient for corn on that day is 1.1. Multiplying ETo by the coefficient (0.26 inches x 1.1) results in a corn ET of 0.29 inches. This
information is useful in determining the amount and timing of irriga- tion water. Contact Richard Snyder, UC Davis, for information on coefficients, 530-752-4628. The 10 graphs provide weekly ETo rates for selected areas for average year, last year and this year. The ETo information is provided by the California Irrigation Management Information System (CIMIS) of the California Department of Water Resources.
For information contact the DWR district office or DWR state headquarters:
SACRAMENTO HEADQUARTERS: 916-651-9679 • 916-651-7218
NORTHERN REGION: Red Bluff 530-529-7301
NORTH CENTRAL REGION: West Sacramento 916-376-9630
SOUTH CENTRAL REGION:
SOUTHERN REGION:
Fresno 559-230-3334
Glendale 818-500-1645 x247 or x243
12 Ag Alert August 2, 2023
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