Alan Bower, arbower@ucdavis.edu, arrived May 7, 2007 to begin his term as Livestock and Natural Resources Advisor for the Cooperative Extension office.

The Livestock and Range Management Program focuses on efforts to keep livestock and rangeland healthy and productive. 

Fly Ash

Fly ash is a by product of wood cogenerating plants. Fly ash is the material that is washed down from the inside of the smoke stacks at the power plants. In the past it was taken to landfills for disposal. Fly ash contains small amounts of nutrients that can be utilized by growing plants. In recent years it has been taken to farms and ranches where it is either top dressed on pasture (spread over the top) or incorporated (plowed into the soil). It can act as a liming agent when the soil is acid. Fly ash ncorporated into the soil makes it easier to farm the next time the field is tilled. Lime mud is another by product from the manufacturing of paper. It has gone to the landfill, but it is now being looked at as a soil liming material. Lime mud has a calcium carbonate equivalent of 92%.

Water Quality

There has been a lot of interest at the national level in raising water quality standards. This has resulted in legislation and court order edicts stating that the quality of our rivers and streams must be improved. Livestock owners are being encouraged to attend Ranch Water Quality Shortcourses and/or the Environmental Stewardship Shortcourses to inform them about water quality laws and regulations and how they can bring their operations into compliance. Contact Gary Markegard (e-mail: ggmarkegard@ucdavis.edu> for course schedule.

Pastures and Rangeland

Humboldt County has some of the most productive pastures and rangeland in the United States due to our temperate climate, fertile soils, and abundant rainfall. Pasture production can be improved by using improved varieties of grass and clover and by fertilizing. It is important to control weeds to get maximum production from the pastures. Contact Gary Markegard for advise on your pasture and range management.

Invasive Plant Species

Invasive plants are one of the greatest threats to croplands, rangelands, aquatic areas, and wildlands in the United States. They degrade the productivity and biological diversity of all ecosystems. The problem increases each year as new species are introduced and established. The sixteen most harmful weeds in Humbodlt County include: Scotch broom (Cytisus scoparius), Pampas grass (Cortaderia jubata), gorse (Ulex Europaea), Himalaya berry (Rubus discolor), English ivy (Hedera helix), Cape ivy (Delairia odorata), European beachgrass (Ammophila arenaria), Ice plant (Carpobrotus edulis), yellow bush lupine (Lupinus arboreus), yellow star thistle (Centaurea solstitialis), spotted & diffuse knapweed (Centaurea maculosa & Centaurea diffusa), bull & Canada thistle (Cirsium Vulgare & Cirsium arvense), common reed (Phragmites australis), Spanish heath (Erica lusitanica), and Chilean cordgrass (Spartina densiflora). There is more information about weeds from the University of California at Davis; their website is http://wric.ucdavis.edu/