Over 160 high school students enrolled in FFA and 4-H programs across four counties spent the day at UC SFREC on October 7th, exploring key topics related to beef cattle and rangeland management.

Assembly member James Gallagher, who has strong ties to local agriculture in the Sacramento Valley, kicked off the day with a forward looking key-note address that highlighted the important role the current generation of students will play in addressing California's agricultural and natural resource needs over the coming decades.  

Following this address the students rotated through five hands-on learning demonstrations developed by UC researchers that explored major topics in beef cattle and rangeland management.   Dr. Bret McNabb, DVM from the UC Davis Large Animal Clinic, discussed evaluation of health issues in beef cattle with Dr. Myra Blanchard from the UC Davis College of Veterinary Medicine following up by highlighting ongoing vaccine research for Epizootic Bovine Abortion.  Dr. Jim Oltjen from UC Davis Department of Animal Science discussed the use of technology in managing cattle and pasture while UC SFREC staff member Dan Macon led students through a hands-on demonstration exploring the principle of animal behavior as it relates to low stress livestock handling.   In the 5^th module, Roger Ingram, UCCE advisor in Placer/Nevada/Yuba & Sutter counties demonstrated principles related to dryland and irrigated pasture management.  

Sponsors including Robinson Ranch, Farm Credit West and Yuba-Sutter Farm Bureau and the time donated by FFA leaders and UC staff were instrumental in making the second year of this annual event a major success and a great opportunity for students to interact with ongoing research led by UC.