One major result of the pandemic has been to bring more people into parks and public lands for hiking, biking and other recreational activities. In areas like California’s East Bay Regional Parks – a San Francisco Bay Area park system totaling more than 120,000 acres where about 65% of the land is grazed by livestock – visitors might see goats, sheep and, most likely, cattle.
Those encounters with animals (or their manure) represent a prime opportunity for members of the public to learn about agriculture and the ecological benefits of rangelands, says Larry Forero, a University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) livestock and natural resources adviser.
“In addition to supporting the raising of meat and other byproducts, rangelands provide a variety of ecosystem services, including vegetation and watershed management, fire fuel control and, increasingly, management of habitat for rare and endangered species,” Forero explains, noting that working rangelands cover around 40% of California’s land area.
As livestock grazing (mostly by beef cattle) constitutes a significant portion of land use across the state, Forero – along with fellow UCCE advisers Sheila Barry and Stephanie Larson – recently authored a UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UCANR) publication summarizing the mechanics of cattle production.
“Beef Cattle on California Annual Grasslands: Production Cycle and Economics,” published in October 2021 and available as a free download on the UC ANR catalog, describes the seasonal phases of cattle production and the factors that impact ranchers’ financial calculations and management decisions.
A new UC ANR publication helps park guides and docents explain the movement of cattle on lands like the East Bay Regional Parks in San Francisco. Photo by Sheila Barry.“This concise publication walks through annual stock flows and calendar of operations and gives tables for estimating costs, return over cash and gross income under various scenarios,” says Forero.
By covering care practices, infrastructure needs, grazing management and economics, Forero says the publication offers a succinct overview of beef cattle production and rangeland use for land managers, decision-makers and the park interpreters (such as docents and guides) who educate visitors as well as the interested public.
“Even if only a relatively small percentage of parkgoers are interested, you still touch a lot of people with a document like this,” says Forero.
He says he hopes park signage and QR codes will direct visitors to the publication for more information about the cattle and their seasonal movements.
“People often wonder where the cattle go when they leave the park and when they will return,” co-author Sheila Barry says. “The cattle may go to grass or feedyards in other places in California or even out of state.”
But, as this new publication explains, the cattle production cycle turns over anew.
“There will be more cattle next fall, I promise,” Barry says.
