Cattle Operations-Conservation Grazing
H&N Enterprises currently manages grazing on over 14,368 acres of rangeland including 3,800 acres of rangelands in Conservation Easements and a mix of Private and Public entities.
H&N prides itself on our progressive land management practices which enable us to monitor and manage the land more sustainably. Our core principal and primary strategy utilizes an adaptive management philosophy to achieve sustainable operations. Year to year mother nature is not the same and we have to adapt to what works best for the land. We balance habitat goals and fuel reduction to raise quality beef. Our goal is be exceptional stewards of the land to pass healthy rangelands and habitats to future generations.
Our current herd is comprised of two distinct breeding programs. Genetics are the base of a strong herd. We source our sires from black Angus that are selected for superior performance traits, ensuring our cows and calves meet our production and environmental needs. Our bay area herd management is the breeding stock for all our operations. Heifers produced from this operation will supply breeding stock for our expanded operation including our Wygu Program with Snake River Farms.
Our Wygu Operation is primarily focused on our ranches in Northern California in Glenn, Tehama and Siskiyou Counties. We take our home raised cows and breed them into the Snake River Farms Program. These genetics provide superior marbling and the finished product sold through the Snake River Farms
In addition to the Cattle Operations we farm and grow alfalfa and grain crops on the ranches in Northern California in Siskiyou County.
Conservation Grazing
H&N Enterprises has substantial experience using livestock grazing as an essential management tool within formal resource management plans, conservation easements, and mitigation areas across California.
H&N utilizes adaptive management strategies, primarily employing the following cost-effective grazing methods to manage vegetation:
-
Flash Grazing and Rotational Systems: The company uses year-round or seasonal rotational grazing systems and employs "flash grazing in enclosures" at appropriate times when the soil is not saturated to "effectively reduce vegetation heights". Herds are actively managed and rotated once solid forage production begins, typically between the end of January and mid-May.
-
Observed Results: This management strategy ensures the careful control of vegetation required by Habitat Management and Monitoring Plans (HMMPs). Specifically, reducing "tall standing biomass" benefits species like the California Tiger Salamander (CTS) and San Joaquin kit fox (SJKF), as these species thrive in grasslands with short to moderate vegetation heights.
Additional Measures and Tools
Additional cost-effective measures implemented by H&N to control grazing pressure and vegetation utilization include strategic placement of water and supplements, minimizing the need for extensive infrastructure:
-
Strategic Supplement Placement: H&N utilizes protein, mineral, and salt blocks as a tool to manipulate grazing pressures in historically undergrazed areas, continuously moving the block locations across the easement. This is noted as an easier practice because it does not involve infrastructure.
-
Observed Results: Research shows that placing low moisture molasses blocks in steeper areas far from water increased forage use by 14% at distances up to 600m from the supplement in foothill rangeland.
-
Strategic Water Trough Placement: As an effective tool for managing forage utilization, H&N has successfully designed and installed multiple water systems. Troughs are generally placed on drier ridgelines that historically see minimal forage utilization.
-
Observed Results: By implementing water infrastructure in these underutilized areas, H&N has been "very successful in drawing livestock away from sensitive habitats".
-
Infrastructure Design: Rotational fencing and extensive water systems are designed to distribute forage utilization away from sensitive riparian habitats. Ponds are also fenced to allow cattle access to a portion of the pond, which helps shorten vegetation and create turbidity, potentially benefiting species like the California Tiger Salamander.
Hay Production
In the Shadow of Mount Shasta there is a balance between nature and man. This is where we produce our hay crops.
-
Alfalfa
-
Triticale
-
Grass Mix
-
Big Bales
-
Small Bales