Ranchers: Rainfall offers ‘glimmer of hope’

Although the weekend storm brought less rain than expected – .35 inches in most parts of Gilroy and Morgan Hill, according to National Weather Service statistics – the recent wet conditions have provided a “glimmer of hope” for area ranchers.
“I can see the effects already,” said President Justin Fields of the Santa Clara County Cattleman’s Association. “Some of the grass that sprouted earlier (in the season) but died back has perked up. You can see a hint of green in places.”
However, Fields said he was “a little disappointed” at the second storm system over the weekend, which fell short of the anticipated 1 to 2 inches that was originally predicted. The same weekend storm tallied 20 inches of rainfall on Mount Tam in Marin County, but measured in at a little more than 3 inches in downtown San Francisco.
Fields added that as long as it does not get “too cold or too windy” in the upcoming days, the grass will continue to grow and not get dried out again.
According to NWS forecaster Steve Anderson, Gilroy received .95 inches of rainfall so far this month after only .05 inches in January, totaling 1 inch for 2014.
For the entire 2013 calendar year, Gilroy had a historic low of 1.45 inches of rainfall.
“We got something. I was hoping to get maybe 3 inches out of the whole thing. That would’ve really got things going pretty well,” said Fields. “We’re just going to have to wait and see. A half inch or three-fourths of inch of rain is enough to start sprouting grass…we’re going to definitely need some follow up.”
But according to Anderson, the forecast for the next seven days is not going to cooperate. He predicts “some clouds, fog and drizzle but no real rain.” Anderson said a storm is coming in, but will be pushed way to the north near the California-Oregon border.
Manager Janet Burback of Tilton Ranch in Morgan Hill said “a little bit of sunshine” in the next few days is OK because the grass needs both rain and sunlight to grow. Too much of either is not ideal, since excessive rain washes everything away and drought conditions dry everything up.
“(The recent rain) is not going to change the plans that we had,” explained Burback, who continues to reduce her herd and truck her calves to the 101 Market in Aromas for sale. “It sugarcoated everything, but it’s not going to change what we planned…we’re selling our calves.”
The one saving grace has been the cattle market, where Fields and Burback said they are getting the same money for calves half the weight of those that sold last year. Over the summer, the market paid $1.50 per pound and now ranchers are getting anywhere from $2.35 to over $3 per pound, according to Fields.
“You’re just going to the market with them earlier,” Fields said. “If you can sell calves now four months ahead of time and get the same amount of money, it is going to help a lot hanging on to the main cow herd.”
Gilroy remains one of three cities in California classified as being in “severe” drought by the NWS, which updates those classifications every couple of weeks. The grading scale ranges from “abnormally dry,” to “moderate,” to “severe,” to “extreme,” to “exceptional” drought designations.
On Monday, there were two weather-related single-vehicle accidents in the area, according to Officer Herb Kellogg of the California Highway Patrol. One was a spin-out near Mt. Madonna in Gilroy, in which the driver suffered non-life threatening injuries and was transported to the hospital. In the second, a vehicle drove off the roadway on Highway 152 between Whitehurst Road and Sprig Lake. That driver was taken to the hospital for precautionary reasons, according to Kellogg.
• 1.45 – Total rainfall for Gilroy in 2013, a historic low
• 0.05 inches – Total rainfall in January
• 0.95 inches – Total rainfall so far in February
• 1 inch – Total rainfall so far in 2014
Data provided by the National Weather Service