The San Benito County Weed Management Area is hosting the 16 Annual Continuing Education Seminar for Ranchers on Thursday, December 7 at the Veterans Memorial Building in Hollister. The seminar is a free event and ranchers are encouraged to bring weeds from their property to have them identified by a botanist.
Several rangeland weed topics will be discussed including practices and perspectives on management, along with the latest information on the newest invasive plants in the area. UC Cooperative Extension Wildlife Specialist Roger Baldwin will be discussing strategies for effective ground squirrel control. Attendees will also hear from Dr. Charlie Tobias DVM regarding cattle health.
Devii Rao is a Livestock and Natural Resources Advisor with UC Cooperative Extension, covering San Benito, Monterey, and Santa Cruz Counties. She will be covering the management of weed invaders such as Yellow Star Thistle, Purple Star Thistle, Tocalote, and Milk Thistle.
San Benito County Agricultural Biologist and Inspector Ken Griffin will be discussing permitting requirements and reporting pesticide use for common ranch pesticides. Other presentations will cover smoke management programs and burn permits, along with CAL FIRE’s cost-share vegetation management program.
The Continuing Education Seminar for Ranchers has been approved by the Department of Pesticide Regulation for 2.5 hours of pesticide continuing education credit, including one hour of Laws and Regulations.