ranchers

Small rural businesses, ranchers and farmers can learn how to access grants and loans to finance renewable energy systems and energy efficiency improvements at a workshop Feb. 6 in Carson City.

What commercial crops grow well in Nevada? How do successful niche growers throughout the Silver State make money on those crops? These and many other topics will surface when producers throughout Nevada gather at their local University of Nevada Cooperative Extension offices for the 2015 Great Ideas from Growers series.

Growers come together to discuss successes and failures to improve their businesses faster. Learn about growing in hoop houses, soil and fertilizing, site preparation, agritourism and more.

The Feb. 19-22 event will be the 13th Eagles & Ag, and is a combined effort of the Carson Valley Chamber of Commerce, UNR Cooperative Extension, The Nature Conservancy, Lahonton Audobon Society and Valley ranchers.

The 2015 version sees a few adjustments. For the first time ever, The Ranch & Eagle Tour & Luncheon will be offered on both Saturday and Sunday mornings.

University of Nevada Cooperative Extension is offering workshops Nov. 17 – 20 in Gardnerville, Yerington, Fallon and Lovelock for Nevada agricultural producers to help them plan for the possibilities of a fourth year of drought. “Agriculture in Times of Drought,” will give farmers and ranchers information on how to be resilient to variable weather in Nevada.

University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, in partnership with the Nevada Department of Agriculture, is offering a free workshop Nov. 13 to train people throughout the state how to properly handle and use pesticides. The workshop is meant for certified applicators and people who regularly handle pesticides as part of their jobs, such as farmers, ranchers, park employees and groundskeepers.

The inaugural Nevada Governor’s Conference on Agriculture will be Nov. 13 at the Atlantis Casino Resort and Spa in Reno, the Nevada Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday.

“I am pleased to announce the very first Nevada Governor’s Conference on Agriculture,” said Gov. Brian Sandoval. “Agriculture is one of Nevada’s leading industries, contributing more than $3 billion to the state’s economy. This includes our rich and diverse agricultural industries, from ranching and farming to all the associated businesses that keep these industries vibrant.”

Battle Mountain BLM District Manager Doug Furtado’s order of July 23 that ranchers remove their cattle from Mount Lewis has spurred the ranchers and their supporters to carry their fight to remove Furtado from office to Washington, D.C., via the Grass March and Cowboy Express.

Managing water in northern Nevada’s Truckee-Carson River System requires local communities to balance urban, agricultural and ecosystem needs. Changes in historical climate trends are increasingly expected to make this balancing act more challenging. A competitive grant totaling $3.8 million has been awarded to the University of Nevada, Reno and the Desert Research Institute in partnership with the U.S.

The Comstock History Center presents “One Is Silver, the Other Is Gold: Celebrating 25 Years of Nevada Folklife Apprenticeships” featuring 22 visual artists who have received grant support from the Nevada Arts Council as master or apprentice artists in a variety of folk traditions.

Each recognized master is encouraged to work with one or more dedicated apprentices so that their traditional art forms and personal contributions endure.

The NV 150 Fair at the Fuji Park Fairgrounds is just three weeks away. Those who shop in that area will have noticed that Fuji Park is undergoing quite the change with additional parking, grading, electrical upgrades and more to get ready for Carson City’s first fair.

RENO, Nev. (AP) — Federal land managers say a lawsuit by Nevada ranchers and others demanding acceleration of wild horse roundups doesn't pass legal muster, but even if it did, they don't have the money or the room at U.S. corrals to gather more mustangs.

RENO, Nev. (AP) — The Obama administration is launching an effort to accelerate protection of sage grouse along the California-Nevada line with $31 million in spending through 2024 to help ranchers and others improve habitat in what one top official says may be the best, last chance to keep the bi-state population off the list of threatened species.

A group of horseback riders who left from Elko on Memorial Day arrived Friday in Carson City to present Gov. Sandoval with a petition regarding the BLM and its position on grazing reductions on federal lands and the closure of an allotment in Lander County.

Sandoval met with about 40 ranchers and told them he would make sure their concerns were heard by top brass at the BLM. Many said they were concerned about ongoing allotment reductions throughout Nevada, including those in the Battle Mountain District.

RENO — The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has agreed to let ranchers continue grazing cattle and sheep on more than 300 square miles of Northern Nevada rangeland as long as lingering drought conditions don’t worsen.

Applications are being sought by the USDA from rural small businesses and agriculture producers looking to make energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy installations, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Monday. Up to $12.3 million in grants and $57.8 million in loan guarantees are available nationwide.

Here is this week's fishing report for rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada, northern California and the Sierra. This Saturday, April 26, 2014 is the opening day for fishing in most California waters. Remember to keep your fishing license in view, the thermos filled with coffee and tight lines all the way.

FALLON - Social media offers the best and worst examples of Internet marketing, and successful businesses know the rules.

Western Nevada College Specialty Crop Institute offers a Social Media Boot Camp for Farms & Ranches workshop, Saturday, April 26, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m., at WNC Fallon Campus, 160 Campus Way, Fallon. Cost is $25 for those registering by April 18, $35 afterward. Lunch is included.

With the 2014 drought looming, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension has partnered with other agencies to help Nevadans prepare for and cope with the drought. Today, Cooperative Extension launched its Living With Drought website, a one-stop shop where homeowners, gardeners, farmers, ranchers, natural resource managers and others can find information to help them respond to their various drought-related challenges.

An era comes to an end on April 1 when the Horizon Casino Resort on the south shore of Lake Tahoe closes for renovations.

The resort was the one time local showcase of Elvis Presley and Liberace when the casino operated as Del Webb's Sahara Tahoe.

With the 2014 drought looming, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension is offering workshops across the state this month and next to give Nevada agricultural producers, particularly alfalfa and grass hay producers, information to help them prepare for the drought. Topics will include water availability, recommended irrigation practices, insurance options and an outlook on prices. The first workshop will be March 20 in Fallon.

RENO, Nev. – University of Nevada Cooperative Extension and the Nevada Department of Agriculture will offer an Introduction to Food Safety in Horticultural Operations training, focusing on risk management and good agricultural practices March 11. The training will provide an introduction to on-farm food-safety practices related to fruit and vegetable production. Participants will learn principles of good agricultural and handling practices.

While the short-term forecast shows a change this week from the overall stubborn pattern of warm and dry conditions over the region, the drought for this part of the far west is severe and unless we get a lot of snow in the coming few weeks, we're going to face much more serious issues this coming summer.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated nine counties in Nevada as primary natural disaster areas due to the drought. The counties included are Lyon, Washoe, Churchill, Mineral, Lander, Pershing, Clark, Nye and Humboldt.

Farmers and ranchers in Carson City, Douglas and Storey counties as well as Esmeralda, Lincoln, White Pine, Elko and Eureka counties also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous.

RENO, Nev. – Beginning Jan. 13, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension will offer five “Great Ideas From Growers” sessions, where small farm producers from across the state can share their knowledge and experiences to help each other improve their businesses.

“This provides an opportunity for owners of small, specialized farms to learn from others’ experiences” said Extension Educator Holly Gatzke, who will lead the sessions.

Tractor Supply Company, (NASDAQ: TSCO) the largest retail farm and ranch supply store chain in the United States, today announced the opening of its first store in the State of Nevada, as a part of the Company’s expansion strategy into the Western region of the country.

Former U.S. Vice-President Al Gore said in his speech to scientists, elected officials, environmentalists, business leaders, fire department officials, students and others in the audience of the 2013 Lake Tahoe Summit, that what we’ve learned at Tahoe can help inform the rest of the world to protect their resources and communities.

The 2013 Edible Pedal is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 15

A guest post by Jill Stockton

The drought experienced this spring and summer has prompted the U.S. Small Business Administration to offer low-interest federal disaster loans to small, non-farm businesses in Carson City, Lyon County as well as Storey and Washoe counties.

These loans that must be applied for would offset economic losses because of reduced revenues caused by the drought experienced from May 20 to July 14, 2013, said Alfred E. Judd, director of SBA’s Disaster Field Operations Center ‑ West.

Here is this week's fishing report for rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada, Northern California and the Sierra. This report is for the week of May 8-14:

Here is the weekly fishing report for rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada, Northern California and the Sierra. This report is for the week of April 17-24. Opening Day for California stream fishing is Saturday, April 27.