Disaster Preparedness For Livestock Operations

This page also available in english.
Event Date
Febrero 02, 2020

With wildfires and other natural disasters becoming more common, disaster preparedness is an important part of running a sustainable livestock operation. Join the CCOF Foundation for a webinar that highlights best management practices that organic livestock operations can take to be prepared in the event of a disaster. This webinar will also review USDA risk management and disaster assistance programs that aid farmers and ranchers in recovering from a disaster after it has occurred.

Our first speaker, Dr. Stephanie Larson, director Sonoma County University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE), will discuss best management practices for livestock producers to implement to prepare for the next disaster. These practices include prescribed grazing and burning, brush removal, tree thinning and overall vegetation management. She will highlight methodologies for producers to use in order to prioritize which practice to use and where to implement it; and how to connect with funding sources. Dr. Larson will also discuss current efforts, in partnership with the Sonoma County Animal Control, to finalize a comprehensive disaster evacuation plan for livestock producers on California’s North Coast, including obtaining access to livestock during disasters.  

In the second half of the webinar, learn about risk management and disaster assistance programs run through the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA). Sandra Becker, Agricultural Program Specialist from the FSA office in Davis, California, will highlight FSA disaster assistance programs that may apply to livestock operations such as the Non-Insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP), Livestock indemnity Program (LIP), and Livestock Forage Program (LFP). She will review the basics of each program including eligibility requirements and application deadlines. 

About Our Speakers

Dr. Stephanie Larson, is the director at University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) in Sonoma County.

Dr. Larson promotes research and extension programs in Sonoma County, along with being the Livestock and Range Management Advisor in Sonoma and Marin Counties. She addresses climate change, food production, and ecological and economical management of working landscapes in Sonoma and Marin Counties. Dr. Larson assists local livestock producers to improve production and marketing of livestock; and conducts research in the wise stewardship of lands, humane methods of predator control, and sustainable agriculture for the livestock industry. Her program documents and integrates the ecosystem services provided by rangelands, highlighting the benefits of using grazing animals as tools to address vegetation management reduced fire fuels, improved habitat, and increased forage production. She is a licensed certified rangeland manager; she brings public and private landowners and managers together to make science-based decisions and polices to manage working landscapes for the benefit of all users. 

Sandra Becker serves as an agricultural program specialist with the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA). She spent many years of her youth on a cattle ranch in Siskiyou County, California where she developed her appreciation and understanding for the value and importance of agriculture. Becker has been with FSA for over 12 years, first in northern Idaho, and for the past 5 years in Davis, California. She is responsible for managing several federal disaster programs for the California geographic area. 

About Our Partners

California FarmLink links independent farmers and ranchers to the land and financing they need for a sustainable future.

USDA RMA: This webinar is funded in partnership by USDA, Risk Management Agency (RMA), under award number RMRM18RMEPP522C004.