Chico State Beef Unit

1 Angus bull left for sale. Don’t let him being the last pick scare you, he’s stout, big topped and sound traveling. 2 red baldies left as well.

Starting to feel and look like fall around here.

Next introduction is Maira Gonzalez. My name is Maira Gonzalez and I am a senior this year at Chico State, and majoring in Animal Science with a minor in Agric...ulture. I grew up as a musician; I started playing the saxophone when I was 10 years old and joined my brothers band. To this day I still perform on weekends at events. My interest of working with animals started with my Dad’s small sheep herd that we had up by Butte Valley, along with a few horses. I’ve always loved working and being around animals, which kept my interest growing as I got more opportunities to work around livestock. I spend any weekend I can with my horse Flash and my dogs and go trail riding. This is my second semester at the beef unit and it has truly been an incredible learning experience that has expanded my interest of working with cattle. I plan to continue my educational path after graduation and become an Ultrasound Techinician for livestock. Maira is always willing to help out around here whenever she can.She also always has a great sense of humor and positive attitude constantly jumps in to learn new things.

Next up is Maddie Pitto. My name is Maddie Pitto and I am an Ag Business major currently in my sophomore year at Chico State. I grew up on a commercial cow calf operation in Dixon, California where I have worked with cattle my whole life. I got most of my experience working at home, but was also involved in FFA for all four years of high school where I competed on the horse judging team. In my free time, I really enjoy swimming. I have been on a swim team for most of my life... and make sure to still incorporate that into my college routine, alongside the beef unit I started here last spring and have loved working at the farm and getting to know everyone! I hope to continue in the industry in some capacity after graduation as well. Maddie is one of the newest members of the beef unit crew, but has not wasted any time learning her way around here and helping out any chance she gets. We are excited to have her as part of the crew.

The first of this weeks introductions is Hunter Ortiz. My name is Hunter Ortiz, I am in my senior year here at Chico State and am majoring in Animal Science. I transferred here from Butte College in 2019 and have been working at the Chico State Beef Unit ever since. I grew up on my family’s commercial cattle operation outside of Williams, California where I began to gain knowledge on the cattle production process. Growing up I was also a part of the local 4-H and FFA chapters in which I raised a steer every year for the Colusa County Fair. My ultimate goal is to study ethology (animal behavior) either within a US National Park or on a global scale. Hunter brings a great work ethic, positive attitude, and some mad backhoe skills to the beef unit.

Next up for our student employee introductions is Reed Pritchard. My name is Reed Pritchard and I’m a senior here at Chico State. I’m a transfer student from Shasta college and I’ve been living and working on the Chico State Farm for a year now. I was raised on a commercial range operation in Tehama county where I began my experience around cattle. I am also an agriculture education major and I plan on entering the credential program through Chico State at the start of the fall semester in 2021. I am hoping to remain in the state of California to teach range and forestry sciences along with ag mechanics and fabrication all at the high school level. Reed comes to the beef unit with a wealth of knowledge and some awesome welding skills . Reed spent the summer here taking care of the unit and did a great job.

We are excited for our beef unit student employees to introduce themselves over the next couple weeks. First up is Julie Brown, our student Herdsman. My name is Julie Brown, I am a senior this year, and am the Chico State Beef Unit’s Student Herdsman. My love for the beef industry started from a very young age. I was born and raised in Potter Valley, CA on a seed stock Angus and Hereford ranch. At the age of eight my sister and I began to build our own herd of registered Angu...s and Maintainer cattle that we show all over Northern California. After graduation I plan to continue to be involved in the beef industry and start my career as an Agriculture Land Appraiser. My hope is that I will be able to aid the local farmers and ranchers in the successes of their operations. Julie has worked at the beef unit for 3 years and has done a great job at stepping up into the student herdsman position. Julie Brown

The students have been busy with fall cattle work. This past week we freeze branded heifers, moved weaned steer calves out to pasture, and hauled cull cows to Orland Livestock Commission Yard. Photos by Haley Dancer.

Still some bulls available. Check out some bull videos we posted yesterday.

#G106 is a son of Baldridge Bronc. He’s negative for BW and 105 for his YW estimate. He’s huge topped, wide pinned, and big middled.