Drought Forcing Ranchers to Sell Livestock

Sonoma County's rolling hills may be emerald green right now, but the region is still in "extreme drought," per the U.S. Drought Monitor.

The ongoing drought is making it harder for California ranchers to provide water for livestock, forcing some to downsize their herds.

Loren Poncia the co-owner of Stemple Creek Ranch near Tomales in Marin County.  

"We sold quite a few mama cows and we moved a lot of cattle off of our ranches to other places further north in other parts of the state that had water," Poncia said.

He said last month's historic rain storm that deluged Northern California with several inches of rain has brought about a reprieve from downsizing herds.

"Now that it has rained and we are starting to have some stock water and we actually got a pretty decent start to the grass growing, we've brought most of those cattle back home."