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The Importance of Being Earnest About Low Stress Handling
Most people I have met would say they handle their livestock in a low stress manner. What this actually means varies from person to person. To me, if you are a successful handler, you are able to turn your animals to the right, turn them to the left, slow them down, speed them up, and stop them. If you are real good, you can spot them in one place and they will stay. I am still working on being real good! The herd of cows I currently work with will turn both directions and change speed when given the proper signal. The other day the economic benefit of being able to handle a herd in this manner became very apparent.
For the last two and a half years I have been working on a ranch where we experience frequent chinooks. I love chinooks because the grass we stockpiled during the summer/fall becomes bare and we can go back to grazing. The problem with chinooks, however, is that there is a lot of water lying around that turns to ice when the temperature drops again. Travel becomes treacherous for human and beast.
The other da
I’m awed at your skill.
Thank you Curt. My hope in sharing this experience, though, is not to highlight my skills. The point I am trying to make is how economically important it is for producers to learns those skills as well. To me it is no different than training your pet. The better your pet is trained, the more places you can take that pet.