“Let’s change something”
by Chris Reinhardt, feedlot specialist
Ranchers are as independent thinkers and actors as any group of people in America—it’s perhaps their defining trait. But ranchers have also proven to America’s beef consumers that The Beef Industry can make positive changes when those changes are mutually determined to be in the best interest of the cattle and the product we produce.
Moving injections from the top butt to the neck was a “no-brainer”—except that we ruined 22% of our top butts annually since the invention of the needle and syringe. That means we were not using our brains, and that SOMEBODY, finally, had to engage their brain to get the rest of us to change something that had always been done. We all agree it’s better now.
It’s been said that we should run our operation like there’s a busload of 3rd graders coming from town for a tour. What are you doing today that you’d rather your consumers not know about? If there’s anything, it needs to change and go away. The easiest way to take ammo out of your enemy’s weapon is by not giving it to them in the first place.
It’s time to admit and identify those things that we do poorly as an industry, seek out ways to improve those practices, make the hard changes on our own operations, and condemn those who refuse to change. This should be as easy and as important to us as moving the injections to the neck and sub-Q.
Sorting sticks, rattle-paddles, and electric prods are tools, not weapons. If we’re using contact on the cattle more than 5% of the time, something is wrong with our handling, our facilities, or both. Cattle will flow through a functional, well-designed facility based on the handler’s body position. If the cattle don’t know where you want them to go, yelling or prodding only increases their confusion and may lead to dangerous situations. It’s also been said, “The cattle are never wrong.” They’re designed, as prey animals, to go where the handler asks them to go, if the message is clear and the escape path is obvious. If they don’t go, it’s because something is wrong with the handler’s message, the facilities, or both.
We should constantly be in the process of assessing our operations with respect to cattle flow and handling. If we’ve got more than 5% of cattle jumping, running, slipping or falling when coming out of the chute, there is something wrong with the facilities, the handling, or both. If the result of a processing event is fear, discomfort, and confusion on the part of the cattle, we can be fairly certain, the next time we process these animals will be harder, not easier. Let’s strive to always get better.
Venturing to tell cattle people how to more effectively handle cattle is a risky proposition, but fortune favors the bold. 30 years ago we just knew that injecting in the top butt was ok; now our jaw drops if we see someone inject into that area. Dogma can change. When the majority of the beef industry sees and admits the errors of our ways, we can make tremendous change.