What's good for livestock is also good for ranchers, Dr. Temple Grandin tells beef meeting in Texas Panhandle

Dr. Temple Grandin spoke at the 2019 Beef Conference in
Canadian, Tex. (Photo by Laurie Ezzell Brown, The Canadian Record)

Cattle ranchers in the Texas Panhandle got a treat last week when Dr. Temple Grandin, "a pioneer in improving the handling and welfare of farm animals," spoke at the annual Beef Conference in Hemphill County, Cathy Ricketts reports for The Canadian Record, the local weekly. Her story is an example of how a trade-group conference can offer an opportunity to produce journalism that reveals interesting aspects of an industry that many people may understand only superficially.

"It was inspirational and informative for anyone—not just ranchers and those in the cattle-raising and processing industries," Ricketts writes. "Dr. Grandin . . . is said to be able to 'think like a cow.' Her unique perspective has opened wide the door to how animals respond to stress. Her research from more than 40 years ago proved that agitated cattle produce lower weight gains." She is a professor of animal science at Colorado State University and an internationally known expert on livestock welfare.

Grandin’s talk, “Stress-free Cattle Handling,” argued that what's good for livestock is also good for livestock producers. Ricketts paraphrases her: "If an animal becomes scared or excited, it takes a 20-30 minutes to calm them down again. If you yell at an animal, they know you are mad at them. Animals can be frightened by sudden novelty, especially in unfamiliar environments. It is important to have them habituated to different people, different vehicles, what’s it’s like to hear speakers, and to be in noisier areas. The signs for fearful and upset cattle are heads up, ears pinned back, pooping, tail twitching, and when you see eye white. . . . Electric prods are only for extreme circumstances when an animal refuses to move; they are never to be used as a primary driving tool. Waiting for cattle to process something like a puddle at a gate can take time, but if you don’t, you could spend the rest of the day chasing them around.

“Good handling takes more walking,” and means working with smaller groups of cattle, Grandin said. She "emphasized the flight zone, the animal’s safety zone," Ricketts writes, quoting her: “It’s almost like a force field, and is determined by genetics and previous experience. Cattle who see people every day have a smaller flight zone.”

On larger issues, Grandin said the meat-production system has “pushed biology too hard.” Ricketts paraphrases: "When an animal is bred just for meat, other issues, such as abnormal leg confirmation, can result. There has been a problem with livers that come apart when cattle are fed substandard rations. Over-selection for traits is detrimental, she says, with the fact that manipulating genetics often comes with trade-offs.

“If an animal is a country, and I’ve got a national budget, and I just select them for the economy— meat, milk—I’ve got nothing left for bones, that’s infrastructure, the heart. I now run a Mack truck on a motorcycle engine ... then I’ve shortchanged the military, that’s the immune function, to fight disease,” Grandin said. She "stressed being aware of the animal’s overall condition: the coat, presence of ammonia or dirt, lameness, and sores," Ricketts reports. "One big indicator of stress is an animal breathing with their mouth open. She urged the audience to make sure 'to have good animal welfare'."