Agricultural News
Curt Pate Recommends Producers Train Their Cattle for Effective Stockmanship
Fri, 17 Jul 2015 13:11:27 CDT
Livestock producers will train their horses to be ridden or their dogs to herd livestock or for hunting. One leading expert said producers also need to think about training their cattle. Curt Pate of Wyoming was in Stillwater in April. He was training folks about effective stockmanship. In this best of edition of the Beef Buzz, he shares one of the ways to achieve effective stockmanship is to develop that relationship with livestock by helping them understand their expectations. Pate said that is the key in the whole process of training animals.
"So, the thought and concept for horses and dogs is always the better trained they are, the better they work, but we don't think about training our cattle, the most important things we have for making us money, we don't think about training them to go up a chute, on a truck, how to stand calmly in a pen, how to be sorted," Pate said. "If we can train them to do those things or get ready to do them, then this abuse stuff and the cattle handling it all becomes a nonissue, now we are looking at a performance."
For some animal rights activists, it won't matter how livestock producers handle their stock as they dislike it all. As Pate looks to engage in a conversation with an activist, he goes into the situation by evaluating their behavior, similar to reading cattle.
"That tells me what to do, with people that are animal activists I try to read 'em," Pate said. "If they are genuine and they really want what's best for animals, I am going to go talk to them and I'm going to work with 'em."
If these individuals are on the fight, like a wild rodeo bull, Pate said would get out of the pen and leave them alone. He said he won't make any mistakes and waste his time on them. If these individuals are about improving the lives of animals like most agricultural producers, then he said they can find common ground.
Radio Oklahoma Network Farm Director Ron Hays caught up with Pate in Stillwater. Click or tap on the LISTENBAR below to listen to this best of edition of the Beef Buzz.
Pate presented last week at the Oklahoma State University' s Totusek Arena. In looking at working cattle horseback or on foot, Pate said producers just have to honest with their abilities to work cattle. If producers start in the pasture on horseback, then its good to continue working them horseback in the correl. Pate said that way the cattle don't make a transition with their flight zone. Otherwise handlers will have to take some time acclimating those cattle to those on individuals on foot. Pate said he likes to have his cattle where they will work well by foot and on horseback.
This is the third part of Curt Pate on "Cattle Handling. Part one was on "Effective Stockmanship" - Click here to read or listen to this feature. Part two was on "Realistic Expectations for Producers, Consumers and Cattle" - Click here to read or listen to this feature.
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Network- but is also a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR below for today's show- and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
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