Animal Abuse

I just finished watching the Mercy For Animals video depicting animal abuse on a Texas dairy farm, and was disgusted. This is by no means the norm in animal agriculture, and several questions were raised as the three minute video progressed.
First, if Mercy for Animals truly cared for animal welfare, why did they wait weeks, then release a video? Why didn't they immediately report the abuse to the proper officials, and end the abuse their undercover person/people witnessed? I know if I had seen some of those actions firsthand my immediate thought would have been making a positive change for those cattle, not producing a sensational video.
Second, as I just mentioned, what kind of Mercy for Animals person can stand there and participate in those actions? The one man with a video on him was speaking Spanish, and I wonder if he was paid off, or truly a member of this organization? Either way, if they were truly interested in the animal's welfare, there are a number of different actions that would have been far more beneficial to the actual animals than a video.
Third, the video ends with a solution - to practice vegetarianism, which will in no way end animal abuse. I would suggest a different solution - get to know farmers and ranchers and ask them questions. Learn about where your food comes from and the actual practices that are used by the vast majority of producers in the U.S. Go see them and their crops and livestock, I'm sure they would be happy to meet with you.
As a livestock producer it is extremely frustrating and sad to see these videos that are toted as common practices on farms and ranches. My family and every family I know put their animals first, regardless of weather, plans, events and other work. I encourage you to look at the entire picture and not take one sensational videos word for something - especially one where the so-called "merciful" people stood by, and possibly even participated in animal abuse simply to get footage.

You can find a number of ag-related links in this post that tell the true story of animal agriculture, and discuss the use of videos by animals welfare groups tell a false story about animal agriculture.

Crystal Cattle also did a post on this subject, and provided a number of links as well, you can check that out here.

Sassy's calf

Here is another cow of note for you. You can read about why I do these posts highlighting specific cows here.
This particular cow of mine makes the list for multiple reasons.

I only kept this cow as a replacement heifer because she is out of my first cow/show heifer, Sassy (I will have to find a picture of Sassy and get it on here for you guys), and ended up being the last heifer calf Sassy had. While not the best looking cow, and a little lighter, narrower and ganglier than her counterparts, being out of Sassy was enough to tip the scale in her favor when selecting my replacement heifers.
What a great decision that turned out to be! She grew up to be a gangly, long, lighter weight cow than our average. She isn't a show stopper on looks by any means. But, this lightweight cow weaned the second heaviest calf in our herd last year (I did a happy dance when I this happened).
She also produces heifer calves that are more of the type, looks wise, that I prefer. All in all she has been a great asset to my cowherd.
Now, this shouldn't surprise me, as her mother was also a small cow, weighing in at about 950 pounds. To give you a comparison, our average cow probably weighed about 1,100 pounds during the time Sassy was young.
Before EPD's, and some of the other newer selection tools, one thing that ranchers weighed a cow's production on was the weight of the calf she weaned. If she wasn't weaning half her body weight each year, she wasn't doing a good enough job. Some people still go by this measurement of production.
Well, little 950 pound Sassy would consistently wean 550 pound calves, and they would continue to grow and gain to mature sizes far exceeding her small stature. This cow represents the last of my herd directly derived from Sassy, and she also posts impressive production records.
So, she is a cow of note because of her pedigree, and the outstanding calves she produces!

Times Two

I read recently in a PETA magazine how all cows are anonymous to their heartless, rancher owners. That's not true, and these "cows of note" posts are my response, and show that we know our cattle individually, and can often differentiate between hundreds of black cows at a glance.
I show cows from my own, or my family's, herd, and explain what makes them unique.

This cow of note belongs to me. She is a cow of note for several reasons. But, the biggest reason is because she had twins as a first-calf heifer, and liked and raised both of them. She also bred back, and stayed in decent condition while raising twins.
Often, when cows have twins, especially if they have them as a heifer, they only like one. Not this cow, she happily raised her two calves, and would be paired up with both of them throughout the summer.
She is also a cow of note because her mother was my favorite cow, aka, another cow of note. I like crossbred cows, and this cow's mother was 1/2 Angus, 1/2 Gelbvieh. So, this girl is 3/4 Angus, 1/4 Gelbvieh.
She shows her Gelbvieh heritage, and I like that. She's moderate framed, obviously fertile, functional, has a great disposition, and is still feminine.
So, she's a cow of note because she's pretty, has good bloodlines, and is a great mother. I like her, which I guess is a good thing, since I own her.

Love and Economics

There is all this talk about how farmers and ranchers squeeze as much production out of our land and livestock as possible. Well, of course we do, and I'm proud of that fact.
There is nothing wrong with making cattle, in my case, perform better. To get more out of your available resources without sacrificing health and well being is called being progressive, not mean or awful or cruel.
There is this misconception that ranchers are heart-less, cruel factory producers of beef today who care about nothing but the buck. That's not true. We care about our livestock more than most people understand. However, raising beef is also our job, and it has to be economical.
It's impossible for me to explain the combination that is involved in making ranching profitable and loving what you do. People tend to not understand how you can love something that has to make you money. How you can love an animal you will send to slaughter to feed the world. Well, you can, and maybe you can't understand it if you don't live it, but it's the truth. We care beyond measurable means for our livestock, and we also understand and accept what their purpose is.
It's like the concept of loving your job, finding it fulfilling, and feeling like you make a difference in your day to day tasks. That's something a lot of people are looking for, or are grateful they've found. Now, what if you make money at this fulfilling job, is that okay? It's your job, so if you work hard and make money at your work, is that ethically acceptable to you?
If you think it is, then good. We have a job of feeding people, and we love our job. We realize it isn't for everyone, and we're fine with that. But, if we also work to make it economically viable (which it isn't always), what makes that so wrong?
Nothing.
We're all about the health, and continued improvement of our animals. If we don't take care of our land and animals, it will result in our demise. Not only are we responsible for this, we enjoy this aspect of our jobs. It's a rewarding challenge to make cattle gain more, to improve grass quality, or implement a better water system, without any negative impacts on any aspect of the ranch.
It's like having one boss who takes care of his employees, and provides them with what they need to succeed at their job. If he expects a great online presence, he provides up to date computers and software. He moves good employees up in his business, has initiatives to keep people with him and is an honest and good person to work for. He expects his people to work hard, but he takes care of them too. Then there's the boss who expects you to outperform all your competitors with decade-old computers, without enough help, and who never gives raises. Who has a mediocre at best, benefit plan, and who really doesn't know or care about individual employees. He doesn't know people's names, and his employee turnover rate is high.
Both are in the same area of business, and both want their companies to be the best in their given area, and enjoy what they do. Who would you rather work for? Who do you think will have the more successful company in the long run?
It's like this in ranching too. Our cows are like our employees, and our resources (grass, feed, health plans, water) are like the computers, raises, and benefits in this scenario. If we don't take care of our employees, and provide them with the resources they need to succeed, we will ultimately be our own demise. It's not that our cows would choose to not work for us as people can, it's that they physically wouldn't be able to do their job without the necessary things for success.
So, I'm like the boss who gives his employees everything they need to succeed, then expects them to perform. I want my cattle to be the best, and I expect it. But, I also care, and make sure they have all the tools. I have a health plan for them to keep them healthy, I provide grass and hay and cake and fresh water at all times, every day of the year, and I use genetics that will result in cattle that thrive in my environment. I'm available on nights, weekends and holidays, and I know almost every individual animal at a glance.
I'm tough, but fair. I move the good animals up in my company, and they become cows or bulls that are used to produce calves. Animals that don't meet the requirements for this line of work are used in other other ways. We feed these animals, or sell them to someone who has a need for them within their operation (business). Just like in any business, different companies have different needs, and some cattle may work great for one rancher, and not at all for another.
So, this increased performance in cattle you hear about is the economics side. We want to produce the most with what we have, just as any business owner wants to. But, also as with good business owners, we aren't willing to sacrifice the integrity of our quality employees to accomplish this. We realize our cattle are the key to our success. We care and provide for them in every way possible. Just as the good boss expects great things and continued performance out of his employees, but also genuinely cares about their individual needs and takes care of them.
It is possible to do both, and I am certainly not the only rancher like this. Almost all are - they love their animals, lifestyle and job, and make it an economical business too. If they don't they run the certain risk of losing everything they love, just like the boss who doesn't care for his business and employees does.
You have to care to be successful at ranching.

It must be so...

If you're a person who doesn't know about animal agriculture, you may search the Internet for information. That search may lead to places like the Humane Society of the United States, PETA, or other "pro-animal" (I use the term very loosely), a.k.a. anti-agriculture sites.
One of their most effective promotional tools are videos they post that show the alleged mistreatment of animals by farmers and ranchers. Well, I'm here to tell you those videos hit so far away from reality, you can't even see reality from them.
I've seen them. I couldn't finish a couple of them.
Let me put this in perspective for you.
Thinking that all farmers and ranchers treat their animals the way some videos portray things is like me searching for videos of dog owners, and coming across a vicious video of dog fighting, then assuming all dog owners must treat their "pets" in such a fashion. I mean, I saw the video, and this website told me that's what all dog owners in such and such location do. It must be true, right?
Wrong!
Does that make sense?
Those videos, and other information presented by those sites, is way off base, and represents such a small percentage of people with animals it would never show up statistically. If anyone in agriculture that I know saw treatment similar to that seen in those videos, they would put a stop to it on the spot.
I've also noticed in the ones I've watched that they're usually very old, and I have no idea where they got the footage, but it wasn't in America any time in recent history.
Whats more, those of us in production agriculture are possibly even more angered, upset, and hurt by those videos than people who don't own animals. We have animals ourselves, and we work hard every single day to prevent them from suffering any harm. The acts portrayed in those pieces of footage make us out to be something we're not, and that's a big concern to us.
Most dog owners are caring, compassionate people toward their pets. The same is true for people in agriculture. We also have to make a living off our animals, and that combined with our genuine care for them results in treatment that would never purposely cause harm or discomfort. Instead, we care for them in a way designed to make them happy, because happy animals perform better, and happy, high performing animals make for happy producers.

If you want to know more about animal agriculture, feel free to comment or email me at doublehphoto@live.com.
You can also check out a few accurate websites, including:

Real Ranchers

National Institute for Animal Agriculture

Life on a Kansas Cattle Ranch

Agriculture Proud

Extension Services

Digestive preparations

I just mentioned in a recent post that we adjust our feeding schedule based things like bad weather. Today I was busy preparing for what is forecasted to be a nasty winter blizzard starting around midnight tonight.
The radio was saying they expect 30+ mph winds, 6-10 inches of snow, temperatures ranging from zero to 30 below zero...it doesn't sound fun.

The first thing I did was gather these 26 cows out of the pasture neighboring where they are supposed to be. After preg checking we just turned the cows into this pasture, and they typically make their way to the next one out of habit. If they don't, most come when you start feeding. The gates between the two pastures are left open, because when we're feeding usually the cows come every day and it isn't an issue.
But the nice weather this year...and the questionable intelligence level of these individuals...resulted in them never coming to feed. This wasn't a big deal with the very nice temperatures we've had so far this winter. The abundant left over grass was more than enough for these cows to thrive on so far.


But the impending blizzard, and the fact that we want these cows to come to feed along with everyone else, meant I gathered and trailed them through this gate to the proper pasture. Then I closed the gate, trailed them down to water, and fed everyone a double ration to get their energy levels up before the cold weather hits.
As I also mentioned the linked post, we feed our cows every other day. I just fed these cows yesterday, but gave them more hay today so they'll be ready for the wind, snow and cold.




Here they are trailing into feed.




I also briefly mentioned that a cow has a ruminant stomach, which allows them to utilize forages, or feedstuffs, over 24, or 48, hour periods.
This ruminant stomach is separated into four compartments.



When the cow swallows a mouth full of hay, it has two choices. Heavy, or big, pieces of hay will drop into the Reticulum. From this compartment the cow can regurgitate the feed and chew on it again. This is called chewing her cud, and is something cows do regularly, and is typically done when they're calm and relaxed. This unique ability allows a cow to eat a whole bunch in one sitting, like when I'm feeding a bale of hay, then regurgitate it later and chew it more thoroughly before digesting it. It's like a built in storage/recycling system for food, and is one reason you can feed them a couple days apart.
Smaller, and lighter, pieces of feed go into the Omasum. While the picture doesn't really show it, the cow's stomach will sort the bigger and heavier pieces of feed from the lighter, smaller pieces at the junction of Omasum and Reticulum.
From that point the feed goes on through the Abomasum, to the Rumen, then into the intestines.
Another key aspect of ruminant digestion are the microbes, which are just microscopic bugs, present in a ruminant's stomach. Most of these microbes are in the Rumen compartment. These microbes are what allow the animal to digest feedstuffs. For example, one group of microbes found in the Rumen are called Cellulolytics, and they break down Cellulose, which is the primary component in forages.
Humans and other single-stomached creatures lack the efficiency, and often the ability, to break down roughage's, specifically Cellulose, into a usable energy source. This is why cattle, sheep, and other ruminants are so vital to society. They take the forages found all over the country, and world, that we cannot utilize as humans, and they eat it, and because of their unique stomachs, they are able to convert it to energy to grow and produce a usable food for humans - meat.



Here's what it looks like from the outside. The other thing all this digesting creates is heat. The coarser the forage they're eating, the longer it takes the microbes, or bugs, to eat and process it. The longer it takes the microbes to break it down, the more heat they generate during the process.





So for those reasons I fed the cows a couple older, coarser bales. This means it was forage with bigger stems. While not the highest quality hay we feed, it has a definite place when we want to keep our cows warm.
Grass hay is an example coarser hay, that takes longer to digest. Alfalfa hay, is finer, and microbes can attack and process it faster. So Alfalfa creates energy faster, but it is much shorter lived, while grass is a slower starting, longer lasting form of energy.
We also feed hay that is a combination of the two, to maximize to the benefits of both.