Who's the Boss?

I read a neat article written by Kathy Voth the other day that really gave me a "duh!" moment. If you're wondering who Kathy Voth is, she shares her research on getting livestock to eat and thrive on weeds. Her research and subsequent findings are very compelling. You can read and learn more about Ms. Voth and her studies by visiting her website at: http://www.livestockforlandscapes.com/



So, you ask, what was it that piqued your interest then? OK, I'll tell you.



She made this comment that made me chuckle, then I said "duh!" and remembered others in the field of grass farming that I follow have said much the same thing. Here it is, are you ready? She said that she thinks of her animals not as livestock at all, but as colleagues in a work environment. That's when I chuckled and remembered Greg Judy of grass farming fame saying something similar at last year's small farm conference in Colombia Mo. Mr. Judy said that he actual sat down and wrote out a job description for his cattle and keeps it updated and on file. The next day, at the same conference, Jim Gerrish suggested to all of us in the audience, to write out a job description for your livestock. I got to thinking about this and it actually began to make sense to me. Many people feel that a cow or goat or sheep just eat grass. But when you describe what it is you want from them, as an employer would an employee, you begin to see things a bit differently. For example, I began to see the cows as a part of our farm that wouldn't be if it weren't for them. I began to look at them as harvesting machines, harvesting the crops for me. This has caused me to think outside the "gotta buy and store hay every year" box. Consequently, every decision I make in my rotation is a reflection of my desire to be totally hayless, at some point (I have a long way to go, trust me). But do you see how one tiny change in though set off a whole new way to look at things?



Ms. Voth also said to adopt a "policy of no violence in the workplace". This caught my eye as we have a bull that is now 4 years old and getting feisty. Her suggestion was that when handling or working with animals that cause frustration in you, remember you have a brain and opposing thumbs and you can create tools or think of a process that will make it easier. I just tend to go in the paddock with a big stick, like all the old timers told me to do, and see if I can get him to move. If I go with treats and get him to follow me, he has been, lately, starting to run after me. And I am not too much of a man to say that it scares the fire out of me. Now I am empowered to use my brain and thumbs and come up with a better way. Maybe the business end of an SKS? I kind of like the fellow and he is fertile, so I will work with him for a time yet.



This brings up the next point Ms. Voth made. Building a relationship of trust. This should be done at an early age, which it was with our bull, but he was left to himself for a long time and seems to have forgotten this little tidbit. But I think some range cubes will go a long way to this end. He always like them, I just haven't had any for quite a while.



Then I have to learn to think like a cow, in our case. In the case of others you might need to think like a sheep or a goat. The thing to do here is to learn to ask myself, "What would I do, if I were a cow?" Simple enough, right? We'll see.



Go and visit Kathy Voth's website at http://www.livestockforlandscapes.com you won't regret it. You can even use the link provided in the right column of this blog. Thanks for reading.