Good stockmanship and low-stress handling methods include using the animals’ natural tendencies to the handlers’ advantage while working beef cattle.
We often hear and see reports on how sickness or the use of technologies such as fly control, implants, ionophores and others influence animal performance and profitability.
Low-stress cattle handling methods have been discussed and promoted for many years, but the influence on animal performance is not often part of those discussions. Research has investigated the influence that stockmanship has on disposition and animal performance, and more is being done.
Good stockmanship and low-stress handling methods include using the animals’ natural tendencies to the handlers’ advantage while working or handling cattle. This includes calm and quiet actions and movements by the handlers, changing and remodeling equipment and facilities if there are problem areas that impede cattle flow, and acclimating the cattle to handlers prior to needing to move them from their pens for routine management practices. It also involves establishing a positive culture on the farm operation for how animals are handled.
Temperament indicator
Cattle temperament can serve as an indicator of how cattle have been handled. Temperament has a reported heritability value of 0.4 to 0.5 on a scale of 0 to 1, which indicates that environment (how they are handled) also has a strong influence.
Cattle that are handled using low-stress stockmanship practices have been observed to have improved rates of gain. Dewell et.al. (2019) observed that abruptly weaned feeder cattle that were acclimated and handled with low-stress practices during processing had an increased rate of gain of 2.92 pounds per day vs. 2.7 pounds per day for conventionally handled cattle from day 19 through day 95 after arrival, and had 29 pounds heavier hot carcass weights.
Woiwode et.al. (2016), in a trial comparing two different handling approaches to moving newly arrived cattle to the working facility, observed cattle handled in a calm, low-stress manner vocalized less during processing, exited the chute more slowly, and had higher rates of gain compared to cattle that were driven to the working facility in a highly excitable manner. The trial also observed improperly captured calves in the chute had lower rates of gain, higher exit speeds and increased vocalization.
Reinhardt et.al (2009) evaluated the effect of disposition (temperament) of cattle on feedlot and carcass traits on over 20,000 head of cattle in the Tri-County Steer Futurity Program between 2002 and 2006. Cattle that were more excitable had decreased initial and final weights, and a lower rate of gain, hot carcass weight, yield grade, quality grade, and marbling score.
Low-stress cattle handling and good stockmanship practices can improve feedlot performance and carcass traits, help reduce cost of production, and increase revenue from higher-quality carcasses. In addition, implementing these practices can reduce risk of injury to both the handlers and the livestock, resulting in further savings.
Governor Abbott issues drought declaration for Texas
The ongoing drought across much of Texas prompted Governor Greg Abbott to announce a disaster declaration for 189 counties.
The counties included as of July 20 are:
| Anderson Andrews Aransas Armstrong Atascosa Austin Bailey Bandera Baylor Bee Bell Bexar Blanco Borden Bosque Brazoria Brewster Briscoe Brown Burnet Caldwell Calhoun Callahan Cameron Camp Carson Castro Chambers Childress Cochran Coke Coleman Collingsworth Colorado Comal Comanche Concho Coryell Cottle Crane Crosby Culberson Dallas Dallam Dawson Deaf Smith DeWitt Dickens Dimmit Donley Duval Eastland Ector Edwards Ellis Erath Falls Fisher Floyd Foard Fort Bend Franklin Freestone |
Frio Gaines Galveston Garza Gillespie Glasscock Goliad Gonzales Gregg Guadalupe Hale Hall Hamilton Hansford Hardeman Harris Hartley Haskell Hays Henderson Hidalgo Hill Hockley Hood Howard Hudspeth Hutchinson Irion Jackson Jeff Davis Jefferson Johnson Jones Karnes Kaufman Kendall Kent Kerr Kimble King Kinney Knox La Salle Lamar Lamb Lampasas Lavaca Limestone Live Oak Llano Loving Lubbock Lynn Martin Mason Matagorda Maverick McCulloch McLennan McMullen Medina Menard Midland |
Mills Mitchell Moore Motley Navarro Nolan Nueces Ochiltree Oldham Orange Parker Parmer Pecos Potter Presidio Rains Randall Reagan Real Reeves Refugio Roberts Rockwall Runnels San Patricio San Saba Schleicher Scurry Shackelford Sherman Somervell Starr Stephens Sterling Stonewall Sutton Swisher Tarra Taylor Terrell Terry Tom Green Travis Upshur Upton Uvalde Val Verde Van Zandt Victoria Walker Waller Ward Webb Wharton Wichita Wilbarger Williamson Wilson Winkler Wood Yoakum Zapata Zavala |
Counties included in the drought declaration are determined by recommendations from the Drought Preparedness Council, which includes representatives from the Texas Division of Emergency Management, Texas Water Development Board, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board, Texas Department of Agriculture, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Texas A&M Forest Service, Texas Department of Transportation, Department of State Health Services, ERCOT, Texas Economic Development and Tourism Office, Public Utility Commission and the state climatologist.
The declaration gives assurance to landowners that they will not be penalized for managing their agricultural lands during drought conditions. Farmers and ranchers who need to remove livestock or cannot harvest a crop because of the prolonged drought conditions can maintain agricultural valuation until conditions allow for normal production once again.
“If a drought declaration has been issued, then the Texas Tax Code doesn’t require farmers and ranchers to meet the ‘degree of intensity’ to maintain agricultural valuation of the land,” Billy Howe, Texas Farm Bureau associate director of Government Affairs, said.
Significantly low rainfall and prolonged dry conditions also continue to increase the threat of wildfire across these counties.