Saturday, April 28, 2012

Putting My Money Where My Mouth Is

Instruction in low stress cattle handling should be as easy as selling iced tea in Texas. However too many people assume that A) They already are using low stress methods; or B) The claims being made are not possible. It also does not help matters when people being sponsored as experts put out videos like the one below, which prove the point that low stress is too slow to be effective in a real life situation. This is not saying the people in the video don't know what they are doing, but that the way the video was edited will sure enough convince a pen rider or anyone working cattle for a living that low stress handling does not work because it is too slow.



 During the fall run,  feedlot cowboys may have to pull over a hundred animals, then take another two or three hundred from the hospital pens back to their home pens in a day. In the following video it takes over 8 minutes to pull one heifer, which comes out to over 800 minutes (or 13.3 hours) just pull that 100 sick animals a guy would be pulling. That would require a second shift of cowboys to take the cattle from the hospital pen back to their home pens. The example set in this video is, to me, and anyone working in the real world, totally unacceptable. Is there any wonder that so many producers and their employees think that they do not have time for low stress cattle handling?

This has prompted me to put my money where my mouth is.

During the months of May and June of 2012 I am running a special promotion.  Are you curious as to whether or not I can actually get your cattle to acting as a herd? Are you running a holistic grazing program and are curious to really find out if you can manage your cattle without spending time and money on un-needed fences? Now is your chance to find out without taking a big gamble. Pay me the estimated round trip cost for gas from Van Horn to your ranch, and I will work with you and your cattle for a week. If at the end of the week, your cattle are not easier to handle, and beginning to graze close together as a herd, you ow me nothing. If your cattle are easier to handle and are beginning to graze together as a herd, then you pay me $2000.

This program includes working with you (and your help) on your horses, as well as your cattle, and consulting on possible infrastructure changes to make your ranch more efficient. Call me to reserve a date!