  BeefTalk:
A Handshake Communicates Honesty, Good Luck and Thanks
By Kris Ringwall, Extension Beef Specialist,
NDSU Extension Service
As a new calendar brings new hope, I am reminded of the hope connected with a
handshake in the beef business. A handshake means "Thank You" or Good
Luck" (or many other unspoken greetings) and serves as the consummate
physical communication which seals the deal.
As 2001 came to a close, the North Dakota State University Dickinson Research
Extension Center has sold several lots of cows and calves. At each sale, I was
reminded of the consequences of the handshake.
The business side of the beef business is unique. The paperwork is not
excessive; excellent sales personnel listen, note the situation and close the
deal, not with a pen, but a gavel, a nod and a twitch of the forefinger. The
freshly sold calves or cows are re-penned, loaded and hauled the length of the
highway with the ink still in the pen. The trusting nod and a producer’s
handshake: the industry demands it.
Why are beef producers so trusting? Perhaps, from conception, cattle
producers know the feeling. As a youngster, I wore out pages in the Encyclopedia
Britannica, Volume C, where pictures of the cattle breeds were printed. Judging
by current breed publications, cattle people never tire of looking at cattle (a
picture is worth a thousand words).
For most beef producers, running cows combines a sincere love of cattle with
the enjoyment of independence and solitude. On a daily basis, it is the beef
producer and the cows. Depending on the size of the operation, there may be more
people in the break room or sitting down for a hot cup of coffee, but when the
work needs to be done, the tractor cab only holds one person.
The neighbors or extra crew show up for the big work days, but most days, it’s
just you, "chorin" cows, like the cows were chored before your time,
and probably will be after you are gone. You get to know the cattle and the
cattle get to know you. This feeling, or sense, is what is at the heart of every
good cattle producer. Is the heart trainable? Remember the pre-high tech term
"animal husbandry."
It is possible to train an "animal scientist," but "animal
husbandmen" are born, not made. After all, it’s the unexplainable feeling
of what is right that is important so often. I can send four hands to school and
they will all pass with top grades. They will all learn the normal rectal
temperature of a beef cow is 101 degrees F, the heart rate is 60 to 70 beats per
minute, and the resting respiratory rate is 30 breaths per minute.
The first will need to run the calf in the chute only to find out the heart
rate and respiratory rate are peaked, but the temperature is fine. The second
will grab a horse and rope and drag an uncooperative calf to the sick pen and
dully proclaim the calf sick. The third will walk over, kick the calf laying in
the corner, wonder why the calf doesn’t respond and leave. And finally, the
fourth will quietly move a calf through the pen (on horseback or foot), restrain
the calf and note an slightly elevated temperature, increased respiratory rate
and normal heart rate. Appropriate therapy will be initiated, calf notes made
and the calf returned to the pen.
The first three will loudly ask, "Why that calf?" The fourth will
quietly say, "Well, the calf was sick. Couldn’t you tell?" Cattle
producers know instinctively that only the fourth hand can survive the long run
in this business. From those that can spot a sick calf, know what to do, and
restore the calf to its prime, all that is needed is a handshake--the universal
sign of honesty in the beef business. Here’s to hoping that 2002 has lots of
handshakes, healthy calves and good prices.
May you find all your ear tags.
Your comments are always welcome at www.BeefTalk.com.
For more information, contact the North Dakota Beef Cattle Improvement
Association, 1133 State Avenue, Dickinson, ND 58601 or go to www.CHAPS2000.COM
on the Internet. In correspondence about this column, refer to BT0071.
###
Source: Kris Ringwall, (701) 483-2427, kringwal@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Editor: Tom Jirik, (701) 231-9629, tjirik@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Click here for a printable PDF version of this graphic.
(5KB b&w graph)
Click here for a printable EPS version of this graphic.
(76KB b&w graph)
Click here for a EPS file of the BeefTalk logo suitable for
printing.
(100KB b&w logo)
|
