  BeefTalk:
Paperwork Without Trust is Environmentally Unsound
By Kris Ringwall, Extension Beef Specialist,
NDSU Extension Service
Each week begins with a certain amount of expectation. This Monday was
typical: full of this and that. Everyone is anxious to get the week started, to
finish the carry-over from last week and face the challenges of a new week.
Positive outcomes for the week starts with good management. Management can be
defined many ways, but the key to successful outcomes of ideas is an
organization to execute them. Without an effective organization, you have
nothing.
Successful organizations involve a very high level of trust, much like a
winning basketball team. Trust effectively moves the ball from player to player
and eventually to the goal. Ineffective organizations never seem to really get
the fluid motion going.
Most of us can relate to the motion of good or bad days. During the good
days, things seem to move along and work out. It may be difficult to pin-point
the reason, but the day gets done with no snags. On bad days, this jog, that
jag, a bump there, a dip here causes much questioning and doubting as nothing
seems to come together.
Fundamentally, much of what we face in the beef industry today, as in all the
things we do, is the expansion of our day to day decisions. When my grandfather
homesteaded, if he didn’t trust his roommate, nothing got done. All permanent
progress evolved by trusting those around you for the benefit of all.
Occasionally, an ill fated dishonest plan was connived, but society as a whole
dealt with those issues by assembling a dozen locally trusted people to pass
judgment.
Today’s business challenge involves establishing trust over time and
distance. In the beef industry, expansion has occurred to the point where local
knowledge and "good old" trust is sometimes lacking. So what do we do? Well, for
the beef industry, we start to see things like the creation of a "Country of
Origin Labeling" law.
In many other businesses, as well as the beef business, trust has been
replaced by paper. I really don’t believe Grandpa ever signed a triplicate form,
and certainly would not have appreciated electronic signatures. In Grandpa’s
world you did business with those you trusted and signed the deal with a
handshake. A signature was only required from those you didn’t trust and were
not part of your local community.
At the North Dakota State University Dickinson Research Extension Center, our
beef is served literally to the world. Where all the harvested products
eventually end up is mind boggling. So how do we manage such an effort, when the
present organizational efforts are all based on a fundamental lack of trust and
no local identity?
We worked calves last week, calves that will enter the trade a year from now.
How do we source-verify these calves and communicate the health and well being
of these calves to non-local people who may not trust what we do?
To date the calves have been ear tagged, branded, the male calves castrated,
the horned calves dehorned. All calves received an Ultrabac 7/Somubac (Serial
#S022004B, Exp. Date June 15, 2003) vaccination. The cows were vaccinated with
PregGuard FP 9 (Serial #A242138/A236779, Exp. Date June 16, 2004, Lot #1246128A)
in preparation for the breeding season.
This data is accumulated in the Cow Herd Appraisal Performance Software
(CHAPS) database so we can access it immediately. This is the beginning of a
source verification program that will document everything known about each
individual animal conceived, grown, bred and eventually marketed from the DREC
herd.
These simple management practices are easy to implement. The process of
communicating to the world what was done will be made easier with records
documentation but the point could be asked if it is even possible. Accomplishing
that is possible but labor intensive.
Yet, for now, paper is still just paper, and without trust, remains paper.
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 BT0141.
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Source: Kris Ringwall, (701) 483-2427, kringwal@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Editor: Tom Jirik, (701) 231-9629, tjirik@ndsuext.nodak.edu
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Graphic --
Status of Calves Born in 2003
NDSU Dickinson Research Extension Center
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Management Practices Applied
Ear Tagged, Branded, Dehorned, Castrated
Vaccination Records
April 22, 2003
Ultrabac 7/Somubac, Serial #S002004B, Exp. Date 6/15/03
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