BEDFORD, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Beef Council joined forces with Dairyside Veterinary Services to host two cattle handling workshops on Oct. 27-28. The events were supported by additional sponsorships from AgChoice Farm Credit, Merck Animal Health, Boehringer Ingelheim and the PA Cattlemen’s Association. In total, 80 producers and industry professionals attended the workshops.
The event on Oct. 27 was hosted at Vale Wood Farms, a dairy located in Loretto, Pa. Dairy and beef producers along with industry professionals had the opportunity to learn about low-energy cattle handling from world renowned animal handling expert Dr. Don Höglund. Prior to attendees watching him work cattle live, in the pens, they had the opportunity to hear his presentation about the value of low-energy handling on their operations. He also covered the topic of how cattle learn and remember. Following his presentation, attendees headed to the barn to view live demonstrations.
“We have always taught our barn employees not to rush, because our cows respond better to slow movements. Dr. Höglunds recommendation to actually train our younger animals to move calmly and with direction provided a very interesting perspective,” said Carissa Itle Westrick from Vale Wood Farms. “With a little bit of training time spent in the younger cattle pens, we can more easily achieve the slow-moving cows that have been our goal all along.”
Beverly Hampton, Program Coordinator of the F.A.R.M program also gave an update to producers on the new requirements of F.A.R.M 3.0. She engaged producers in the conversation and offered opportunity for questions regarding the program to be answered.
On Oct. 28, Adam and Dr. Jennifer Kauf owners of AJK Ebony Acres opened-up their farm gates for the beef stockmanship clinic. With nearly 50 producers in attendance, Dr. Don Höglund once again wowed participants with his presentation titled “How Beef Cattle Learn and Remember.” He then invited producers to join him in the pens to demonstrate different methods of cattle handling. Producers enjoyed the opportunity to have “hands on” time with the cattle and learn new handling techniques.
To learn more about the Pennsylvania Beef Council, visit www.pabeef.org. For more information about BQA program, visit www.pa-bqa.org.
— Pennsylvania Beef Council
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