Better herd management lowers stress in cattle and improved cattle health

CALF CONROLLER: Curt Pate shows how to lead cattle at Shasta Livestock Auction Yard.

Five cattle walked back and forth across the Shasta Livestock Auction Yard floor at the behest of Curt Pate, who merely approached the calves from the side. To contrast, Pate showed how approaching them from the rear causes the cattle to go astray.

"So much of this you can learn by watching a good dog," Pate said.

After the Friday auction, much of the audience stayed to watch a seminar by Pate, a seasoned trainer from Montana who told the audience how treating cattle better can turn a profit.

Roy Graves, who operates a ranch west of Ono, admired how Pate moved up along side a calf to make it turn.

"I like how he had the calf standing at that piece of paper," Graves said, referring to an exercise where Pate led a calf to specific target simply by walking near the calf to direct it and never waving his arms about. In fact, the calf stood at the spot for several minutes. It eventually tasted the piece of paper.

Most cowboys are reactive to cattle and only give corrections, Pate said, adding that the best ranch hands "make it the animal's idea to do what we want."

If it sounds like a guide to parenting, Pate said he hears that comparison often.

The animal feels no stress when it decides to do something on its own, but if the animal is made to do something, it causes stress, Pate said.

When an animal becomes over-stressed its immune system shuts down, he added.

"That's why we have so many sick (cattle)," Pate said. "If we treat animals right, we'll have to doctor them less."

Pate described it as a win-win situation, where the rancher saves money, and the consumer receives a better product.

"If consumers believe cattle are handled humanely and are safe to consume, they are happy to be beef eaters."

While loading cattle, ranch hands can push too hard, Pate warned, and the cattle get confused and hit the fence or potentially run somebody over. Many of the Pate's recommendations were thought of by Dr. Temple Grandin, and a movie about the autistic woman was aired on HBO recently, he said.

From Montana, Pate has been educating ranchers for 15 years on best cattle practices as well as horse training demonstrations.