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Grandin on cattle handling and genetics

Dr. Temple Grandin says low stress cattle handling, which she teaches across the country, is one of the bright spots in the industry but she still has concerns. 

Grandin spoke and taught classes at the Missouri Livestock Symposium and sat down with Brownfield Ag News. While cattle handling changes have been good she says she still has to talk about the same old things.

“For example, if you’re handling cattle in a single-file chute, people still stand at the head and poke it on the butt with a paddle. You’re telling it to go forward and back at the same time. I find I have to talk about that because people are still doing it.”

Low stress handling, Grandin says, means getting all the distractions out of the way.

“You know what just about shut down a meat packing plant? Paper towels hanging down. They’re much more afraid of paper towels hanging down than they are of getting slaughtered.”

And, Grandin tells Brownfield Ag News she is seeing more genetic problems in cattle, “And the thing is, you select too much for carcass, you might get to the point where you short-change the heart. That may be starting to happen. And there’s some papers now indicating that there’s a problem in this. We’ve got to head that one off before it turns into a big problem.”

Grandin spoke passionately about her concerns that high level skilled trades aren’t being filled. She argues “the geeks and the nerds” – those on the spectrum like herself, those with dyslexia and those with ADHD are uniquely suited for their jobs but says they’re being screened out because there are no longer trades in the public schools being taught.

Grandin is Professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University.