Page 212 - The Welfare of Cattle

ranChInG WIth InteGrItY and IntentIonaLItY 189

The extensive ranch decision maker serves two primary masters—the natural environment that
has a set of dynamic limitations imposed by geographic, seasonal, and weather conditions; plus a
marketplace characterized by price volatility, shifting demands by supply chain participants, and
diverse consumer wants and demands. To thrive over the long term, a management system must be
developed by each individual ranch that fits the local ecosystem while aligning with a set of market
targets that create profit potential. To ignore either of these masters—ecosystem or market—is to
invite disaster.

StOCKMaNShIP

In as much as people shape a ranch, the ranch shapes the people. Perhaps the most forma-
tive interaction is that between livestock and people. The quality and spirit of these interactions
shapes character and largely defines the person. The practice of stockmanship demands thoughtful
decisions and proactive behavior.
Stockmanship is the specific set of practices designed to provide care to a set of livestock; it is an
art form supported by science; and it is a way of thinking and problem-solving. The philosophy and
practice of stockmanship is a life’s work and is available to all who choose to work with livestock.
However, it is an intentional choice made day after day under conditions both favorable and difficult.
Like the artisan guilds of old, it is a community of practitioners who aspire to improve their level of
mastery, to learn from one another, and to live by its code.
Stockmanship is not a new idea. In his memoir of ranch life in the Big Bend region of Texas,
long time cowboy Roland Warnock wrote of his utter disgust at how Hollywood portrayed ranch life
with horses and cattle always on the run with clouds of dust and lots of noise—“that’s NOT the way
we handled cattle, or the way they are handled today on the ranches. They’re handled quiet.” Just as
Warnock was frustrated in his day, the images of ranching and cattle handling used by advertisers
and entertainment media today are equally disconnected from reality. Purina Mills was founded in
1894 on a four pronged approach to stock raising—good breeding, good feeding, proper sanitation,
and sound management. These four principals represent truth today just as they did at the time of
the company’s founding.
Stockmanship is an intentional and effective approach to interacting with livestock founded on
the concept of continuous improvement. Stockmanship is more than a set of skills and a compila-
tion of best management practices; it is a code for how to approach ranch life. There are numerous
benefits that accrue from the practice of stockmanship but the primary is less stressful interactions
between humans and livestock. Other desired outcomes are summarized below:
• Better safety for people and livestock by reducing stress
• Enhance on-ranch productivity of livestock
• Improve downstream performance of livestock throughout the supply chain
• Improve the quality of the products delivered to consumers
• Minimize damage to facilities and equipment
• Increase the satisfaction that comes from ranching

Stockmanship provides both qualitative and quantitative benefits that are fundamental to good
ranching.

raNChING WIth INteNt

Ranches that achieve excellence are led by people who are capable of complex problem- solving,
strategic planning, and tactical delivery. These leaders also express a high level of emotional