Reviews from Steve's Red Devon Conference presentations

A friend of mine asked 3 different persons' opinion on my presentation of last weekend at the Devon Conference and all high marks were given as follows..

"New to cattle in the last year, He wants to get a recording so he can go over it many more times since there are so many new concepts for his brain to grasp. He added he wished at some point in the weekend you could have taken him to a chute and spoke  where he and you could have put your hands on the cow. He said his form of learning is better hands on. He wants to lift the tail have you point at the eshcution touch the spot where the glands are, touch the hair between the shoulders, look for the yellow in the ears and tail, feel the soft hide."

"A second person loved your talk, just what she and her herd manager needed and what they came for. Thought the whole weekend was over the top."

"One had heard others talk for years and said she thought yours was better organized and you had several things she had not heard before. Liked it very much and thought you were easy to listen too."

"I think the take home from the three is your presentation was great, they thought you connected the dots well, explained concepts well. For some items they would like to be chute side for better understanding which is understandable but sometimes not easy to accomplish in a larger group."

Posted on September 7, 2015 .

Udderly Predictable

"(B)y following the directions of M. Guenon, as laid down in the treatise, anyone can tell with certainty whether a cow is a good milker, or whether a heifer will become one, so that there need be no doubt as to the profit of raising an animal, and no chance of being taken in the purchase of one."
National tribute of the French Government Paris, September17, 1848 This quotation is from the first page of the 14th edition of A Treatise on Milch Cows by M. Francois Guenon. Imagine the usefulness of the discrepancy between Expected Progeny Difference that most of us are currently using and Guenon’s “tell with certainty” methodology. Why do we breed in variability by using animal science (which was not even heard of in 1848) and numbers, when animal husbandry, knowledge and a bit of observation can lead us to a more certain and consistent outcome? When we go out in the pasture, do we really see our animals? When was the last time you went out to the pasture, picked a long stem of grass, put it between your teeth, and took a few minutes to observe? 

Posted on September 7, 2015 .

Elusive Genetics: Choose that herd sire wisely

Recently, I found three books that are a wealth of information: Animal Breeding, by Thomas Shaw, written in 1903, American Cattle by Louis Allen, written in 1868, and Stock Breeding by Manly Miles, written in 1879. These authors of a bygone era have much to tell us about the current situation of the cattle industry if we observe closely.  Certain information regarding the managing and breeding of heifers really got my attention.  Little did I realize how a heifer’s first pregnancy could have a profound influence on all her succeeding pregnancies regardless of which sire she was bred to after that.

Telegony is the name given to the hypothesis that offspring can inherit characteristics from a previous mate of the mother. 

Posted on September 4, 2015 .

Boron for Cows and Humans

n the 1960's, Rex Newnham, Ph.D., D.O., N.D, developed arthritis. At that time he was a soil and plant scientist in Perth, Western Australia. Conventional drugs did not help, so he looked for the cause into the chemistry of plants. He realized that plants in that area were rather mineral deficient. Knowing that boron aids calcium metabolism in plants he decided to try it. He started taking 30 mg of borax a day, and in three weeks all pain, swelling and stiffness had disappeared.;"

Posted on September 4, 2015 .