CALF_News_April_May_2020

34 CALF News • April | May 2020 • www.calfnews.net By Larry Stalcup Contributing Editor T emple Grandin, Ph.D., won’t stand for bad cattle-handling techniques. Show her a hotshot and she’d likely rather use it on you than a stubborn steer. Her early struggles with autism and eventual mastery of cattle care and han- dling through visual thinking have made her an institution. She’s been praised from Hollywood to Hereford, Texas, and beyond. Grandin, whose groundbreaking cat- tle-handling equipment designs are used by every major packer, many feedyards and other cattle operations, preaches the virtues of calm cattle handling. During recent lectures at Texas Tech Univer- sity in Lubbock and West Texas A&M University (WTAMU) in Canyon, she spoke to animal science classes and other ag students, as well as community events. Since she was in cattle country, she fielded several questions on cattle-han- dling practices. Although those practices are better, she said there are still situa- tions where cattle are needlessly stressed. “The first thing in cattle handling – keep your mouth shut, calm down, stop flapping your arms,” she said during a WTAMU engagement.“Scared cattle are going to be a lot harder to handle. LEFT: “We need more visual thinkers to keep packing plants, computers, toilets and air conditioners running.” – Temple Grandin "I Am Different ... Not Less" Temple Grandin We need to measure our handling meth- ods and make sure we don’t go back into bad practices.” She is a self-described“visual thinker,” one who views things from the bottom up.“Many cattle handlers like pen riders are visual thinkers,” said Grandin, a pro- fessor at Colorado State University.“They can often know if problems might occur. “Visual thinkers design processing plant layout and build highly specialized mechanical equipment. Math thinkers (like engineers) are top-down thinkers and may tend to over-visualize.” Grandin said visual thinkers, like plumbers, welders, heating and air professionals or other skilled workers are not being replaced when older ones retire. She fears the educational system is screening out visual thinkers who have trouble with algebra and higher math. “Parents should set up jobs a child can do in the neighborhood such as walking dogs,” she explained.“Younger children can do volunteer jobs outside the home like being an usher at a house of worship or community center. “This will teach discipline and respon- sibility. It improved my self-esteem [at a young age] to be recognized for a job well done.” There are traces of autism in many people who are visual thinkers, she said, noting,“If you totally got rid of autism, you’d have no one to fix your computer in the future.” And she emphasized a saying she adopted early on – “I am different, not less.”  Temple Grandin addresses packed houses at WTAMU and Texas Tech during her West Texas tour. breeding techniques, for example, developing livestock that are disease resistant. He believes America needs to take the lead on animal health technology. The Environmental Protection Agency has control of Waters of the United States (WOTUS) legislation. The Secretary said that people want decisions they can comply with, and the Trump Administration will defend doing away withWOTUS. He maintains they have the right to do so. Perdue, himself a farmer and veterinarian earlier in life, reminded us he sends the same message to all farm groups. Agriculture needs to make a profit. His parting message was that agriculture is taken for granted by the general public, and we must tell our own story to the American consumer with facts and data. Although brief, Perdue’s press conference was enlightening.  AG. SECRETARY PERDUE Continued from page 33