CALF_News_October_November_2020

24 CALF News • October | November 2020 • www.calfnews.net M elissa Arhart has seen her life’s journey take an unexpected road from small hobby farm in Pennsylvania to stockmanship expert in South Dakota. Early in our recent con- versation, she dismissed the “expert” title I attempted to bestow on her, but from our subsequent talk, I believe it fits nicely. Her upbringing directed her through The Ohio State University’s Agricultural Technical Institute for Dairy Science and then the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center. Before complet- ing her animal science degree at the main campus, a research assistant internship at South Dakota State University helped identify two future love affairs – the state’s wide-open spaces and, eventually, her future husband, Andrew. Together, they now enjoy the benefits of this clean living, operating Arhart Farms and Feedlot Tech- nologies on his family’s cattle, hog and grain operation together with Andrew’s brother, Jonathan, and his wife, Joy. Problems with the Status Quo The ranch features two 250-cow herds and a feedlot dispersed over three varied facilities. As a result, working hands on with cattle dominates the bulk of activities. Arhart recounts her earlier experiences with the livestock.“I used to be the girl working the catwalk on the big, curved, closed-in alley,” she says.“I had my hot shot and thought I knew what I was doing.” But over time, it became apparent something was not as it should be, or could be, when it came to moving the cattle through the holding pens, chutes and alleyways. She describes how they always tried to practice their own version of low-stress handling. The ranch incor- porated new and modern conveniences and relied on science-based information. But in her mind, handling the cattle was tougher work than it had to be. It was at a cattle-handling meeting featuring Dr. Tom Noffsinger, veterinar- ian for Production Animal Consultation, that she saw videos of how he worked with cattle.“I was hooked,” Arhart says. “I realized I was working way too hard and, if I could learn what he was teaching, we could save on time and labor.” New Skills After attending multiple meetings featuring the noted expert on low-stress cattle handling and stockmanship, they invited him to stop in and look at their sit- uation. Arhart says Dr. Noffsinger encour- aged them to change themselves first and work on the skills to allow the use of any type of facilities. They discussed basic pressure and release and he even suggested the tub gates should remain open. He also pointed out where metal could be cut from the chutes and alleys. To expand on what she was learning from Dr. Noffsinger, she attended a Bud Williams Stockmanship School. Mr.Wil- liams is thought of by many as the most respected low-stress animal handling expert to ever work in the cattle industry. Arhart was determined to put her new information into practice and was soon amazed at the positive results.“We realized the extra metal in our feedlot facilities had been a crutch for our poor cattle-handling skills,” she says.“The complicated state-of-the-art system was actually getting in the way of using pres- sure and release.” The alley catwalk didn’t need to be occupied like before. Cattle moved on Navigating the Course of Livestock Handling and Stockmanship By Bruce Derksen Contributing Editor TOP: Melissa Arhart views their Angus-Simmental herd. LEFT: Melissa Arhart puts mineral out for their Red Angus- Simmental herd.