Three stockmanship workshops hosted July 30-31
Three stockmanship, handling and Beef Quality Assurance workshops featuring Tom Noffsinger from Nebraska, will be held in Iowa July 30 and 31. The Stockmanship sessions will teach cattle handling methods to improve animal movement and cattle performance by reducing the stress. Noffsinger bases his presentation on four simple principles of cattle behavior; cattle want to see you, go around you, be with other cattle and can only process one thought at a time. He will also demonstrate low stress cattle handling methods that can be used whether gathering from the pasture or processing through corrals.
In addition to animal handling, Denise Schwab and Russ Euken from ISU Extension, will also be certifying participants in the BQA program. BQA is the foundation for the Tyson FarmCheck program which will be required for all who sell cattle to Tyson in 2019.
The first workshop will be held July 30 at the Fayette County Fairgrounds in West Union starting at 9:30 a.m., and the second workshop will be at the Wyoming Fairgrounds in Wyoming, starting at 6 p.m. The West Union session is open to any beef producers in the area, but the Wyoming session is only open to members of the Jones County Cattlemen Association. The third session will be held July 31, starting at 9:30 a.m. at Summit Farms cow calf facility 22213 230th Ave, Hubbard.
All sessions are free but advance registration is requested to ensure adequate resource materials. There will be a meal provided, so please register in advance by calling the Benton County Extension Office at 319-472-4739 for the July 30 sessions or the Hardin County Extension office at 641-648-4850 for the July 31 session.
Noffsinger grew up on a diversified ranch with beef cows, swine, crops and a small dairy. After receiving his DVM from Colorado State University in 1973, he joined the Twin Forks Vet Clinic at Benkelman, Nebraska. His professional life took an interesting turn when he learned about Bud Williams, and then convinced the expert in stockmanship and low-stress cattle handling to live and teach in Benkelman for several years.
“Wherever we encourage cattle to move to, they should perceive they belong there. When we focus on the voluntary movement of animals, and people who volunteer to learn low-stress handling, well, that changes the world. We understand and use the animal’s visual abilities, posture angle, language, speed, and attitude—all cues to help us work with rather than against their nature.” After 32 years in beef cattle practice at the Twin Forks Clinic, he became an independent feedlot consultant specializing in facility design, stockmanship and low-stress livestock handling.
Co-sponsors of the events are several County Cattlemen groups, Iowa Beef Center, ISU Extension & Outreach, and Iowa Beef Industry Council. For more information on these workshops, contact Denise Schwab at [email protected] or 319-721-9624, or Russ Euken at [email protected] or 641 923 2856.
