Changes in the Cattle Industry

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BRAFORDMAN

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I am doing some research for school.
Please answer the following questions.
How has the cattle industry changed over the years?
How have your methods changed?

This question is geared more towards those in the business longer:
When you have a problem and or question regarding your operation, whether nutrition, pasture management, health issues, etc.. who, what, or where do you go to for help? If you have been in the cattle industry for a long period of time, how have your sources of information changed from when you started to the present? For example you may have went to your grandfather when you started, now you go to the internet.
Treat this as a normal post. If you disagree with someone's methods or agree with them respond to them if you wish.
Please include how long you have been in the cattle business. I will use your username to identify you.

Below is a Code of Ethics. Replying to this post means you are ok with me using your information in my research.

Code of Ethics
1. Respect for Persons. Respect for persons incorporates at least two ethical convictions; first, that individuals should be treated as autonomous agents, and second, that persons with diminished autonomy are entitled to protection. The principle of respect for persons thus divides into two separate moral requirements: the requirement to acknowledge autonomy and the requirement to protect those with diminished autonomy.

2. Beneficence. Persons are treated in an ethical manner not only by respecting their decisions and protecting them from harm, but also by making efforts to secure their wellbeing. The term "beneficence" covers acts of kindness or charity that go beyond strict obligation. Two general rules: (1) do not harm and (2) maximize possible benefits and minimize possible harms. I will do my best to be respectful on the blog. I do not want my data to reflect the responses of those who may be upset with me. The more respectful I am, the less bias my data will reflect.

3. Justice. An injustice occurs when some benefits to which a person is entitled is denied without good reason. Equals ought to be treated equally.. Who is equal and who is unequal? In my research we are all equal. The rules: (1) Each person's comments will be treated with respect, (2) No comment will be ignored or viewed as inferior to someone else's.

4. Informed Consent. Respect for persons required that subjects, to the degree that they are capable, be given the opportunity to choose what they want to say and what parts may be included in my research. This opportunity is provided when adequate standards for informed consent are satisfied. The consent process can be analyzed as contained three elements: information, comprehension and voluntariness.

-Information. "Most codes of research establish specific items for disclosure intended to assure that subjects are given sufficient information. These items generally include: the research procedure, their purposes, risks and anticipated benefits, alternative procedures (where therapy is involved), and a statement offering the subject the opportunity to ask questions and to withdraw at any time from the research. Additional items have been proposed, including how subjects are selected, the person responsible for the research, etc."

-Comprehension. "The manner and context in which information is conveyed is as important as the information itself. For example, presenting information in a disorganized and rapid fashion, allowing too little time for consideration or curtailing opportunities for questioning, all may adversely affect a subject's ability to make an informed choice."

-Voluntariness. "An agreement to participate in research constitutes a valid consent only if voluntarily given. This element of informed consent requires conditions free of coercion and undue influence. Coercion occurs when an overt threat of harm is intentionally presented by one person to another in order to obtain compliance. Undue influence, by contrast, occurs through an offer of an excessive. Unwarranted, inappropriate or improper reward or other overture in order to obtain compliance. Also, inducements that would ordinarily be acceptable may become undue influences if the subject is especially vulnerable."

5. Assessment of Risks and Benefits. The assessment of risks and benefits requires a careful array of relevant data, including, in some cases, alternative ways of obtaining the benefits sought in the research. Thus, the assessment presents both an opportunity and a responsibility to gather systematic and comprehensive information about proposed research. For the investigator, it is a means to examine whether the proposed research is properly designed. For a review committee, it is a method for determining whether the risks that will be presented to subjects are justified. For prospective subjects, the assessment will assist the determination whether or not to participate.

-The Nature of Scope of Risks and Benefits. "The requirement that research be justified on the basis of a favorable risk/ benefit assessment bears a close relation to the principle of beneficence, just as the moral requirement that informed consent be obtained is derived primarily from the principle of respect for persons. The term "risk" refers to a possibility that harm may occur. However, when expressions such as "small risk" or "high risk" are used, they usually refer (often ambiguously) both to the chance (probability) of experiencing a harm and the severity (magnitude) of the envisioned harm."

-The Systematic Assessment of Risks and Benefits. "It is commonly said that benefits and risks must be "balanced" and shown to be "in a favorable ratio." The metaphorical character of these terms draws attention to the difficulty of making precise judgments. Only on rare occasions will quantitative techniques be available for the scrutiny of research protocols."

-Selection of Subjects. "Just as the principle of respect for persons finds expression in the requirements for consent, and the principle of beneficence in risk/ benefit assessment, the principle of justice gives rise to moral requirement that there be fair procedure and outcomes in the selection of research subjects."
Adkins, Tabetha. "The Belmont Report." Ethnographic Inquires In Writing. First ed. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. page. Print.
 
Son you are wanting a thesis here.
I have seen it move from we had no clue what an epd was to getting to scientific and breeding for single traits.
Seen it go from never feeding a cow nothing but pasture 365 days they survived or they didn't.
We put a lot more pounds on a cow today from 40 years ago read somewhere today we are producing the same
amount of beef on 10 cows versus 15 then.
Couple of things I Have learned is put grass in front of the cow bull behind rest is pretty simple.
I am a grass farmer not a cowboy good grass equals good teeth equals longevity.
Sitting and talking over a cup of coffee we would have to go through several pots.
Typing is not going to happen.
 
Err is that Which school are you going to? :). I did fair in English but I think what CB is saying is you need to whittle it down some for it to count....;)
 
Kingfisher":3t10nj06 said:
Err is that Which school are you going to? :). I did fair in English but I think what CB is saying is you need to whittle it down some for it to count....;)

Texas A&M Commerce. Its not a thesis. Its an ethnography. I'm analyzing literacy in a subculture. And I chose ranchers. Literacy can be internet, word of mouth, a book or any source of information. So the questions I asked are a little broad but its because everyone will have different things to day. Tell me your story of how you started, how you solved problems.
 
Caustic Burno":13g0zwxo said:
Son you are wanting a thesis here.
I have seen it move from we had no clue what an epd was to getting to scientific and breeding for single traits.
Seen it go from never feeding a cow nothing but pasture 365 days they survived or they didn't.
We put a lot more pounds on a cow today from 40 years ago read somewhere today we are producing the same
amount of beef on 10 cows versus 15 then.
Couple of things I Have learned is put grass in front of the cow bull behind rest is pretty simple.
I am a grass farmer not a cowboy good grass equals good teeth equals longevity.
Sitting and talking over a cup of coffee we would have to go through several pots.
Typing is not going to happen.

I think I know what you're saying. I'm going to make a better post.
 
BRAFORDMAN":3efp6dx4 said:
Kingfisher":3efp6dx4 said:
Err is that Which school are you going to? :). I did fair in English but I think what CB is saying is you need to whittle it down some for it to count....;)

Texas A&M Commerce. Its not a thesis. Its an ethnography. I'm analyzing literacy in a subculture. And I chose ranchers. Literacy can be internet, word of mouth, a book or any source of information. So the questions I asked are a little broad but its because everyone will have different things to day. Tell me your story of how you started, how you solved problems.

How I started??? An old man gave me 13 jersey bull calves...I had to buy them some girlfriends. :cowboy:
 
Bought two Hereford heifers I think in 9th grade. Not sure but I think my daddy financed me.
I think I was 16 I borrowed money from the bank and bought some dairy cows. Did very well and later I borrowed some more and bought more cows.
After that I would cull, sell, buy. Buy beef and feed out. etc.

After the first time I had no trouble getting money because the banker liked the fact that I paid on time and often doubled up on the payments.
 
When that Brimmer girl got off the Ark most of my screw ups where fixed by the school of hard knocks.
We didn't have the internet we had a party line. One of the best teachers in life is your billfold getting thinner.
We did very little management or care for cattle back then, no hay in the winter they hustled or died.
I can remember an old rancher I worked for one winter lean on the saddle horn of the saddle and say son that
old cow is not going to make the winter. Remember the first Char bull that he bought never seen one even in a book.
I wore out a set of chains pulling pallet headed calves heII we had no idea what an epd was.
Looking back that was way to much bull for those 800-900 pound cows.
I am not sure there is a purebred breed left today as the cows of today don't even resemble
the cattle of 50 years ago.
I remember worming with that stuff I can't remember the name of it was horrible more got on you that you
got in the cow. Dehorning was one chore I hated back then before we learned to dehorn at conception.
I think I have cut horns off with anything you can imagine. Remember acid branding as well.
 
Caustic Burno said:
When that Brimmer girl got off the Ark most of my screw ups where fixed by the school of hard knocks.
We didn't have the internet we had a party line. One of the best teachers in life is your billfold getting thinner.
We did very little management or care for cattle back then, no hay in the winter they hustled or died.
I can remember an old rancher I worked for one winter lean on the saddle horn of the saddle and say son that
old cow is not going to make the winter. Remember the first Char bull that he bought never seen one even in a book.
I wore out a set of chains pulling pallet headed calves heII we had no idea what an epd was.
Looking back that was way to much bull for those 800-900 pound cows.
I am not sure there is a purebred breed left today as the cows of today don't even resemble
the cattle of 50 years ago.
I remember worming with that stuff I can't remember the name of it was horrible more got on you that you
got in the cow. Dehorning was one chore I hated back then before we learned to dehorn at conception.
I think I have cut horns off with anything you can imagine. Remember acid branding as well.[/quote

You forgot the screw worms that was a threat back then.
 
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