WSARE 2000 Farmer/Rancher Grants-FW00-051

TITLE: Low Stress Stockmanship Clinic for Jackson County, Oregon

Cattle rest from low stress stockmanship techniques

The Jackson County Livestock Association was recently awarded a Western SARE Farmer/Rancher grant, which will aid them in their effort to conduct a three-day seminar on low stress stockmanship. Low stress handling techniques involve working with and accommodating the behavior of the livestock. This method allows the rancher to have more control over the livestock with less stress to the animals.

According to John Dimick, project leader and president of the Jackson County Livestock Association, by incorporating these low stress handling techniques, the rancher will graze livestock in a manner conducive to maintaining and improving riparian areas, water quality, and rangeland health. Low stress stockmanship is also said to have positive effects on the animals, such as greater weight gains, higher conception rates, and lower costs of operations.

The first day of the seminar will introduce ranchers to the basics of low-stress stockmanship, both in the classroom and through instructor demonstrations. The next day ranchers will have the opportunity to try what they have learned. On Day Three ranchers will receive instruction on low-stress stockmanship using horses. Training using horses is an important feature of the seminar because most ranchers will use the techniques while on horseback.

Federal agency personnel will monitor riparian and rangeland health on the allotments where these techniques are applied and compare these sites to sites where low-stress techniques are not used to measure the success of the ranchers in applying the techniques with their own livestock.

Additional information on low stress stockmanship will be available to the public in the form of a training video, and a manual on low stress management will be provided to seminar participants and other interested parties.