Cattle handling is an important aspect to cattle production. Many producerscontinually strive to improve handling methods and facilities to decreasethe stress of moving cattle in pastures or dry lots.

Dr. Tom Noffsinger, a veterinarian and an independent feedlot, facilitydesign and stockmanship consultant, believes there are five freedoms thatmust be given to cattle on a daily basis. These are freedom from hunger andthirst, environmental stress, disease, anxiety and injury.

"As an industry we need a spirit of working together, knowing that everystep in the production, marketing, transportation and handling episodeaffects the industry's ability to provide these five freedoms," saidNoffsinger, who will lead the pre-symposium session.

"This session will create an awareness that will allow the handler tounderstand the basic of prey animals and the power of the handler toeffectively communicate with cattle," Noffsinger said.

Also assisting with the session will be Lynn Locatelli, a veterinarian fromBenkelman, Neb.; Clint Hoss, who works at a western Nebraska feedlot; andCurt Pate, a Montana rancher and stockman who is internationally recognizedas a horse training clinician.

"Proper cattle handling has a powerful impact on the health and performanceof our production animals," Locatelli said. "There is a tremendous amountof lost performance that occurs as a consequence of poor handling; it istime to prevent these losses. Proper cattle handling allows cattle toperform at their genetic potential."

Being proactive is the best way to handle the issues at hand, according toKen Winter, owner-manager of Winter Feed Yard, Dodge City.

"I think that seminars and help from people like Dr. Noffsinger and Dr.Locatelli help the industry to do a better job handling cattle. We all needto stay up-to-date on the handling issues," Winter said.

The pre-symposium session will include a presentation and live cattledemonstrations, which will show applications of low stress handlingconcepts as a dimension of management that enables caregivers to havepositive effects on cattle health and performance. The goal will be toencourage caregivers to understand more about cattle in order to applyhandling concepts during calving, new cattle acclimation, processing, penriding and sick cattle management.

Ed Gough of Lane County Feeders, who uses Noffsinger's cattle-handlingmethods, said that if stakeholders will approach Noffsinger's techniqueswith an open mind, they will learn that it is better for the cattle and thehandler.

"He also knows from firsthand experience that if you do it right, it willhelp your bottom line. If you treat cattle with low stress handling, theywill do better in all aspects of production," Gough said.

"You get good at Drs. Noffsinger and Locatelli's way of doing things; it isjust as efficient and you can get the same amount of work done in the sameamount of time," Gough said. "You will treat your cattle and yourselfbetter."

Cow/calf, stocker and feedlot producers are welcome to attend thepre-symposium session and the symposium on the K-State campus. Registrationinformation is available at http://www.isbcw.beefcattleinstitute.org

"We're proud to offer this event for our producers and practitioners inKansas and surrounding states," said Dan Thomson, who leads K-State's BeefCattle Institute. "We have ranchers from Hawaii and many other statesalready registered to attend."

"If you are a producer and want a quality learning experience to help yourranch or feedlot, this is the event for you," Thomson said. "We will beoffering live demonstrations on how to move cattle on horseback or on foot.We also will have a working facility set up to better demonstrate the dosand don'ts of moving cattle through such facilities."

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