Landholders from the Bollon district who attended The Advanced Livestock Movement & Management course recently, now have an added advantage when handling livestock stock at home. The 3 day course was organised through the Bollon South West NRM office with 15 landholders and their working dogs from around the area in attendance. Neil McDonald’s unique style of facilitation that combined true life stories and analogies with practical hands on demonstrations and learning activities saw participants keen to take on his concepts. All in attendance agreed that Neil had been very generous in sharing his knowledge of animal physiology which related significantly to how we use and understand our working dogs and handle our livestock. The standout skill that participants learnt was how to get cattle right in the mind with the added benefit of utilising working dogs to achieve this objective – a necessary component these days with the impacts of staff shortages in the bush.
As there becomes more realisation and acceptance in the Bollon area of the importance of grazing and resting country during critical periods, there is the awareness it will never reach its full potential or fail without changes in livestock handling being understood and implemented. To control rest periods for the benefit of both soil and plant species, livestock have to be managed in larger mobs, grazed in smaller areas and shifted more frequently.
Neil believes that if land managers lack the knowledge, and their required livestock handling techniques are not correct, then stock can become like spoilt children, lacking manners.
This leads to livestock showing little respect for fences and water points, flattening and spoiling feed, camping at water points and behaving aggressively in the yards. Other added benefits of having cattle in the right mind include, ease of mustering and processing, reduced weight loss in transit, better meat quality with reduced bruising and higher feed conversion rates.
Participants at the school quickly acknowledged these benefits as they witnessed a ‘trainer mob of cattle’ becoming quieter, easy to control and more responsive by the minute. Ideally this trainer mob is retained and used at times such as weaning to begin the process of getting your total herd in the right mind.
At the school many stock handling practices were challenged, such as how traditionally many of us find ourselves at the back of the mob, shouting, jumping up and down and waving our arms to move stock in the yards. Feed back from participants who had taken home Neil’s methods of using body language, demeanour, working with imaginary parallel lines and your position in relation to the mob when moving cattle through the yards had reaped great results.
The dog side of the school was about finishing up with above average working dogs without being a dog training fanatic. The original selection of a dog with natural instincts is very important. Practical exercises in how to get manners, social graces and a good attitude developed in your working dog and develop a good rapport were enthusiastically applied. Hence no more ‘Gold Coastin’’ for Bollon dogs. Utilising their natural instincts, with the knowledge of where to position yourself in relation to the dog and the mob will see the dog automatically find the right spot to be in.
The success of the Advanced Livestock Movement & Management course has been well demonstrated by the positive feedback from attendees who are now having success when handling their livestock on farm.
This course is Farm Ready funded and delivered nationally.
Report by Jean Prow - South West NRM Bollon
