5 minute read
On the Edge of Common Sense
THE EDGE OF COMMON SENSE
by Baxter Black, BaxterBlack.com
The Feedlot Woman
Ihave known and worked with many women in the feedlot business. Some as cowboys, some as vets, some as lay doctors, as cattle processors, feed truck drivers, foremen (or forepersons) and managers (or should that be womanagers?).
Lest you think I’m going to waste your time with a commentary on cute political correctness witticisms, relax, I’m not. Nor do the feedlot women I know waste their time with political correctness. I think I’d be safe in saying affirmative action doesn’t have much impact in the typical feedlot. The women working there earn their place.
And it is a chauvinist world. But the big equalizer is animals. The crew can tell in a hurry if a new person knows how to handle stock. Should some macho bluffer start pickin’ on a new woman and she turns out to be a good hand, he’ll back off (or the crew will straighten him out.) A good hand, regardless of gender is recognized and welcome. It’s been said, and I tend to agree, that women seem to have more empathy with animals, even feedlot animals. It’s noticeable in the sick pens, in the processing area, loading fats and raising orphan calves.
There are exceptions in both genders, of course. There are plenty of men who don’t feel the need to jab a new steer two times with a hot shot before the tailgate opens ahead of them. There are men who exercise patience when pulling a calf from some fat pregnant feedlot heifer. And there are men who have some compassion for a beast in trouble.
On the other hand, there are women who treat cattle like inanimate objects or judge a good day by the number of head processed rather than how much unneeded stress was created. If women are easier on cattle maybe it’s the mother instinct.
Workin’ feedlot cattle requires more stamina than strength. We have hydraulic squeeze chutes, front end loaders, nose tongs, horses, pulleys, push gates and hot shots which allow humans to handle critters considerably bigger and stronger than them. But it takes stamina to process or doctor eight hours a day for three weeks straight. Women are long on stamina.
One of the biggest deterrents for women has always been that ground work in a feedlot is a dirty job, fraught with smashed fingers, stepped-on toes and pucky in your hair. But plenty of women can handle it. And to our industry’s credit they are receiving equal opportunity for advancement. For a bunch of chauvinistic cowboys that has been a big step.
If she’s the best cowboy in the feedyard and everybody knows it, she deserves the pay and the promotion. ‘Cause in the end, as every manager knows, it’s just good business. ▫
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NMSU Extension Coordinates New Farmer Network in Four Corners region
Do you have land you want farmed in northwest New Mexico? Are you a farmer looking for land? We’re the matchmaker for you.
New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension Service in San Juan County has a new program, Northwest New Mexico New Farmer Network, that’s working to connect people with farmland to people wishing to farm.
“With the resources, technical assistance and support, we are here to navigate this process for both landowners and the land-seeking farmers,” said Bonnie Hopkins, NMSU Extension agricultural agent in San Juan County.
“Our new program specialist, Wes Medlock, will be the matchmaker to bring landowners and land-seeking farmers together,” Hopkins said. “One of his main focuses will be to develop meaningful and genuine relationships with landowners and the new farmers.”
Local food systems face several obstacles, such as aging farmer population, difficulties that new farmers have acquiring land and the assistance along the way to facilitate the leasing processes.
“These are just some of the challenges the New Farmer Network will serve to alleviate,” Medlock said. “Our mission is to break down the barriers between the farmers and the farm. Our goal is to facilitate 15 new farm lease agreements over the next two years by fostering communication between the landowner and the farmer and aggregating resources to aid in the leasing process.”
A user-friendly website is being developed for landowners to post their farmland or property acreage to advertise to new and transitioning farmers. Also on the website, the farmers can post what kind of land requirements they are looking for.
“Land leasing agreements can be complicated and time consuming,” Medlock said. “We’re here to help guide that process from developing the relationship between the two parties, all the way to signing the dotted line.”
While this program encourages all landowners and farmers to participate, the target audience for outreach will also include farmers from Native American and other minority groups, and farmers who are women or disabled veterans.
Medlock brings many years of experience in sustainable development to the project. He graduated from Appalachian State University with a degree in this area.
“Wes has a heart for food, farmers, and the land in which it grows,” said Hopkins. “He has been with many nonprofit and various food initiatives, including serving as vice president on the board of directors at Durango Natural Foods Cooperative to help provide a viable market for local farmers.”
Medlock hopes the New Farmer Network will be the seed that grows a strong local food system and cultivates a sustainable future.
Working with NMSU Extension, NWNM Buy Fresh Buy Local chapter, and the Harvest Food Hub in Farmington, the New Farmers Network will also provide technical assistance on specialty crop production and marketing in the region.
For more information about the New Farmers Network, contact Medlock at wmedlock@nmsu.edu or call 505/334-9496. ▫
Williams
williamswindmill @live.com
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