Every year after harvest, millions of cattle are trucked to graze crop residue, get to winter pasture or to be put in dry lots. With current challenges in the trucking industry, reviewing best practices is appropriate.
. . .several factors should be considered when cattle are being transported. These include loading conditions, time in transit, weather conditions, comingling, segregation of different sexes and weight classes into separate trailer compartments, driver experience, and animal health status and physical condition.”
Source: Drovers, October 14, 2021. Link. There are several pre-shipping suggestions that years of research provides:
- Feed and water cattle within five hours prior to loading if the trip length is over 12 hours
- Cattle making trips longer than four hours should be fed within 24 hours prior to loading
- Cattle should be in good health and fit for transport
- Cattle should be handled as little as possible and as gently as possible prior to transport
- Cattle should receive a minimum of five hours of rest following 48 hours of transport
INSIGHTS: Note the newly developed Beef Quality Assurance Transportation (BQAT) online training modules located at www.BQA.org.