Working with livestock always includes opportunities for someone to get injured. National Safety Month is behind us, but attention to safety requires continual attention. Every day, about 100 agricultural workers suffer a lost-work-time injury.
Two articles from the NCBA BQA library are timely as fall cattle work progresses. Understanding the animals, as well as the best handling practices and especially how to use equipment properly, keeps those handling and working cattle safe, including veterinary teams enlisted to help process or care for cattle.
Source: Beef Quality Assurance resources. The Beef Checkoff-funded Beef Quality Assurance program has many tools to train employees and improve human and animal safety.
- Worker safety considerations on the ranch, during hauling cattle, BQA. Link.
- Teaming up with your veterinarian, BQA. Link. The value of the veterinarian-client-patient relationship to the cattle producer and their cattle should not be overlooked.
Veterinarians are one branch of an operation’s resource team and can help with short-term and long-term goals towards profit and sustainability.” – Julia Herman, DVM, MS, DACVPM
Related: BQA calf hauling guidelines, Drovers, October 7, 2024. Link. It is important to remember load density when transporting calves writes Mark Z. Johnson. He shares a load density matrix that accounts for calf size and trailer dimensions.