Dr. Temple Grandin

Nobody can understand the livestock industry and especially working cattle quite as well as Dr. Temple Grandin. Not only did this autistic woman re-create the way we think about cattle working operations and handling livestock at slaughter plants, but she also received her PhD, wrote several books, and had an HBO movie made about her life!

If you've never heard about her or her amazing work within the livestock industry, I encourage you to check it out! Go to youtube and search her videos! Watch her movie! Read one or all of her books! She is quite an amazing woman and I believe that as livestock producers, there is much to be learned from her!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46ycu3JFRrA
Here is a link to one of her videos. K-State had the honor of having her speak last week, however I was unable to go! But, from the reports I have heard about it, she talked a lot about free-range chickens. What exactly qualifies as a "free-range" chicken? Wouldn't that mean that they could go wherever they wanted? Which as we all know, is not really plausible! What is the price that someone is willing to pay for "free-range" eggs? Do they taste any better? No, but people want to know that the animal was treated well while living! Which is what Dr. Grandin is trying to do! She has developed simple fixes that help reduce stress on an animal when moving to and from locations! Check it out! If you're not impressed, I don't know how to impress you!