In 2006, I answered an ad in the paper for a position as a Pen Rider at a large feedlot in Queensland. I had an interview over the phone, organised a couple of horses and gave notice at my polo grooming job in NSW. I was 20 years old. This was to be my first job working with cattle, after studying Certificates 3 & 4 and a Diploma of Agriculture at Longreach Pastoral College in the previous two years. I had been cattle and horse mad from a young age, so I was pumped to have a job working with both.
I was new to the world of production animal health, so as is standard practice, I was sent riding pens with Fred. Fred was the unofficial trainer of newcomers. These days, we would refer to Fred as the onsite Trainer and Assessor, however, in 2006, it was just widely understood that you rode pens with Fred until he deemed you competent to ride by yourself.
Fred’s main job was to teach me how to identify illness in feedlot cattle. We would ride side by side on our horses, in a serpentine pattern within the pen, which enabled us to view each beast from both sides. I was taught the importance of getting each animal up to check soundness, and if I was unsure of an animal’s condition, I could utilise my horse and take the beast for a walk in the pen. I soon learnt that sick cattle avoid being seen and will quietly weave their way through their friends to hide from you, and they can completely mask a sore leg if they want. Subtle signs, like dirty noses (healthy cattle keep their noses clean), lethargy and depression, or reluctance to bear weight on a limb, were all signs that time spent in the saddle and in the pen instilled in you.
Fred, at 69 years of age, wearing his plastic white hat and riding his homebred stallion, had a patient and gentle manner when sharing knowledge. He had worked with livestock all his life and had a lot of knowledge to share if you were open to receiving it.
This feedlot held roughly 30,000 head, and after pen riding was finished in the morning, the stock crew would split up to get the day’s work done. “Alex and Gerry to the hospital to treat today’s pulls (cattle pulled from pens during pen riding) and then do the autopsies, Fred and Andy, you can draft the returns and take them back to their home pens, and Megan and Nick, you can help out the induction shed and then clean troughs”, Bob the Livestock Manager would say.
These jobs rotated daily, and what you did today, you didn’t necessarily do tomorrow. It was this round-robin style of tasks that allowed you to layer and build upon your skills. Drafting cattle on horses taught good stockmanship, processing cattle in the induction shed taught you how to keep cattle up to the crush and identify the best ways to facilitate movement and treating cattle in the hospital allowed you to check the temperature of the steer you pulled that morning for a respiratory illness and see how ‘in’ your eye was.
Gerry taught me how to use the hospital computer programs & which drug to use to treat which ailment. Andy taught me how to get my horses going well for me so that I could get cattle out of pens in a low-stress manner. Janine taught me the importance of taking time to observe your cattle before you sprung to action and removed a beast from its pen.
The feedlot environment, should you spend enough time in it, fosters the growth of those wanting to become good stockmen and women. The Australian Lot Feeders Association (ALFA) hosts courses relating to feedlot skills and visiting nutritionists and feedlot Vets are always open and willing to share their knowledge. I was taught how to autopsy by Dr Matt George and Dr Sandy Jephcott, and this informal training occurred many times over my two years at the feedlot, which allowed me to build confidence in performing autopsies and deciphering what I was seeing inside. Dr Kev Sullivan and Dr Lachy Strohfeldt, from Bell Vets, openly share their method of cattle handling – Creating Connections– on feedlot visits, with the aim of reducing stress on stock and up-skilling crews.
Fast forward a couple of years, and I found myself living in Western Australia and pursuing a position in the Live Export industry. After working at Coolina Export Depot in Geraldton, I was hooked on this thing called exporting, and I needed to know more. I took myself down to Fremantle and attended LiveCorp’s Onboard Stockman’s Accreditation in 2010, where I learnt about the roles and responsibilities of a stockman at sea. One thing I deducted from the course and from my time at Coolina, was that the responsibilities of a stockman onboard a ship were very similar to that of a stockman at a feedlot.
It’s now 2019 and I have been sailing consistently for almost a year. In that time, I have sailed to Vietnam, Indonesia and I will be heading off to China soon. I have sailed underneath a Head Stockman, sailed as a Head Stockman, sailed with AAV’s (Accredited Australian Vet), and sailed solo. All of these voyages have been successful and enjoyable, and every voyage so far has given me a reason to reflect on the similarities between the two industries.
Both are animal health & welfare roles. Both incorporate stockmanship, ruminant nutrition, vet nursing, husbandry, acclimation, post mortem’s, leadership and communication. Both require a good work ethic and ask that you be resourceful, compassionate and proactive. Each voyage presents its own unique challenges, but what I am thankful for on each trip is the solid foundation in animal health and stockmanship, that working in the Australian feedlot industry has given me. Looking towards the future, recruitment-wise, I wonder whether the Live Export industry could be focussing on ensuring those in stock crews at Australian feedlots know of the wonderful opportunities that exist in exporting. While it would not be fair to feedlots to have their staff pinched, perhaps having an open door between the two industries would assist in helping the Australian beef industry retain its experienced and valuable workers.
