The Fifth Dimension
Cattlemen’s College® session explores how the actions of the individual producer affect the larger beef community.
Imagine for a minute that your family is traveling down a busy highway. As you drive past a large cattle feedyard, your teenage daughter says, “If that’s where our beef comes from, I don’t think I want to eat it anymore.”
Mike Nichols
An incident like that was Mike Nichols’ welcome to the “fifth dimension” of beef production. According to Nichols and fellow Zoetis technical service veterinarian Robin Faulkner, this fifth dimension encompasses the perceptions people have based on what they have seen or heard regarding the beef industry. Speaking in tag-team fashion at a Cattlemen’s College® session of the 2014 Cattle Industry Convention in Nashville, Tenn., Nichols and Faulkner said the fifth dimension should be of concern to all industry stakeholders.
Most stakeholders probably don’t realize there are five dimensions to their business. According to Faulkner, most concentrate on only three — the cost of various practices, the return on investment and efficiency of production. A fourth dimension, not included in financial accounting, is the impact that “taking care of business” has on people and their relationships.
However, it was the fifth dimension that caught Nichols off guard. His daughter was familiar with some aspects of cattle production — mainly the cow-calf side of the business.
“It started me thinking about what she saw in that feedyard that I didn’t,” Nichols said.
On his next trip past the feedyard, he more closely observed the particularly pungent odor and how the air was heavy with dust. He also saw a dead calf being removed from a pen, strung by a chain from a front-end loader. All of that could be seen from a highway where some 73,000 vehicles pass daily.
Robin Faulkner
“Every operation is like a billboard to passersby. What’s on your billboard?” Nichols asked. “The fifth dimension is all about community. It’s about what we do says about our industry. It’s about the image projected to people who don’t know anything else — people that are two, three or more generations away from production agriculture.”
Faulkner noted that a growing percentage of people disapprove of hunting, but judging by the television show’s popularity, a lot of the same people are fans of Duck Dynasty.
The show’s portrayal of respect for animals, strong human relationships and family values is praised. According to Faulkner, every cattle operation is like a reality show to people that drive by.
“Being beef ambassadors, refuting the myths and sharing the science used in beef production is good, but we all need to be ‘Beef Commanders,’ ” stated Faulkner. “Be a fifth dimensional cattleman by showing people that you care about animals, your industry and the community. Make that part of your legacy.”
Editor’s Note: Troy Smith is a cattleman and freelance writer from Sargent, Neb. This article contains information compiled from the Angus Journal’s online coverage of the 2014 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show, which is available online at www.4cattlemen.com.