Culling Cows
A few years ago, I was having a conversation with an older cattleman. In passing, I mentioned if he were ever interested in selling some of his cows I might be interested in purchasing them. Much to my surprise, he acted offended by my offer and angrily snapped back saying he would “never sell a cow off of that farm”. To say the least, I was taken a little off guard by his response and it is something I have thought about many times since that day. What is it about a person that would cause them to be so rigid in thought or practice? Was this something that had been ingrained in this older gentleman since he was a child, had his life experience shaped his approach in this way, or was it simply that he didn’t care for the way I cavalierly mentioned the cattle without understanding the relationship he had with them? I suspect I will never know the answer. Perhaps, it is a combination of all of those things. This encounter caused me to take a hard look at how we approach our decision making at Grassworks in an effort to evolve and constantly strive for excellence. At Grassworks, we have a deep respect for our animals and show that through our management practices. We believe that cows/ruminants were designed to be grass harvesters and it is our goal to keep them on pasture doing exactly that, for as much of their lives as possible. In return for our efforts to provide our cattle with their best lives, they provide us and our customers with a healthful, low fat protein source rich in vitamins and minerals. If, however, we have a cow or cows that are unable to perform as we feel they should, we are forced to cull them and find a replacement that will better suit our needs and, thus, those of our customers. This may sound callous and I often find myself making excuses for those cows. Ultimately, they will either work or they won’t and the sooner we can make that determination, the better. As I have reflected on this from time to time, it has become clear that this can serve as a process and philosophy for all areas of our lives. Maybe it’s a job we don’t particularly care for, a habit or routine that does not serve us anymore, or a relationship that has outlived its usefulness. Sometimes we need to practice “addition by subtraction” to simplify and enrich our lives by letting go of something. In doing so, we can be grateful for what the person or thing gave us during their/its time, while recognizing we are better off parting ways. So, the question is, do you have any cows you need to cull?
