Avoiding Regurgitation Education
Guest post by Clemson Montana Summer Program student Jacob Moreland
“So, you’re going to make a living on blood, pus, and sweat” – John Pfister
This was the response by Mr. Pfister, a supervisor for over 30 extension agents throughout the state of Montana, when Libby told him her major. An extension agent’s main job is to expose the public to research information on new techniques and opportunities that they can use for their benefit.
Mr. Pfister explained to us that Montana is all about balance and the importance of coming together instead of arguing about who is right or wrong when it comes to taking care of the rangeland. As Mr. Pfister said, “If we don’t manage our resources together, mother nature will”. This brought up the topic of the “100-year forest”, where burned forest and land could take up to 100 years to fully grow back.
Mr. Pfister also covered artificial insemination with our group. Before coming to Montana, I had no idea what artificial insemination even was. Mr. Pfister said that the general population viewed A.I. as “messing with nature” and in the long run, A.I. would have heavy consequences. From what I learned about A.I., I don’t see why a rancher wouldn’t do A.I. on his herd. Mr. Pfister continued to bring up the term “Regurgitation Education”, which is when someone believes something from someone else without proper proof. This is often seen with online information. During his presentation, somebody in the group asked Mr. Pfister where he sees the ranch and cattle business heading in the future. This is where he brought up the point of rancher’s children not returning to the ranch when they graduate, which is leading to some decline in the ranching field and he is also seeing some corporate business buying up ranches in other states such as Texas.
“Someday, corporate America will have control of a majority of ranches, and will have enough power to decide the price of steak and a loaf of bread” -John Pfister
He is also seeing a trend of wealthy, non-ranchers buying up ranches. The problem with this is most of these people don’t particularly care for the well being of the animals or the future of the land, but only care about what the ranch looks like to their guest when they visit for vacation. I can see how current ranchers are upset with this new trend because the lack of care that these people provide is destroying the grassland which they have worked to protect for decades.
The last point Mr. Pfister touched on is the “fight” between ranchers and people who want to see the prairie go back to its natural form. He explained that tourists believe that ranching is harmful to the grasslands and that cattle are harmful to wildlife populations. I, too, believed that ranching is bad for the grasslands before coming to Montana and listening to the rancher’s side of the story. Mr. Pfister explained that the people who produce cattle are the same people who are reviving the plains through grazing, and it is hard to connect that to the public after they have decided what they believe without seeing the facts to support their claim.
On the last day of this section we visited Fort Keogh which is the USDA Livestock and Range Research Laboratory. We learned a lot of information on water quality, burning of the plains, and the research behind the controlling of cheat grass, a type of Brome. Before the lecture on water quality and the effects on livestock growth, I had no idea that the quality of water could affect cows in such a way. We learned that water quality can affect food intake and the weaning weight of the calf. We also learned about the rumen in cows and even got to work with two cannulated cows to observe the inside of the rumen. Before Montana, I heard about these cows with “windows” but never seen one in person. Even though I thought it was gross, it was still interesting to see what the partially digested grass looks like inside the cow. I thought sheer size of the cow stomach was amazing. This activity was the most interesting part of my Montana experience so far.
“So, you’re going to make a living on blood, pus, and sweat” – John Pfister
Mr. Pfister explained to us that Montana is all about balance and the importance of coming together instead of arguing about who is right or wrong when it comes to taking care of the rangeland. As Mr. Pfister said, “If we don’t manage our resources together, mother nature will”. This brought up the topic of the “100-year forest”, where burned forest and land could take up to 100 years to fully grow back.
Mr. Pfister also covered artificial insemination with our group. Before coming to Montana, I had no idea what artificial insemination even was. Mr. Pfister said that the general population viewed A.I. as “messing with nature” and in the long run, A.I. would have heavy consequences. From what I learned about A.I., I don’t see why a rancher wouldn’t do A.I. on his herd. Mr. Pfister continued to bring up the term “Regurgitation Education”, which is when someone believes something from someone else without proper proof. This is often seen with online information. During his presentation, somebody in the group asked Mr. Pfister where he sees the ranch and cattle business heading in the future. This is where he brought up the point of rancher’s children not returning to the ranch when they graduate, which is leading to some decline in the ranching field and he is also seeing some corporate business buying up ranches in other states such as Texas.
“Someday, corporate America will have control of a majority of ranches, and will have enough power to decide the price of steak and a loaf of bread” -John Pfister
He is also seeing a trend of wealthy, non-ranchers buying up ranches. The problem with this is most of these people don’t particularly care for the well being of the animals or the future of the land, but only care about what the ranch looks like to their guest when they visit for vacation. I can see how current ranchers are upset with this new trend because the lack of care that these people provide is destroying the grassland which they have worked to protect for decades.
On the last day of this section we visited Fort Keogh which is the USDA Livestock and Range Research Laboratory. We learned a lot of information on water quality, burning of the plains, and the research behind the controlling of cheat grass, a type of Brome. Before the lecture on water quality and the effects on livestock growth, I had no idea that the quality of water could affect cows in such a way. We learned that water quality can affect food intake and the weaning weight of the calf. We also learned about the rumen in cows and even got to work with two cannulated cows to observe the inside of the rumen. Before Montana, I heard about these cows with “windows” but never seen one in person. Even though I thought it was gross, it was still interesting to see what the partially digested grass looks like inside the cow. I thought sheer size of the cow stomach was amazing. This activity was the most interesting part of my Montana experience so far.
