mother nature doesn’t stop at your invisible lines

Post by Clemson undergraduate Abigail Greer

We began the third section of our trip by doing basic forage calculations—I was pretty wary. As a wildlife and fisheries biology major, I was lost in this area, but after thinking more, I realized this same skill is applicable to animal caretakers, zoo keepers, breeders, and all kinds of specialists in my target field. This was how I had to look at a lot of the stops we made in this section because it was heavily livestock-focused. That being said, every stop we made during this section was fascinating in an unexpected way. I was shocked at how disappointed I felt when we had to wrap up our time at Midlands Bull Test early to make it to our next stop on time.

Starting at the feed lot was rough, I’ll admit. I didn’t like to see cows wading around in their own feces and urine with minimal space and no traction on all the sludge. The bison that were being “finished” there were especially sad to see, as they were not eagerly stuffing their faces like the cows around them were, and they looked mangy with their half-shed coats. Dan, the owner’s son, gave us a tour of their cattle chute and spoke about how there has been a push to get rid of branding in Montana by some activist groups, but he personally “couldn’t imagine the industry without it”. He also walked us through the process of hormone pellet injections for weight gain, giving me an overall off-putting experience of the feed lot. I already aim to eat 100% grass-fed beef if I ever find myself cooking it, and this really solidified my convictions in a hurry. I was at a loss for connections to my wildlife goals here, to be totally honest.

The coal mine tour was another stop that wasn’t terribly uplifting, but was informative, nonetheless. Seeing their facilities was eye-opening because before I couldn’t fathom the scale at which coal is mined. The manager on site told us that the majority of their coal goes overseas, and Signal Peak Energy is just one of many Montana coal mines that supplies China with its coal, which was new information to me. Seeing the ground collapsing on such a large scale during the tour was another low note for me, as coal mining and other non-renewable resource endeavors are something I am wary of. It was a lot to take in in person, and I certainly didn’t love it. I do, however, understand that this is one of the different lifestyles that Montana is host to.

My favorite stop we made during this leg of the trip was the time we spent at the Montana State University Wool Lab. I had absolutely no clue that wool science was such a niche field, and I loved hearing about people’s different paths into the industry. I am a huge fan of wool socks and it was fun to talk to people my age who also understand the investment you can make into wool clothes that will last you a lifetime.  Even though I am more than partial to wildlife, I’m passionate about sustainable fashion, as well. As wool becomes more fashionable, so will sustainability.

I also had a jaw-dropping moment when I got to watch the farrier at MSU make a horseshoe out of a plain rod of steel in under 10 minutes. This may show my ignorance about equine community, but I really and truly thought that horseshoes were all straight out of the box and onto the horse. I don’t know much about livestock, and they don’t spark any real interest to me, but just because they aren’t my cup of tea doesn’t mean I should stay in the dark. I really appreciated being shown the basics of livestock in a judgement-free environment where I could ask all the dumb questions I wanted. A memorable one that the group had to witness was when I asked Steve from Midlands Bull Test what a “temp” was… Apparently it just means temperature and thank GOD I didn’t have to ask that in a traditional classroom setting.

Even though I’m more of a wildlife person at heart, I know that there is no shortage of overlap between the livestock and native wildlife anywhere you go. Several speakers have emphasized collaboration and admission that one sector cannot solve huge issues, and that rings true everywhere. Jeff Hermanns mentioned the need to cooperate by stating that “mother nature doesn’t stop at your invisible lines”, when speaking about wildfire management.  Even if it is just the interactions between domesticated dogs and songbirds, or more extreme like the bison and cattle here in Montana, there is always collaboration that can stand to happen. I don’t know what other clashes are bound to crop up in the future, especially in whichever neck of the woods I end up in in a few years. I can only hope that there will be so many passionate and involved parties willing to share their thoughts, just like the folks I have been privileged to meet here.