7:30 a.m. - 9 a.m., Room 217 C/D

MA 101: Cattle Transportation

Dell King, King Livestock; and Tim O’Bryne, Calico Cattle Consulting.

Cattle Transportation
Cattlemen, drivers, feedlot owners and packers each have a responsibility to prevent problems.

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS (Feb. 2, 2005) — Advances are being made toward new Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) guidelines regarding livestock transportation. Tim O’Byrne from Calico Beef Consulting, Las Vegas, Nev., and Dell King from King Livestock Express Inc., Hopkinsville, Ky., talked about the issues and problems facing the livestock industry regarding transport of live cattle and provided some practical handling and transportation techniques during the Cattlemen’s College® Feb. 2 in San Antonio.

Tim O'Byrne, Calico Cattle Consulting
O’Byrne explained that the beef industry is dependent on the transportation of cattle across the nation’s roads. He noted that transport can be the biggest stressor in an animal’s life, often resulting in reduced carcass quality or injury. Many things about transporting live cattle can factor into these harms, including things to which the cattleman, driver, feedlot owner and packer contribute. He stressed the importance of each person knowing and accepting his or her responsibilities to prevent problems.

O’Byrne went through some of the issues facing drivers and packers, such as being pressured to accept sick cattle or overload trucks. He then discussed many of the concerns that have appeared in recent years, such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) policy concerning downer cattle due to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) concerns, controlling diseases such as foot-and-mouth (FMD) disease for biosecurity purposes, and the threat of bioterrorism from domestic animal and environmental rights groups.

In order to reduce injuries and bruising, O’Byrne discussed the importance of good handling techniques and well-built facilities. He said the BQA guidelines, to be further detailed at a later time, would include the training and instructions needed for drivers to prevent harm to their loads.

King provided a hands-on assessment of the transportation issue, gleaned from his 44 years in the industry. A buyer and transporter of cattle, King takes special precautions when putting his cattle on trucks. A loading diagram accompanies each load to map out which pens of cattle will be placed in which compartments. He stressed the importance of communication in the transportation industry, as many problems could be prevented by proper communication between driver and customer.

— by Brooke Byrd, assistant editor, Angus Productions Inc.
© Copyright 2005 Angus Productions Inc.

Editor’s Note: This article was written under contract or by staff of Angus Productions Inc. (API), which claims copyright to this article. It may not be published or distributed without the express permission of Angus Productions Inc. To request reprint permission and guidelines, contact Shauna Rose Hermel, editor, at (816) 383-5270 or shermel@angusjournal.com.


Click here to listen to O'Byrne's presentation.
Click here to listen to King's presentation.
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