happens, we’ll see tremendous savings in the cost of beef production. I have long believed that the future of this business
is not here in the U.S. It’s offshore. If we’re going to expand these cow numbers, which I think we will, we’d better continue to develop our offshore markets. Some challenges in 100 years will be the same as
they were 100 years ago — keeping the government out of our business, and Mother Nature. If anything, government is likely to get worse. I have no doubt that TSCRA will be here in 100 years, still fi ghting for the rights of ranchers to conduct business.
Dave Owens Dow AgroSciences portfolio
marketing leader, US Range and Pasture and Industrial Vegetation Management
beams pictures of big bucks directly to my smart phone so I can do my pre-season “scouting” from 700 miles away — available on-line at a price comparable to that goose down sleeping bag. The technological advancements available to cattle
producers in 2114 will be mind blowing, and unbeliev- ably inexpensive! Fully automated hubs for rotational grazing systems
will automatically move cattle to the next paddock based on forage availability data gathered through remote sensing devices. Monitors will allow you to check cattle while sitting
at the kitchen table (any kitchen table in the world), and automated herd health systems will notify you when that fi rst-calf heifer is having diffi culty calving. Impregnating that heifer will be easy; a single bolus
will synchronize her, artifi cially inseminate her and determine the sex of her calf. Preg-checking her will be a piece of cake with the
A wise man once told me, “never wish
away a single day of your life.” It was mid-summer and I had just quipped “I
wish it was Christmas,” to my father. Teenagers can be so impatient — I had my eye on a new heavyweight sleeping bag for winter camping. After all, Atari hadn’t yet invented “Pong”, and there were no electronic giz- mos on my wish list. This year’s list? I’ve been thinking a trail camera would be nice — one that automatically
sonogram system attached to the head gate; after all, who has time to palpate cattle anymore? Medications will be delivered without needles, and
computers linked to smart chips inside the animal will monitor the exact dosage and handle all the required record keeping. Everything will be designed to take the stress off
of you and your animals. What will be the best aspect of all this technology?
It will give you more time to enjoy your cattle and the cattle business. I just wish I could be around to see it all unfold!
MORE
What will ranching look like in 100 years? We asked this question of some leading thinkers in ranching as a way to wrap up this centennial year for The Cattleman magazine. Our replies came from a rancher and presi- dent of Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA), from a young ranching professional in West Texas, educators and economists and from corporate agriculture.
We’ve learned from this year of looking back to 1914 that some things about ranching haven’t changed in the last 100 years. Read these interesting predictions from our leaders and thinkers about what the next 100 years will bring to ranching.
tscra.org
December 2014 The Cattleman 91
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