"Nature is cruel but we don't have to be" - Temple Grandin

Well, I just finished watching 'Temple Grandin' and it was fabulous.  It solidified my desire to work with her on both my Master's projects and also attend CSU to pursue my PhD.  If you missed it, it will be on HBO again at 10:45.  You can look up a program schedule for the next two weeks by visiting HBO's site.

It not only tells the story of one of our industry's greatest pioneers, but it's a deeply moving and inspiring story of overcoming all odds and 'opening doors' to new challenges.  She encourages us not to be cruel like nature and since we raise cattle for our consumption we owe them some respect.  We owe it to be humane to them.  I strongly encourage all agriculturalists, producers and consumers to see it. I'm going to watch it again in an hour and a half! 

Until next time,
~Buzzard~

Don't Forget Temple!

A looong time ago, I posted about the HBO movie 'Temple Grandin' that was going to be released soon ('Temple Grandin - HBO Biopic' 11/17/09).  Well soon means this Saturday, February 6 at 7pm on HBO.  I repeat, Saturday February 6th at 7 pm.  The movie displays Dr. Grandin's life from high school (when she was expelled) to the creation of Grandin Livestock Handling Systems.

Dr. Grandin is a professor at Colorado State University (CSU) and a pioneer for the livestock industry, designing over 1/3 of the world's livestock handling systems.  She has written several books, hundreds of articles and speaks to conferences and universities on a regular basis.  In fact, she will be in Manhattan, KS for the International Symposium on Beef Cattle Welfare.  Unfortunately, I will be unable to attend because I'll be on my way to South Africa - but that's for another day. You can learn more about the Beef Cattle Welfare Symposium and how to register for it by visiting this site http://www.isbcw.beefcattleinstitute.org/.


Goodbye and don't forget to turn your tv to HBO this Saturday, February 6th at 7pm for the movie 'Temple Grandin'
 
Until next time,
~Buzzard~

Rocky Mountain Experience - the first 3 days

I traveled to Fort Collins, Colorado this past week to meet with faculty at Colorado State University about a project I am doing for The Pork Board.  The two days of meetings were very informative and I learned a lot; I also learned there's a lot I don't know!

I got to the Hilton at 11 on Monday night; due to overbooking (or something like that) I was comped a king size room with two tvs couch, work desk - the works. Pardon my excitement but I felt like a celebrity.

Tuesday I met with Dr. Terry Engle, Dr. Dave Anderson, Dr. Lily Edwards - my major professor and also Dr. Bernie Rollin.  We discussed protocols, procedures and a timeline.  Looks like we won't be starting the actual trials until early May but that's ok -- I've got a lot of reading to do.

Wednesday I holed up in my exquisite room and worked on a summary of our meeting and also entered data from my first research trial.  A mere 4 hours later, I had accomplished my entire day's worth of objectives!

I didn't take many pictures while in Fort Collins but I did snap this one outside of the Dean of the College of Agriculture's office.  Makes me proud of my cowgirl/Western heritage!   More from my Colorado trip soon.

Until next time,
~Buzzard~