Current advice to farmers from the Health and Safety Authority to wear high visibility jackets is excellent when near machinery but not when working with cattle.

So Kilkenny farmer Stephen O’Reilly who has a keen interest in stockmanship and the safe handling of cattle believes.

“We should keep in mind that cattle do not see colours and objects the same way that we do”, he said.

“Many high-vis jackets are bright yellow but that is a muted colour for cattle; however, the reflective strips on the jackets cause harsh contrasts and shadow flickers that can upset cattle.”

O’Reilly got his interest in stockmanship when working in the USA on cattle ranches.

Cattle handling is better thought out over there and stockmanship skills higher, he said.

“That’s not because the US farmer is any smarter than us or like their cattle any more – it’s because herds are much larger and as a result cattle have less one-to-one interaction with humans. Ranchers have therefore had to put a lot of thought and planning into safe handling.”

The subject has also received a lot of academic research attention there.

Advice

As well as Temple Grandin there are a number of other specialists who have given great advice to ranchers on safe, efficient handling of cattle.

They include Bud Williams, Ron Gill and Curt Pate.

O’Reilly farms at Cluainview Farm near Kilmoganny, running a herd of Belted Galloways.

“They’re reputed to be wild. This is because they have often come down off a hill and are not handled regularly. With good handling they settle down as well as any other suckler breed and I find them enjoyable to work with. They are the ultimate grass to beef converters.”

O’Reilly is pleased to see safe cattle handling and stockmanship getting more attention here. He is currently designing two handling units for his farm.

One will incorporate the use of a sweep tub and the other a “Bud Box”.

Unknown to most cattle famers here but well known in the US, both of these take advantage of a cow’s natural instinct to want to return to where they came from.