Tag Archives: Courtney Daigle
The Search for Stockmen
By Kylee Kohls The future of food is in our hands, but do we have enough hands to help feed the world? Courtney Daigle, assistant professor of animal welfare at Texas A&M University, shares ideas on the narrowing supply of quality stockmen and how cattlemen might find more top hands. “There are fewer people working in agriculture, so there’s a limited awareness that stockmanship is a potential occupation,” she says. “A lot of our workforce is made up of immigrants, and some of the challenges we have in… Read More →
The weight of labor issues on animal welfare
By Courtney Daigle Producers face challenges in recruiting and retaining stockpeople. There are two job openings for each applicant, and much of the agricultural workforce is composed of immigrants. Immigration reform is making it difficult to generate a sustainable agricultural workforce, even as the U.S. demand for foreign labor has increased fivefold in the past 13 years. To overcome these challenges, producers are identifying out-of-the-box solutions including alternative labor sources (e.g., prison inmates) and are quick to implement new technology that makes managing more animals easier and more… Read More →
Commentary: Will reinstating horse slaughter in the U.S. improve horse welfare?
By Courtney L. Daigle It is in the best interest of the horse to reinstate horse slaughter for human consumption in the United States. Related: Horse Slaughter Ban Still A Hot Topic Here’s why: Abolition of horse slaughter in the United States for human consumption has eliminated one of the management tools needed to provide horses with good welfare. This legislative action has created an unwanted horse problem, and may result in horses being abandoned, abused, or neglected. Horse owners have fewer options to dispose of horses that are no longer wanted because… Read More →
Department of Animal Science introducing new judging team
By: Dr. Courtney Daigle In November, the Department of Animal Science sent the first Animal Welfare Judging Team to compete in the 17th Annual Intercollegiate Animal Welfare Judging and Assessment Contest at Iowa State University. Over 250 graduate, undergraduate, and veterinary students from 18 universities across the US and Canada evaluated the welfare of farmed fish, meat rabbits, racing greyhounds, and finisher pigs. This year’s undergraduate team placed 8th and was coached by graduate student, Rachel Park and advised by Dr. Courtney Daigle, assistant professor of animal welfare. … Read More →