Today we got to meet with Dr. Jason Ahola, Associate Professor of Beef Production Systems in the Department of Animal Sciences at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. He also conducts applied beef cattle research.
Dr. Ahola explained how it’s possible for local and commercial farmers to work together towards both sustainability and the humane treatment of animals. Industrial agriculture and small-scale local farming may not be as polarized as people have tended to believe.
We were very happy to see, first-hand, how humanely the cattle can be treated at a commercial cow-calf operation. It’s important to understand that just because a farm animal is raised on small-scale farm, it doesn’t mean that the animal is treated humanely. Dr. Ahola has a profound love and respect for cattle, and works hard to educate his students about how to best care for them.
