OPINION? EVERYBODY HAS ONE: Don't fret over unheard of dreaded cattle diseases

GRAVETTE — Sure enough, I am an old cow hand; but there are two or three things that I still could learn.

I am always reading about some new and dastardly disease in one of the thousands of farm publications that come each month. I sometimes read about the disease and begin to have a strange discernment of symptoms of my own! I ain’t afraid of nothing, but that sorta rattles me.

I was uptown at the coffee emporium and the Knights of the Round Table - said that tonguein-cheek - and we were talking about the causes and effects of all the imported cattle. The discussion covered the importing of all kinds of bugs and larva and other nasty things as the cattle from other countries are unloaded on our homeland. Ben (his cousin is a vet in Rhode Island) said he was pretty certain that it is a government conspiracy to kill off all our good breeds and make us all have to go to work in town or join the services.Ben is a few years past prime and yet he worries about having to go on long marches.

The longer the conversations went on, the worse the horde of diseases became. Hoof and mouth was mild compared to what the fellers described as ulcerated hides, and it went on from there. I about got sick, paid for my coffee and left, but my mind would not let all that information lay down and die.

I went back to the house, told my close relative that I was gonna do some of the paperwork and went directly into the office and closed the door. I got out the magazines from the previous month and this month and started looking up the vet’s page in each one. All of the discussionswere lectures given by a certified, licensed veterinarian or a highly educated professor of Animal Husbandry and the head of some college department. The pages all had pictures of the honorablepersons who wrote or cowrote all of the articles. They were white-shirted, suited, tied and smiling like they were in a cool or warm room, depending on the season. Not a single one of them had on a hat or skin that was leathery. I looked them over real good.

I still am not calm, but I know what I do know and I’ve been here for over - well, a mighty long time - and I will not believe every word I read. I grabbed my hat and went to check the cows again, drove around the steer pasture and then the heifers. All was fine.

It is my opinion, and everyone has one, some of the stuff we read is there because that feller needed to find something, maybe just anything, to write about for his monthly wages! He probably didn’t intend to scare anyone, didn’t intend to cause an uprising of the tribes, and will never even think about the cattle wasting diseases again in his life.

Pray regular, feed regular and keep on learning every day. Just leave the outbreaks of dire consequences in the hands of the Lord and don’t believe all you read!

Bill is a pen name used by the Gravette author of this weekly column.