Under the Wire

Everything I know about people, I have learned from cows. This may be the 100th time I have begun an “Under The Wire” with that statement. It’s accuracy continues to astound and amaze me.

Throughout my years of doing business, everything from trading horses and cattle, running a livestock auction, selling advertising on our radio network and hiring people for a variety of reasons, I have met a lot of different types of people. Most were wonderful, trustworthy folks. Some became lifelong friends and business associates. Then there are the others. Some of them remain memorable, but for entirely different reasons. My problem has always been telling the two types apart. By nature, I want to trust them all.

There are various ways to try and sort them out. Job applications, credit checks, references and interviews. All can be misleading and cause for disappointment from time to time. “There must be a better way,” I think after a disappointing encounter.

Finally, after decades of pondering, I found the answer, right in front of my eyes. Once again cattle have the answer. EPDs.

Cattlemen and women reading this immediately recognize these three letters. For those who have not written a check for a new bull, let me explain. EPD in the cattle world stands for Estimated Progeny Differential. This is a record keeping system on cattle that compares an individual against all the rest of the individuals in his herd or breed association. Numbers are assigned so anyone who is interested can compare one animal against the rest for various traits such as birth weight, potential size at weaning, one year of age and my favorite, disposition. Using EPDs I can choose a bull who will be just as advertised. No surprises or mistakes. All it takes is a bit of tracking his relatives, mother, father, aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers and sisters and offspring.

In our ”big brother” world where there seems to be no secrecy on nearly every level, why doesn’t someone begin developing EPDs for people? Think about it. We could choose wives, husbands, son-in-laws, business partners or who we want to buy a used car from, all based on their EPD for honesty, work ethic, longevity and more.

Once again, we learn something from cows. I tell you, it’s uncanny how much there is to learn from following old bossy around.