Training calves is a lot like training children. Both have short attention spans, and both would rather play than work, as I discovered at the 2024 Miles Smith Farm camp.

What's the point of a cow experience for people who can't see the cows? I said yes anyway, figuring I'd learn something. That part I got right.

I gave this talk because a cow taught me something no human ever could.

That's the thing about cattle: they are forgiving. I can bark at a steer at nine in the morning, and by 9:02 he's looking for a treat. Cattle don't hold grudges. They don't read tone. They don't lie awake replaying what you said to them by the water trough.