Production Systems: How to Apply Systems Thinking

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Production Systems How to Apply Systems Thinking

• Trey Patterson
• South Dakota State University

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Systems Thinking

• I believe your ability to see interrelationships
  and understand the drivers in all decisions that
  you make, requires systems thinking.
• Your ability to think in systems may determine
  whether or not you can stay in the cattle
  business.

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Systems Thinking (Senge, 1990)

• The harder you push, the harder the system pushes
  back.
• I wanted less pressure in the spring, so I went
  to summer calving.
• Now, my summers are stressful I cant get
  everything done NO VACATIONS!

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Systems Thinking (Senge, 1990)

• Behavior grows better before it grows worse
• I graze pastures very intensely, and then let
  them rest an entire year. Ive improved my
  stocking rate dramatically.
• Five years later I have eliminated grass
  species diversity. My stocking rates are lower
  than before, and dry summers leave me with no
  feed.

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Systems Thinking (Senge, 1990

• The easy way out usually leads back in.
• I have tried every vaccine known to man I cant
  get rid of respiratory disease in my weaned
  calves. Now I vaccinate at pre-weaning and at
  weaning with the most expensive vaccines. No
  response!
• The producer may have a trace mineral deficiency,
  keeping the calves from responding to the vaccine.

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Systems Thinking (Senge, 1990)

• Faster is slower
• I made money in 2000 and 2001. The market is
  supposed to hold until 2003. Im keeping more
  replacements.
• I could not take care of all the heifers when
  the March blizzard hit, I had 40 death loss on
  live calves and lost 10 of my heifers.

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Systems Thinking (Senge, 1990)

• Cause and effect are not closely related in time
  and space.
• My operation is not profitable. I cant seem to
  reduce my debt at all. I need to change my
  production system.

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Systems Thinking (Senge, 1990)

• Perhaps the ranch (with assets) was inherited
  along with debt. What you need is a strategy to
  reduce interest and depreciation costs.

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Systems Thinking (Senge, 1990)

• Small changes can produce big results the areas
  of highest leverage may not be the most obvious.
• I cant get the work done. My son and I should
  be able to run this operation together. I wonder
  if we should downsize.

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Systems Thinking (Senge, 1990)

• Perhaps the rancher treats his 25 year-old son
  like a 16 year-old hired hand. If he empowered
  the boy, by teaching through trust,
  responsibility, and appreciation, the work would
  get done with ease.

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Systems Thinking (Senge, 1990)

• You can have your cake and eat it too but not
  at the same time.
• I want low maintenance cows that can produce
  fast growing calves that hang a desirable
  carcass. Im dreaming, you got to do one or the
  other.

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Systems Thinking (Senge, 1990)

• With careful planning of herd genetics,
  replacement rates, breeding systems, and the
  production systems the cattle are asked to
  perform in you can have have the best of both
  worlds.
• It takes time, knowledge, and patience.

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Integration of Resources
Decisions
Forage
Information
Ecosystems
Wildlife
Vision
Land
Livestock
People
Finances
Management System