Temple Grandin

Sharing a memory from this day nine years ago, of the profound visit to Shat Acres Highland Cattle by the one and only Temple Grandin. This was our third time meeting Temple Grandin, but the first time on our home turf with her viewing our Highland cows, calves, and bull.

Dr. Temple Grandin is a professor of Animal Science in Colorado; a scientist, inventor and autism activist who has revolutionized humane animal handling to reduce stress in animals and humans. She has written extensively about autism and animal behavior and credits her success and accomplishments with humane animal handling to being able to think like an animal and decode animal behaviors.

For those not familiar with Temple Grandin, there is a 2010 movie titled with her name, starring Claire Dane. You can also learn more about this gifted and influential person at Dr. Temple Grandin

Much of how we handle and work with our cattle at Shat Acres and Greenfield Highland Beef is based on the philosophy and teachings of Temple Grandin. When she visited our farm, she said she had never seen so many Highlands in one place, telling Ray he "really knew how to work cattle." Coming from Temple Grandin, Ray was pretty proud of her assessment of his cow handling skills.

“Guess who came to visit Shat Acres Highland Cattle and Greenfield Highland Beef in Greensboro Bend, Vermont? So humbled and honored to have Dr. Temple Grandin, noted author, animal welfare advocate and professor of animal science at Colorado State University take time to come see what we do on our Highland Cattle farm. Dr. Grandin said she had never seen so many Highlands in one place. After watching Ray move the herd to a new rotational paddock, Temple told Ray he "really knows how to work cattle".”