Lincoln, Neb. — Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture alum Marina Guynn is a new intern at Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory (GSL). Guynn is from Kiowa, Colorado, and has an associate’s degree in livestock management.
Guynn grew up on a cow/calf operation that at one point was part of the American Bucking Bull Inc. and produced several prodigies. She and her brother grew up showing cattle at the fair, something Guynn enjoyed. She always knew a career in the beef industry would be a good fit and aspires eventually to become a ranch manager for a large cattle operation.
Work in the Beef Industry
Guynn started at GSL during the May calving season. For calving season, Guynn’s responsibilities included checking cows twice per day as well as tagging calves with an electronic identification and permanent tag, weighing calves, and taking tissue samples for genetic testing.
With the calving season wrapping up, Guynn also helps with fence repair, research, mineral supplementation, general upkeep and cleaning, checking pairs and yearlings, identifying sick cattle, artificial insemination protocols with the cows, and processing cattle to assess body condition scores, putting tags in, and weighing. Guynn’s responsibilities will expand as her time with GSL increases.
“I like being out there and active and seeing how the cattle may or may not change every day and watching them grow,” said Guynn. “It is awesome to see that how we take care of cattle and what we provide for them impacts them every day, and gives us chances to learn from certain things.”
Additionally, Guynn is assisting with several research projects including the impact of range grass versus meadow grass feeding on body condition score, cow weights, yearling weights, and 24-hour milk production. Another research project focuses on comparing the weights of calves produced conventionally versus using artificial insemination with sexed semen, and another on understanding the impact of cow body condition score on calving.
“All of this impacts the beef industry by giving producers this information that they are not able to achieve on their own,” said Guynn.
Opportunities and Challenges
Guynn identified that it can be financially challenging to get started in the beef industry. It can be tough to make a profit or break even, especially with the currently unpredictable markets. Guynn believes this is something many Americans do not realize and sometimes take for granted.
“I would like to advocate for more ag education in schools across the country, and I hope my impact will be worth something,” said Guynn.
According to Guynn, a few other challenges in the beef industry include the physical toll of the work and keeping cattle, equipment, and people safe during extreme weather events.
Guynn said there is also a lot of opportunity to grow knowledge and expertise as a cattle worker. The more experience one has with cattle, the easier it is to recognize potential issues and prevent them or know how to solve a problem.
“If you encounter a sick calf, it’s easier to recognize what might be wrong if you’ve already seen a calf with that problem,” said Guynn.
To learn more about the Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory, visit https://go.unl.edu/2ajp.
