For farmers and ranchers, calving season is a crucial time, often filled with long hours and potential hazards. Dan Leo, owner of Safety Zone Calf Catchers, has developed a device that aims to make this period safer and more efficient. His invention, the Safety Zone Calf Catcher, is designed to be mounted on ATVs or UTVs, allowing for the safe capture and processing of calves. Farm Director KC Sheperd caught up with him to get the spill on the “magic device.”
“Essentially, the calf catcher itself is designed to fit on the left-hand side of either an ATV or a side-by-side,” explains Leo. “It’s set up so you can catch a calf. You’re safe while you’re processing, and you can use them to pair out. There’s just a lot of big advantages to it.”
The inspiration for the Calf Catcher came from Leo’s own experience. “This goes back some 14 years ago,” he recalled. “We thought through the process and how we could make it. The original prototype, we’ve still got our operation today, and we’ve run, I don’t know, probably, ten or fifteen thousand calves calves through it over the years.”
One of the key benefits of the Calf Catcher is its ability to protect ranchers from potentially aggressive mother cows. “Our mother cows have a God-given instinct to be protective and good mothers for their calves,” Leo states. “And of course, everybody wants a cow that’s gonna take care of her calf. The last thing we want is a cow that is going to have her calf and then walks off and leaves it.”
However, this protective instinct can sometimes lead to dangerous situations. “We all know that you can have a cow around for a long time, and she never gives you a problem; Then, all of a sudden, one year, she calves, and then she ends up being ultra-protective,” Leo says. “Then of course the person who is trying to process the calf is the one who can get into trouble, and it can happen pretty quick.”
The Calf Catcher addresses this risk by providing a safe enclosure for the calf during processing. “You drive over the calf, whether it’s a brand new calf or several days old or even a month or two old,” explains Leo. “You shut the door with a tripping handle that locks shut. You step into the cage itself. We have a calf holder compartment on the back end where people place the calves so the cow can see and smell that calf.”
This design allows the cow to remain calm while the calf is being handled. “Ninety-five percent of the cows or more will stand right by the back corner of the calf catcher and see and smell their calf while you are tagging, banding, and vaccinating it,” Leo notes. “When you are done going through the process, you can just let them out the back. They will pair right up with their mothers, and nobody gets hurt.”
Leo stresses that the Calf Catcher is not just for older ranchers or those who have experienced injuries. “It just makes a lot safer environment for people,” he asserts. “Frankly, if you’re a young kid that can ride a four-wheeler or a UTV, you can process calves on the ranch, and nobody’s gotta worry about you.”
For those interested in learning more, Leo encourages visiting the Safety Zone Calf Catcher website at safetyzonecalfcatchers.com.
