THE ART OF BRANDING

After a long hard winter of below-freezing temperatures, cold lonely nights and heavy snow, everyone looks forward to springtime. Springtime in western Nebraska is a time of spraying fields, planting crops, repairing fences, and branding calves.

Livestock branding is an age-old custom to identify the owner of the animals dating back at least 4,700 years. Proof exists that the Egyptians branded. It can be seen in a tomb painting "depicting a cattle roundup and branding from 2700 BC," according to a Smithsonian.com article.

Melody Benjamin, vice president of member services for the Nebraska Cattlemen Association, explained that each community is a bit different regarding branding, but there are specific rules or etiquette that always apply.

There are generally two methods to branding: using a table or roping the calves. There are benefits to both ways: the table doesn't require as many people, although it takes longer, whereas roping the calves is a social event with families in attendance, and the calves can be branded quicker and faster, but it takes a talented crew of cowboys to rope, wrestle, castrate, and vaccinate the calves.

Benjamin said that when they rope calves, they have been able to brand as many as 1,200 calves before 1:00 in the afternoon.

Christopher Gentry, a member of the Nebraska Brand Committee who lives about 10 miles north of Hyannis, said they have always roped calves and hopes he never gets away from it, although he hires all of his help and pays them a day's wage. Gentry did say that most ranchers in his area rope and drag the calf. He likes the rope and drag method because he doesn't want to get kicked.

Gentry continued to explain that after feeding all winter and calving out, it is really nice "to get together" for a social event and meal. It is a time for families and neighbors to work calves then relax with a meal.

Local cattle producers that rope their calves usually schedule their brandings and then trade labor with their neighbors. Often, a Nordfork or branding fork is used if the crew is short on wrestlers. The younger guys are needed for wrestling. The Nordfork device holds the head of a calf while the ground crew works the calf.

Brandings require lots of preparation: people, vaccines, brands, tools, food and beverages for the day. The day starts early as the crew arrives, and they head off to gather the cows. Once all the cattle are brought in, they have to sort off the calves. Everyone has their job to do, and once the roping starts, the branding resembles a finely tuned dance routine with everyone knowing exactly what to do and where to go.

Here are a few branding rules, according to Benjamin: "Never rope at your own branding. Don't show up with a horse unless the owner has asked you to bring your horse." She also said that if you are asked to do a job, you do it, such as vaccinations, not the most exciting job, but necessary. And you always ask how they want it done. Finally, some communities have an unspoken rule – if you try to rope a calf three times and miss, then get off the horse, you are done roping.

Gentry had a hardy laugh when he heard that some areas have the "rule" of missing three times, but he did say if you see someone struggling as they are roping, then it might be time to ask someone else to rope. Gentry also said, "Never ask to rope" because everyone knows who can rope and who can't.

Benjamin lives at Lakeside, and due to COVID-19 last spring, many ranchers didn't want to get big crews together, so they used a table for the first time and liked it. He also said, "Then you didn't have to feed 30 people."

Generally, ranchers are very cautious about having spectators come to their brandings because the images may end up online and not correctly depict the event.

Future installments in the Observer's series on branding will look at branding laws and actual brands.