A weekend of branding: leaving one's mark

PLAINS – The smell of singed hair filled the air Saturday as the warm weather brought a good opportunity for local farmers to brand and vaccinate their calves.

Throughout the county, many farmers and ranchers took to their corrals and fields, preparing their calves for the next months to come.

Branding has been a part of Montana’s history since the first state-recorded brand in 1873. Not only do the unique brands help identify cattle, they help to identify whoever owns the cows, linking the cows to a family.

But the process of branding started even before 1873, when in 1864 Montana’s Territorial Legislation passed a law stating that brands must be recorded.

This long lived tradition continues to this day, not so much as a way of identification but as a way to hold onto one’s roots, showcasing unique brands linking the family’s history to their livestock.

There are multiple ways to conduct a branding, and the week showcased two very different styles of getting the process done.

John Holland hosted his annual calf branding at his home the old-fashioned way with good friends, good food, and good drinks.

With 49 calves being branded, Holland is still awaiting the arrival of one more late-season calf.

As two men took to the corral on horseback to roundup the calves the old fashioned way, the calves were roped and dragged out into an opening where they were then wrestled, flipped over, branded with burning hot brands and vaccinated.

The effort brought in many spectators as the team of workers dragged out the calves usually two at a time.

“Many people come for the free beer,” said Holland with a laugh.

After the calves were wrestled to the ground, they were pinned down and then sorted into two groups: one full of smaller calves, which were carried out into a pen and the other for larger calves.

The rather quick process took about an hour and a half to complete, with pulled pork sandwiches served after the day’s hard work.

On another Plains family ranch, a different style of branding could be seen. The more up-to-date branding took place by running the calves through a chute, pinning them in and tipping them over - branding, vaccinating, tagging and banding the male calves.

While one person was seen branding, the others were busy scurrying along, vaccinating the calves and making sure the proper tags were applied to each calf. The crew worked quickly and teamwork could be seen at its finest.

Some stubborn calves had to be wrestled further into the chute to ensure the locks would have a proper grip on their sides, holding them sufficiently so they could not escape.

As mud flew and people scrambled to get the long day’s work over and done with, close to 80 calves were branded with numerous people handling the hot metal rods, donning the brand characters required by law to show ownership.

As the rod touched the calf’s hindquarters, smoke could be seen and smelt as their new identification tags were charred into their skin.

After the branding was completed, the calves and other cows were rounded up on horseback and pushed out into the pasture where they were fed.

The final roundup of the cows ended the day’s adventures. The Carr family ranch will be branding two more times, with many more calves to go.

Once again the day’s festivities ended with a feast made especially for the helpers, serving up BBQ meatballs, mashed potatoes and a plethora of side dishes to reward everyone for their hard work.

The long standing tradition is not only a way to put your mark on a calf, it has now become a social gathering where many people can enjoy the sunshine and sweat dripping off their foreheads.