THE ART OF BRANDING
It's An Age-Old Custom, But Rules Can Vary From Area To Area
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Daria Anderson-Faden
Layton Mossberg hangs on tight to a calf as the ground crew surrounds him to work the calf earlier this month during Mossberg's branding day in Banner County.
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 C...
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