Branding Cattle
Farmers and ranchers make up less than 2% of the US population according to the US Farm Bureau. So that means 98% of people don’t live this lifestyle. That statistic amazes me, and I’m not sure why. I guess because it consumes my life I think it does everyones.
I started my Circle Bar Beef Instagram and Facebook page to show a little about what we do, so that people would hopefully have more of an idea of where their food comes from, who is raising it and the process. I try to me honest and actually show what we do. Last week I posted pictures of our branding, and received a message telling me how cruel I was to do that to a calf. Well, the actual message was’t that nice so I am paraphrasing, I’ll leave it here incase you want to read it. Normally I just block, delete and not give it much thought, but this one bothered me. I got to thinking about the 98% and decided that maybe an explanation on why we brand our cattle would help clear up some misconceptions.
Branding cattle has been done since the beginning of livestock ownership and the purpose is just that, to identify the owner. Most cattle out west do not just live in a back yard pasture, they are ran on thousands of acres with other ranchers. Without permanent owner identification there would be no way to know who they belong to.
Every state has a department of brand inspection. They registered brands for that state, inspect cattle, and try to keep it all straight. To transport cattle out of state they have to be inspected. Where we are, cattle can’t leave the county without a brand inspection. That is because our rural location makes it very easy to steal cattle.
Two or three time a year, usually in the fall we have the brand inspector up to ID a stray that has come home with us. They shave the hair off to read the brand so it can go back to the rightful owner. Many cattle in our area come in on summer feed and go back down in California in the fall. They all have to be brand inspected, and even then some get by. Just last month we got a call from the inspector at the Orland Livestock Yard, they found a yearling of ours. It left here with someones pasture cattle and wintered out down there. When those cattle were taken to the sale the brand was seen. Without a brand that income would have been lost. We can’t afford that, this is our livelihood, not just something we do for fun.
How would you like it done to you? I was asked. I have been hit with that hot iron on more than one occasion. It doesn’t feel great, I also have skin not a thick hide. A hot iron on hide for a split second doesn’t phase them, they jump up take of, and just like a human burn that doesn’t go through the skin it is forgotten about in a few days. It is much less painful than surgery’s people are electing to do, or having done to their children, tattoos, or the removal of them. Don’t get me started.
So if eating a steak from a calf that had a split second of pain from a hot iron is too much for you than by all means find one that is not. And, if the honesty on my instagram hurts your feelings than go! But at some point people have to stop letting their feelings make their decisions. There is always more to an issue than appears. Ask questions learn about it, then make a decision. It may be the same one, but at lease you are educated about it and can make a thoughtful argument. Otherwise you just sound ignorant, and no one respects that.
I am always happy to answer your questions. So if I post something you don’t understand or want to know more about, by all means ask me. Like I said sometimes I forget we don’t all live this lifestyle. We in agriculture could do ourselves a big favor to remember that, and take the time to explain about the processes and why.