Branding is voluntary. Some cattle outside the designated brand area – roughly the western two-thirds of Nebraska – are branded and some within the area aren’t.

On the Burdick Ranch, nestled in Nebraska’s Sandhills, spring cattle branding is an annual act of community. The sheer scale of gathering, roping, vaccinating, and marking 900 calves with the family ...

Brand your cattle always has been good advice, but it is more important in today's markets because of the higher values. A stolen cow can put a thousand dollars or more in a thief's pocket when the ...

The Bowman Branding Company is a tradition for youth in the southwestern North Dakota community. Each year, the crew helps with 20 to 25 brandings throughout May and June.

A calf escapes the rope of Paul Kenner of Wood Lake as he corrals and separates young calves from their mothers before a branding at the Burdick Ranch south of ...

It’s not unusual for people to be charged with cattle theft or leaving the Nebraska brand area without inspection, according to representatives of the Nebraska Brand Committee. Rick Bickford, a ...

Cumberbatch may not be everyone’s first pick for playing the role of a hardened cowboy, but he took his role seriously. He threw himself into learning what it means to get dirty as a cowboy. In an ...

BOWMAN, N.D. — Branding season is a busy time for ranchers in western North Dakota. That’s why one group of boys lends their neighbors some extra hands. The Bowman Branding Company consists of ...