4-17 IAT Branding

 A common sound of spring in the West.  The bawling mother cow looking for her calf.  They call it mothering up. It is a settling down period for the moms and their baby calves before the storm, the storm being the branding, vaccination and castration of the male calves before turn out to summer pasture. When the iron is hot, all the dickens  break loose.   “Everybody comes together and you have a good time, drink some beer and we will cook up a big meal after we are done and have a good time.” Rancher, Chris Johnstone describes what many call a traditional Jordan Valley branding where trucks and horse trailers are used to shape the working arena and where each calf Is roped around the head and hind feet and stretched flat for the ground crew who will brand and vaccinate the new calves. Why is of this necessary?  “ For the health of the calves and then when you turn them out on the BLM range they are branded so hopefully no one will steal them, but mostly for the health of the cows.”