BROKEN BOW, Neb. (Flatwater Free Press) – On a stormy late April morning, five horseback riders disappeared behind the hills of a meadow amid rustling tall grass. The meadowlark was singing. An hour later the riders reappeared from afar, their “yips” and “hey, hey, hey” guiding the herd of Angus cows and long calves.
The herd moved through the gate, across muddy puddles, and toward pasture ready for branding day. It’s a spring tradition at Treffer Ranch and other ranches that produce one of Nebraska’s most valuable commodities: cattle.
But this Saturday’s branding wasn’t like a scene from a rodeo, cowboy movie or old western. A true branding day resembles a slow dance of understanding between humans and ranch horses and cows.
That doesn’t mean all participants were always happy. The calf began barking as Treffer’s crew sorted the calf into the pen while the mother cow was in a nearby pen.
Treffer Family Branding Day is traditionally the last Saturday in April, weather permitting, and the crew consists of all or most family members.
It usually takes two or three ropers, three calf wrestlers and three or four vaccinators, said rancher brothers and ranchers Bruce and Mike Treffer. Bruce adapted the brand and ran it for decades until his father, Lauren, passed away in January 2018.
Several regular crew members, including his son, nephew, and Mike’s wife Corus, who help wrestle and slam the roped calves to the ground, weren’t able to come this year.
“We just fall short, especially compared to the big names in our family,” Mike said.
So Bruce’s twins, Greg and Sarah, sophomores at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, recruited four college friends with varying experience working with cattle to help. They were quick learners and became better calf wrestlers at the end of the day.
“If someone comes in who doesn’t know how to wrestle calves, it can be a disaster,” Mike said of handling 85 calves ranging in weight from 90 to 200 pounds.
Mike and his two nephews rode their horses into the pen, tied the calf’s hind legs with rope, and led it lying on its stomach across the grass to the wrestlers.
Bruce said that while some people think this “rope and drag method” hurts the calves, it’s “less stressful on the calves and people than using the chute.”
Bruce applied the family branding to the left rib of each calf. Then came the shots and sprays.
For most calves, this entire process took 1 to 2 minutes. The calf then jumped up and looked for its mother. Some were primarily interested in dairy foods.
“I don’t think we’re doing this just to have fun on Branding Day,” Bruce said. “It’s something that has to be done.”
Why a brand?
Brands have proven ownership of cattle since farmers and ranchers first settled on Nebraska’s vast, unfenced prairies and cattle drives brought large mixed-owned herds to Ogallala and other railroad cities. has been used to.
According to the Legislative Policy Summary, there were a total of 1,590 brands recorded in 1890. Brand testing of cattle and horses sold in Nebraska began in 1909. In 1941, lawmakers established the Brand Inspection District and the Nebraska Brand Commission to prevent theft.
Commission inspectors verify brand and ownership when most cattle are sold. The self-funded agency tested more than 3.8 million cattle in 2022-23, according to its annual report.
Branding is optional. Some cattle outside the designated branding area (approximately the western two-thirds of Nebraska) are branded, while others within the area are not. However, to use your brand, you must register with the Brand Commission.
“Not everyone has a brand. It’s the prerogative of the owner,” said John F., a southwestern Nebraska rancher and one of five commissioners appointed by the governor and approved by the Legislature. said one Marie Farr.
Brand Day is a rural Nebraska tradition.
“We lean on each other in times of need and celebrate together in times of good times,” said Sherry Vinton, Nebraska Agriculture Commissioner, whose roots in ranching in western Nebraska go back nearly 150 years. “Whether it’s a branding event, a prairie fire, a graduation ceremony, whatever it is, our neighbors come to help.”
Some of Nebraska’s 33,000 registered brands have been around for generations. Some families have more than one.
Treffer Ranch’s main branding is an upside-down T overlaid on top of a right-sloping lazy T.
Farr said the brand continues to have value because it’s permanent and visible from a distance, unlike ear tags that can come off.
This is important because cattle are big business in Nebraska. The state Department of Agriculture reported that cows and calves ranked as Nebraska’s most valuable agricultural product in 2022. The state led the nation in beef and veal exports (approximately $1.8 billion) in 2023.
The 1,150 missing cattle recovered in 2022-23 were worth more than $1.2 million, according to the Nebraska Brand Commission.
family history
Today, Treffer Ranch spans 1,300 acres in southern Custer County, with some farmland and a herd of about 250 cows and 20 horses. This is a modest-sized operation with humble origins.
Lauren Treffer and Delores Desleffs were neighbors in Sherman County before they married on June 9, 1952, when they were still teenagers.
“We grew up on a farm with cows, pigs, chickens and sheep,” Delores said. “My father always had horses. Lauren’s family were mechanical people.”
For the first 20 years, Lauren’s work took them to gas stations and car dealerships, mostly in Nebraska, before finally settling in the Broken Bow area.
“Our kids grew up and wanted animals for 4-H,” Delores said of living on a rural property for many years. “So I got an animal.”
The Angus registered herd began in 1957 with heifers purchased for $100, Bruce and Mike’s birthday money and $12 from their parents. The heifer was part of Grandpa Deslefs’ herd until the Treffer family had their own pasture.
“I don’t remember making the decision to buy a heifer,” said Bruce, who was 4 years old at the time.
The family purchased their first registered American Quarter Horse mare in 1967. She added her two painted horses in 1987 when Bruce married her horse owner, Christy.
Now 90 years old, Delores still lives at the ranch’s headquarters east of Broken Bow. And she still uses a Dremel tool to engrave her ID number and calf’s birthday on the orange ear tags the calves wear for identification and ranch record-keeping. is.
The family business focuses on breeding and selling registered Angus bulls and heifers to other producers. About 20 of the recently branded calves will be sold as yearling bulls next year. Some of the heifers will be sold and the steers will be finished as beef in the feedlot or at home.
The family also welcomes up to 10 foals a year and currently has 30 horses.
“We’ll sell it any way we can,” Bruce said. “We (he and Mike) used to beat them, but I think we’ve gotten older or slowed down. If you can’t do it yourself, do it. It’s hard to find people.”
“We look for good temperament and cow feel. It’s kind of built in,” Mike said of what makes a good ranch horse.
Trefer’s five children followed their father’s example of combining a full-time occupation with ranching, raising a family, and other interests.
The eldest four are retired. Bruce, a Lexington resident, is a former UNL Extension educator in Dawson County. Mike, a Gering native, was the Box Butte County Executive Director for the Department of Agriculture, Farm Service. Linda Smith, who lives in Ceresco, worked as her IT project manager at Duncan Aviation in Lincoln. and Dawn Wheeler taught at North Platte Elementary School.
Jean Thompson of Overton is an English instructor at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.
it’s a blessing
The crowning tradition for many Brand Day veterans is a warm, homemade homemade dinner served around noon. Delores said her favorite part is “her family coming together and working together.”
When she was head chef, grilled steaks appeared on the menu. Everyone still brings something for the meals her daughters and daughters-in-law have planned.
On April 27th, Treffer’s branding staff left their muddy boots outside the kitchen door and served plates of sloppy Joes, cheesy potatoes, baked beans, green beans, four types of salad, and at least that many desserts. I packed it in.
As the college students found their seats at the kitchen table and older people in stockings stood in the adjoining dining room, Bruce asked everyone to stop to celebrate.
“Thank you for this food and the people who prepared it. Thank you to my family and friends for being here. And for letting us be a part of this cow business.”
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