Mark of the Old West

Colorado brand inspectors keep a rein on cattle rustling

Roger Fillion, Rocky Mountain News

Published November 23, 2006 at midnight

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BRUSH - With cattle rustling staging a comeback in Texas, Kansas and elsewhere, Eldon Crowder wants to ensure it doesn't become a big problem in Colorado.

He's among 60 state brand inspectors scattered across Colorado. It's a state law-enforcement job with roots dating to the 1860s, in what was Colorado Territory. And it's a job that hasn't changed much over the years.

Cattle industry officials say the recording of livestock brands for proof of ownership has kept a lid on cattle rustling in Colorado vs. states where brand laws are less strict.

"It's a deterrent more than anything else," says the 49-year-old Crowder, a brand inspector for nearly two decades. "It's one of those deals that keeps honest people honest."

On a recent sunny day, Crowder was checking and recording the various brands stamped on hundreds of steers and heifers destined for auction at the High Plains Livestock Exchange here. Fittingly, the golden arches of a McDonald's restaurant beckon motorists on Interstate 76 to stop and enjoy a burger in this eastern Plains town.

With cattle mooing and kicking up dust, Crowder quickly identifies the brands on half a dozen animals inside a pen. He draws the brand on a slip of paper known as a doc card. He counts the animals, records the data on the card and moves on to the next pen of cattle.

For Crowder, the procedure all happens within seconds. It gets repeated throughout the day. Sometimes as many as 90 head of cattle are processed in a matter of minutes.

Crowder enjoys his work.

"You're around some of the nicest folks in the world," he says.

But there are downsides. "You can be out here when its 20 below and snow is blowing down your shirt collar."

Tools of the trade

The information Crowder collects gets housed in Denver, at the Colorado State Board of Stock Inspection.

By keeping track of an animal's brand, as well as the names of the seller and buyer, brand inspectors aim to prevent cattle that stray into the wrong herd from being sold by mistake at an auction or elsewhere.

They also hope to discourage would-be cattle rustlers. Potential thieves may be less inclined to steal - and later sell - branded cattle whose stats are on file with the state.

In doing their job, the brand inspectors wield three key tools: a brand book for recording brands; a 36-foot rope for catching livestock; and a set of clippers to trim the animal's hair when a brand can't be read.

"Our brand inspectors do the same thing today as they did back in the 1860s," says Gary Shoun, Colorado's brand commissioner.

The State Board of Stock Inspection administers nearly 37,000 livestock brands to identify ownership of cattle and equine animals such as horses and mules, as well as sheep and alternative livestock, including elk and deer.

State law requires brands to be inspected on the animals for proof of ownership. The inspection occurs before an animal is sold, when it's transported more than 75 miles or taken out of state, or at slaughter.

"Colorado is one of the few states that has mandatory inspection for change of ownership and movement," Shoun says. "A lot of states" require a brand inspection when an animal is moved, he adds, but not when it changes hands.

Seventeen states, all west of the Mississippi River, have brand-inspection laws, according to the Colorado Department of Agriculture.

They are: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

The laws vary. Colorado's are considered among the tougher ones.

"Their brand laws are very, very stringent," says Larry Grey, enforcement chief with the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association.

Rustling, beef prices linked

By contrast, cattle brands in Texas, Grey says, are inspected only at auctions - and not all cattle are branded. That's because branding isn't mandatory.

The TSCRA, whose members hail from Texas and Oklahoma, reported $6.4 million in livestock thefts last year, mostly involving cattle. That was up from $4 million in 2004.

Cattle industry officials say high beef prices are to blame for the resurgence in cattle rustling.

Grey says Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Arkansas "have been inundated within the last 3 1/2 to four years." Even baseball pitcher Nolan Ryan, who owns a Texas ranch, is among those who've reportedly fallen victim.

"Mandatory branding would definitely make a difference," Grey says.

In Kansas, where branding is voluntary, the Kansas Cattlemen's Association says that in the past year it has fielded more than two dozen reports of theft from ranchers. The spate of thefts has surprised officials.

"For such an old crime, we didn't expect it to rise again," says Brandy Carter, executive director of the Kansas association.

In Colorado, industry officials say cattle rustling hasn't been a serious problem. They credit the brand-inspection system.

"It's a big deterrent to theft," says Terry Fankhauser, executive vice president of the Colorado Cattlemen's Association.

The Colorado State Board of Stock Inspection each year receives reports of about 500 to 700 head of cattle being lost, missing or stolen. About 10 percent to 15 percent are considered theft.

Colorado hasn't been immune to cattle rustling. A notable rustler was Roger Allen Marlow, who operated on the eastern Plains here about a decade ago.

Marlow drove a heavy-duty Ford F-350 pickup fitted with a gooseneck trailer. His partners were two experienced border collies that would herd the cattle aboard the trailer. Marlow liked to operate in the dead of night and then head out of state as quickly as possible.

"He'd load between midnight and 2 in the morning," recalls Shoun, the brand commissioner. "And then he'd jump on the fastest highway he could get."

Marlow eventually was nabbed and convicted.

Knowing the brands

Colorado's brand inspectors typically have a livestock background and often have grown up on a ranch.

To become a brand inspector, applicants must pass a rigorous test by identifying the brands on 15 head of cattle within 10 minutes. An applicant must get at least 11 of the 15 brands correct to pass muster.

"Generally, we pass about 10 percent," says Shoun.

Eldon Crowder was among three applicants who passed when he took the test in 1986. Dozens failed. He grew up on a ranch north of Proctor, in northeastern Colorado.

Without any apparent effort, Crowder can look at a moving steer and identify the brand even though it appears all but invisible to a layperson. And when the brand isn't that legible, Crowder looks for other signs, such as an ear tag or a similarity among the cattle getting inspected. Brands typically are on the shoulders, ribs or hips.

"You use all the clues you can," Crowder says. On this day, he's had to wield his clippers to trim the hair on two head of cattle to get a better look at the brands. After some legwork and phone calls, he determines the ownership of both animals.

"We're supposed to catch the mistakes. And most of the time we do," says Crowder. "There's not a perfect system."

Inspecting brands by the numbers

60 Number of state brand inspectors

36,800 Estimated number of livestock brands on record with Colorado authorities

4.4 million: Number of animals brand inspectors examined in fiscal year ended June 2006

$29.4 million: Value of livestock returned to the legal owner after an animal was determined to have a "questionable" title of ownership

fillionr@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2467

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