We are a mish-mash of old and new around here. This is our newest branding iron, and it’s electric! No more keeping a bed of coals alive in the corner of the corral while we’re branding.
Instead, we string extension cords
across a few corrals
and a road
then into the barn and an outlet.
Most times we use this handy chute
to check out and brand the calves.
Other times
it’s a little more old school
like this notebook where info about each calf is recorded.
See Tyler in the background talking on his cell phone?-definitely not old school.
We prefer the new-fangled tool Matt is using to castrate this calf even though we all know REAL cowboys use their teeth. Rest assured, this ranch is run by all real cowboys. Still the tool is a welcome addition to branding day.
While all these tools help to speed up the process, Charlene just smiles and says, “It still takes 18 months to raise a steer. You can’t hurry that process.”