Distinctly Montana Magazine

D I S T I N C T L Y M O N T A N A M A G A Z I N E • S P R I N G 2 0 2 2 14 A MERICA IS A DIFFERENT PLACE THAN IT WAS EVEN 20 YEARS AGO. And while the engines of change continue to roll on, there are places right here in Montana where time moves just a little slower. And that's not necessarily a bad thing. Throw a rock from any house in the thickly settled parts of America and you would be hard pressed not to hit a neigh- bor's home. That's how close many now live. The average person in rural Montana would likely consider such living conditions hard to fathom. Even more shocking is the fact few even know who their neighbor is. Though "neighbors" often live many miles apart, ranchers here almost always know those who live near them. Though fiercely independent, ranchers still often rely on neighbors for assistance from time to time. This is especially true in the spring when friends, family and neighbors gather on ranches to help round up the cattle and participate in the annual rite of passage known as branding. Yes, some unfamiliar with ranching might think branding is just another mundane, labor-intensive task. Still others wonder why the practice still happens at all. With advanc- es in computer technology, radio frequency identification (RFID), and drones, those still familiar with the job might consider it a relic of the past and something only seen in fan- ciful portrayals of the West, such as Paramount Network's Yellowstone. Hugely popular television shows and movies have made cowboy culture popular again, but branding is more than just a passing fancy found in Hollywood scripts. In Montana, it is tradition. And it is still required by law in almost every Western state. Branding cattle is probably best compared to an Amish barn raising, where neighbors gather together to raise a wooden barn in just one day. A similar approach to getting a job done occurs on many ranches in Montana when neigh- bors help each other brand many hundreds of calves in a sin- gle day. Every ranch brands cattle at least once every year, CALLOUT article and photos by TODD KLASSY BRANDING TYPICALLY OCCURS IN MONTANA EVERY WEEKEND IN APRIL AND MAY… AND OCCASIONALLY JUNE, TOO. THE RARE EXCEPTION (THOUGH NOT ENTIRELY) IS MOTHER'S DAY. EVEN COWBOYS HAVE MOTHERS.

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