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Branding time depicted in ‘This is Nebraska’ photo winner

Photographer Robyn Koelling shows how neighbors help neighbors to get the job done.

Curt Arens, Editor, Nebraska Farmer

October 4, 2024

1 Min Read
Luke Staab ropes a calf during branding time on the Staab Ranch
COWBOY WAY: Luke Staab ropes a calf during branding time on the Staab Ranch in Valley County south of Ord, Neb.Robyn Koelling

It sounds so simple: Neighbors helping neighbors get a job done. For some folks, that might sound old-fashioned. But for ranchers in Nebraska’s cattle country, it is just the way things are.

The photo “Cowboy Branding” received the “This is Nebraska” award at the Nebraska State Fair in September. Using a Nikon D3100 camera with a Tamron lens (18-400 mm, F/3.5-6.3), photographer Robyn Koelling captured Luke Staab roping a calf during branding time with neighbors in Mira Valley, south of Ord in Valley County.

“Spring branding is a time for ranchers of this valley to take turns working livestock,” Koelling says. “Each rancher decides on a date to brand calves, lets the neighbors know, and the cowboys and cowgirls in the neighborhood show up to help.

“This is a time we all look forward to — not only to accomplish this necessary task, but also for the fellowship that takes place when we go back to the house and have a dinner fit for royalty. We catch up on the news of the day, family activities, aches and pains. But mostly, we laugh and tell stories of happenings of this last year and years past. Memories.”

All ages in the neighborhood participate in this yearly ranch ritual. “At the end of the day, the task is complete, stomachs are full, hearts are happy, and we look forward to the next neighbor’s branding and repeat the process until all the calves are worked,” Koelling says. “We change hats to get ready for the next stage of spring, which is usually planting, growing the food to feed the cattle that feed the world.”

Related:What was ranching like in the 1890s?

About the Author

Curt Arens

Editor, Nebraska Farmer

Curt Arens began writing about Nebraska’s farm families when he was in high school. Before joining Farm Progress as a field editor in April 2010, he had worked as a freelance farm writer for 27 years, first for newspapers and then for farm magazines, including Nebraska Farmer.

His real full-time career, however, during that same period was farming his family’s fourth generation land in northeast Nebraska. He also operated his Christmas tree farm and grew black oil sunflowers for wild birdseed. Curt continues to raise corn, soybeans and alfalfa and runs a cow-calf herd.

Curt and his wife Donna have four children, Lauren, Taylor, Zachary and Benjamin. They are active in their church and St. Rose School in Crofton, where Donna teaches and their children attend classes.

Previously, the 1986 University of Nebraska animal science graduate wrote a weekly rural life column, developed a farm radio program and wrote books about farm direct marketing and farmers markets. He received media honors from the Nebraska Forest Service, Center for Rural Affairs and Northeast Nebraska Experimental Farm Association.

He wrote about the spiritual side of farming in his 2008 book, “Down to Earth: Celebrating a Blessed Life on the Land,” garnering a Catholic Press Association award.

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