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BRANDING: There are currently10,654 brands registered in Oregon
Page 10A
East Oregonian
Continued from 1A
ters U and R, which stands for
Double M’s original name,
the Umatilla Ranch.
With spring calving under-
way since late January, Dou-
ble M began its branding on
Thursday, taking advantage
of a warm and sunny morn-
ing. The cattle will eventually
be sold to feedlots across the
Northwest, where a healthy
900-pound steer can fetch
$2,000 or more.
Branding is not required in
Oregon, though producers are
encouraged to brand as a de-
terrent to theft. Cattle rustling
remains a concern, Sexson
said, especially as prices con-
tinue to hit record highs due to
drought.
“It would be a major con-
cern here if all of a sudden we
started missing 2-3 calves ev-
ery week,” Sexson said.
A state inspector must be
on hand for all cattle sales at
auction or shipments out of
state, whether the animals are
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
The Double M Ranch runs 1,600 cattle on 6,000 acres in
the Echo and Stanfield area.
branded or not, to verify own-
ership. There are 10,654 total
brands currently registered
with the Oregon Department
of Agriculture.
Double M Ranch runs
about 1,600 head of cattle,
mostly Black Angus and Sim-
mental, on 6,000 acres split
EHWZHHQ 6WDQ¿HOG DQG (FKR
The rule of thumb is to brand
when calves are about two
months old, before they be-
come too large to handle.
As it is, it takes four peo-
ple working together to brand
a roughly 200-pound calf at
Double M. Mike and Patsy
Taylor, who live on the ranch
and manage operations, check
off each animal by its tag
number, which keeps a record
of the individual’s sex, color,
birth date and weight.
It was Patsy Taylor’s
grandfather, Irvin Mann Sr.,
who bought the land in 1944
that was expanded and devel-
oped into Double M Ranch.
The Taylors, along with their
sons Jack and Sam, have car-
ried on the family operation
now through four generations.
Just before each calf is
branded, Patsy Taylor injects
them with vaccinations for a
variety of infectious bacterial
diseases, known as clostridial
diseases. The shots are given
under the skin at the base of
the neck, which is held still by
a locking bar at one end of the
table.
“They’re just like little
kids getting vaccinated,” Tay-
lor said. “When they’re six
months old, they get another
round of vaccinations and,
when we wean them, they’ll
get another.”
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clang, allowing Sexson to
brand right over the top of the
calf, now on its side. Not only
is the brand design unique,
but its placement on the ani-
mal must be consistent.
Taylor compares the brand
to someone accidentally
grabbing a hot frying pan
or touching a hot stove. The
burn doesn’t last long, but it’s
enough to sear away the hair
follicles and leave a perma-
nent mark.
“They forget, though,” she
said. “They’ll move on to big-
ger and better things after a
while.”
Despite their bleats of
protest, Taylor said all their
calves are handled calmly
with the least amount of stress
possible.
“They work really hard for
us, so we have to work real-
ly hard for them,” she said.
“Without them, we don’t have
a livelihood. You have to re-
spect them.”
———
Contact George Plaven at
gplaven@eastoregonian.com
or 541-564-4547.
Friday, March 27, 2015
Heifer drive raises
scholarship money
The Umatilla County
Cattlemen’s Association
is seeking heifers donated
by local producers to sell
at auction, with proceeds
to go toward college
scholarships for qualify-
ing high school students.
The goal is to bring
in 50 heifers and raise
$100,000 for the UCCA
Scholarship Endowment
Fund.
All expenses to feed,
manage and sell the
heifers will be donated
by project supporters.
Residents can also donate
cash that will be used to
support the purchase of
heifers for sale.
For more information
about the Scholarship
Heifer Drive, contact
UCCA President Clint
Sexson at 541-609-0167;
Randy Mills at 541-278-
5404; or Patsy Taylor at
541-561-5288.
SCOTT: Matthew Hermann got
life in prison for Key’s murder
Continued from 1A
in court along with a few
other supporters. He did not
address the court.
Scott also did not make
a statement. Davis said her
client was nervous about
speaking in public. Luukinen
noted he and Scott spoke at
length during plea negotia-
tions in February, when Scott
expressed his wish that the
crimes had not happened and
offered condolences to Key’s
family.
Scott, Jacob Lee White,
20, and Matthew Hermann,
22, in late January 2013
forced their way into Key’s
home in the small communi-
ty of Umapine to rob her. She
was 79 and lived a vibrant
life on her own, according to
her family. White told police
Hermann was the ringleader.
The intruders bound Key to a
chair with duct tape, and Her-
mann beat her unconscious.
She died six months later at
the age of 80.
Luukinen negotiated plea
deals with each defendant.
Hermann last month pleaded
guilty to Key’s murder and to
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en sentenced Hermann to life
in prison, but he will be eligi-
ble for parole after he serves
40 years.
White in June 2014 plead-
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bery and burglary. He was
facing a sentencing Friday.
Umatilla County Circuit
Court records show the state
pushed that back until April
21.
———
Contact Phil Wright at
pwright@eastoregonian.com
or 541-966-0833.
GUNS: About 40 percent of
Oregon households have guns
the state’s households have
guns.
The measure would re-
The checks focus on con-
quire private buyers and victed felons, people under
sellers who aren’t related to indictment, the mentally ill,
visit a licensed gun dealer drug users, people under
for a background check. That restraining orders, dishon-
goes further than previous at- orably discharged veterans
tempts to expand background and people in the country il-
checks, which required only legally. Not all states report
that the seller call an Oregon mental health records to the
State Police hotline to check system.
the buyer’s background.
According to the gun con-
“This bill allows me to trol advocacy group Oregon
JLYH D JXQ WR D ¿UVW FRXVLQ Alliance for Gun Safety, the
who I may have not seen in state’s background check
40 years without a back- system denies about 1 per-
ground check. But I can’t FHQWRI¿UHDUPVDOHV
give it to my best friend,”
Two years in a row, the
said Kevin Starrett, head of Legislature failed to pass
the Oregon Firearms Federa- bills requiring background
tion, a gun-rights group.
checks for private gun sales.
Oregon already goes fur- But last year’s election saw
ther than federal law in re- Democrats up their majority
quiring background checks at by two seats to 18-12 in the
gun shows under an initiative Senate, in part because of a
approved by voters in 2000.
push by a leading gun control
“Now, since 2000, the In- group backed by billionaire
ternet has become an online Michael Bloomberg.
marketplace for guns, where
The gun control group
tens of thousands of guns Everytown for Gun Safety
are available to Lord knows contributed $75,000 last year
who without a background to Democratic Sen. Chuck
check,” said Dan Gross, pres- Riley of Hillsboro, who de-
ident of the Brady Campaign. feated the Republican incum-
Federal law requires bent who opposed expanded
background checks for sales background checks. They
by licensed gun dealers, but also donated $250,000 to
not at gun shows or private former Gov. John Kitzhaber,
transactions. Checks are who was a longtime support-
done through the National er of expanded background
Instant Criminal Background checks.
Check System, a database
According to state re-
maintained by the Federal cords, Everytown contrib-
Bureau of Investigation.
uted nearly $600,000 on the
According to the bureau’s 2014 election, $450,000 of
online report, the database which was in contributions to
did over 43,000 checks in candidates and committees,
Oregon for January and Feb- and $110,000 on other grass-
ruary. About 40 percent of roots efforts.
Continued from 1A
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