You Pay How Much for a Cattle Brand in Colorado?

A post popped up in my Facebook feed from someone selling their cattle brand, which got me thinking about brands in Colorado. It wasn't so much that someone was selling their brand that really blew my mind, but the price they were asking.

So, I took to Google to find answers. Good old Google helped me, but I still have some unanswered questions.

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Cattle Brands in Colorado

I'm not a ranching expert. Far from it to tell you the truth. I did, however, grow up on a farm with horses and chickens, and 80 acres of land to do what I pleased. We didn't "farm" our land, we leased it out, but my dad did have an old tractor he'd "play" around on.

So, yeah, I wasn't a farmer by any means, but I knew a lot of farmers.

Now that you have a backstory of how little about ranching I know, I do know what brands are and what they mean.

I didn't know that people actually sold them. I always thought that a brand stuck with the family or ranch then "died" when no longer used.

When I saw that post on Facebook, and the guy was asking $10,000 --he lowered the price from $12K-- I was shook. How can something so simple be worth so much money?

The Google told me that brands are considered private property and are bought and sold as anything else can. The price at which a brand is listed is based on how simple it is, its historical significance, or how desirable the brand is.

If a brand matches the rancher's initials, that brand could go for a few more dollars. Ranchers seek out simple designs that can be quickly identified and not distorted after healing. If the brand came from an established farm or family, that's big bucks too.

Who Sets the Price for Brands in Colorado?

There isn't a "brand adjudicator," or a Kelly Brand Book that lists prices. It's really what the market dictates, or how much the buyer really wants to pay.

The brand seller can list the brand for whatever they believe they will get. If it's simple with two initials, has been around the area for a long time, and possibly matches the buyer's initials, the seller could get what they're asking. Or maybe they won't, and they're stuck with the brand until the perfect buyer comes along.

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In reality, a brand can go for as little as $500 all the way up to tens of thousands of dollars.

This leads me to my unanswered question ... why don't people just create their own "new" brand? Is having a historically significant brand so important that creating your own unique brand is senseless?

If buying a brand can cost upwards of 10,000+ dollars, and registering a new brand is only $200 with a $60 annual fee it seems cheaper to go the latter route.

This is where not understanding ranching comes in and how ranchers feel about their brands.

I'm always open to getting an education and understanding other cultures if you'd like to school me on the topic.