Updated: 7/9/2007

• Overview
• Livestock Advisory Board

Overview

With so many animals bought, sold and transported across the state, it is just as important today to be able to track livestock that may be missing or stolen as it was when cattle rustling was part of the Wild West. In the Livestock Identification Program, official recordings are maintained on some 6500 livestock brands featuring quarter circles, channels, anchors and a multitude of other symbols. To deter theft, cattle and horses are inspected at Public Livestock Markets, USDA Slaughter Plants, Licensed Certified Feedlots, and prior to leaving the state. An estimated 555,000 cattle and 10,000 horses annually are inspected for ownership documents and permanent identification such as brands. This program is funded by fees paid by the livestock industry.

Washington's first brand inspector was Sandy Collins who worked for 28 years with Department of Agriculture in areas such as Spokane, Centralia and Toppenish.

The Balloon Bar brand, recorded to the Schnebly family of Ellensburg, is the oldest registered brand in the state of Washington. A great-great-grandmother, Mrs. Phillip Painter, originally brought the brand into the Willamette Valley from Missouri when Washington State was still a part of the Oregon Territory. On June 11, 1868, when the Washington Territory began registering brands, the Painter family, then living in Walla Walla, submitted the brand to authorities on a piece of burned leather for recording. Six generations later this brand is still found on livestock grazing in the Kittitas Valley.

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Livestock Advisory Board

The Livestock Advisory Board was established by the Legislature in 1993 to provide advice to the Director of Agriculture regarding the livestock brand inspection program. The board consists of six members appointed by the director who represent :

• Beef producer
• Public Livestock Market
• Horse owner
• Dairy farmer
• Cattle feeder
• Meat processor

Each member of the advisory committee serves a three-year term.

Current Members are:

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