APRIL 2017 • NEBRASKAland 51
you how many families are here, but
it's good to see everybody and find out
what's been going on."
Mundorf is a third generation
rancher, and his grown sons, Mark
and Matt, are the fourth. His daughter,
Molly, is married to a local rancher,
and they run their own operation.
With a toddler granddaughter in his
arms, Mundorf hopes the tradition will
continue.
"I grew up right here. I learned just
like you're seeing these kids learning
today."
At the Mundorf Ranch, cowboys still
rely on horses to work cattle.
"It's old school," Mundorf said, but
with a lot of help, the use of horses
is more efficient. "Others run them
through chutes, so they don't need
horses. But it's more stress on the
calves when you have to wrestle with
them too much."
At the branding, a calf spent no
more than 60 seconds on the ground.
And like a well-oiled machine, the
branding was over before you could
say "oysters!" – which were plentiful
and briefly cooked over the same fire
that heated the irons. Although, on
that nippy morning, they hardly tasted
much warmer than when they left their
owners.
After wresting three calves, with a
lot of help she might add, this writer
decided that she had her fill. Cattle
branding is tough, repetitive work.
Some calves were compliant, while
others were much more spirited.
Then with a slightly awkward –
though temporary – step, the calves
jumped up to rejoin their mothers.
These cattle will then live out the rest
of their days roaming the Sandhills
and getting fat for sale. They feed on
nutrient-rich prairie grass through the
warmer months, and in winter, as late
as May, hay is provided to get them
through the colder, more barren parts
of the year.
As one of the first brandings of the
