Pasture labeling program could safeguard livestock

Cows are going to get out every now and then, Dale Van Horn says.

Some of the cows end up fine, but others are injured or even killed, he said.

After one of Van Horn’s own cows escaped, it was hit by a car.

“They are just like the deer in the road,” he said. “They will get out, and a car could hit them.”

But Van Horn is hoping a new Pasture Labeling Program provided by the Franklin County Farm Bureau and Franklin County Sheriff’s Office will help prevent that.

Karl Eisele, with Farm Bureau, said the program will help identify owners’ stray livestock in the county.

Eisele said the program will provide pasture owners with a transportable metal sign listing the owner’s tracking number, so law enforcement officials can track strayed livestock ownership.

“Basically, the idea is that the sheriff’s department will have a record of the pasture number,” Eisele said. “When cattle get out and you don’t know whose they are, you can call 911 and see whose cattle they are.”

Eisele said the signs are $20, and Farm Bureau members recieve one free sign. He added that a pasture owner doesn’t have to be a Farm Bureau member to use the service.

Eisele said three livestock owners already have signed up for the program, which works for all types of animals, including cattle, horses, sheep, goats, mules, llamas and more.

Van Horn has four signs on his land already, and he’s hoping it will help owners find strayed livestock easier.

“If they are livestock owners, I think they should (sign up),” Van Horn said. “It just helps the officers locate the livestock if someone calls in.”

Van Horn said cattle can run anywhere from $200 to $2,000 a piece, depending on the breed, which makes losing cattle expensive.

“It won’t help keep them in,” Van Horn said. “But it will help officials throughout the county. Otherwise, they may have to call a half-dozen people to find out whose they are.”

Anyone interested in signing up for the program can do so by calling the Franklin County Farm Bureau Association at (785) 242-4130.