Smith County Sheriff Deputy Berto Arroyo speaks about estray livestock at the Texas Southwest Cattle Raisers Association Law Enforcement Field Day event held at Cross Brand Cowboy Church in Tyler on Tuesday April 24, 2018. Presenters at the free event included TSCRA Special Rangers, Smith County Deputies and Auto Theft Investigators who spoke on topics of interest to ranchers and other landowners. (Sarah A. Miller/Tyler Morning Telegraph)

Cheri Trujillo of Wills Point said she started raising cattle three years ago with her husband. The couple has a small herd of registered beefmasters. 

“I came here to learn how to protect my cows and our equipment,” she said. “Before this I didn’t know how cows were found if they were stolen. I’ve learned a lot about how to protect my trailers and to call my insurance company about the equipment we are using.”

Trujillo was one of about 50 farmers and ranchers from across East Texas who came out to the Cross Brand Cowboy Church for a field day. 

Larry Hand, Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association special ranger in Smith County, learned that the association’s ranch gatherings weren’t an ideal place to educate farmers and ranchers about how to protect their herd and equipment.

So, Hand rounded up some other professionals and like-minded people to help him put on a field day event with branding demonstrations and briefings from market inspectors and the East Texas Auto Theft Task Force. 

Market inspectors like Alan Pruitt are assigned to sale barns across the state to be at the front lines to prevent cattle theft. These industry professionals work to track and record cattle at the sales. They are liaisons with cattle raisers and should be contacted if ranchers suspect theft of their livestock. 

Pruitt inspects livestock at three sale barns in the area. On Tuesday, he demonstrated proper branding techniques with his hot iron brand. 

Cows were lined up and placed in a squeeze shoot, where Pruitt used the branding iron to demonstrate. 

“Brands have to be registered with the county clerk’s office and reregistered every 10 years,” Pruitt said. “Most people will hand-draw a design they like and order it through a company.” 

Pruitt recommends a 4-inch brand. He said brands can be passed down through family lines through probate.  

Another issue in the ranching industry is vehicle and equipment theft. The East Texas Auto Theft Task Force is composed of law enforcement officials from the Department of Public Safety, Tyler Police Department, and Smith, Rusk and Henderson counties.

The task force works with Hand and other officials to recover vehicles, trailers, all-terrain vehicles, tractors and watercraft. 

Gary King of the Tyler Police Department, a detective assigned to the East Texas Auto Theft Task Force, stressed the importance of marking trailers with a brand or a special number that only the owner would know. 

He also reminded the group to protect their pickups and automobiles. 

Ford pickups have been the No. 1 stolen vehicle in Texas for about 10 years, King said. Close behind Ford are GMC and Dodge pickups.  

The task force has found itself tracking stolen vehicles to online sales sites and marketplaces on social media.

“The stolen vehicles are sold for much less than market value,” King said. “Many people purchase them for cash and receive a fictitious or altered title.”

The Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association also works with agriculture lenders to find people who take advantage of loans meant for agriculture but are selling the cows at market and using the money for homes or other things.  

“Farming and ranching is hard enough,” Hand said. “When people take advantage of the lenders, it hurts the entire industry.” 

Hand said he was happy with the turnout at Tuesday’s event and hopes the networking and information was beneficial.