A Plea for Your Help from Renee at Montana Horses
I have lost a family legacy. I am in need of help from the people of
Montana, our friends, clients, and the livestock world to convey to the
government of Montana the tragedy in this mistake on my part and
misapplication of policy and regulation on theirs. For this purpose, I ask
you to weigh in, on my behalf to plead my case. I hope that with this
process we can also see that laws are made for reasons, the enforcement of
which must speak to the reason for the law, not to the process. I think in
Montana we can still hope this is the case. If not, more is lost than I
feared.
So, here's the story, uncomfortable as it is to tell:
Our horse brand is a )V( on the right hip of our horses.
The brand was given to Kail when he was a boy in Wyoming. When we got our
start in Montana we brought his horses up here to start our business. We
registered the brand here so we didn't have to re-brand our horses and so we
could be a legitimate Montana operation. The family ranch and brand still
exist in Wyoming. It is synonymous with our herd of horses and the Mantle
name. It is sort of a badge in the West, a source of pride. It brands the
owner, too. It has become part of our ranch and family identity.
We've branded hundreds of horses with this brand, as we grew our initial
herd of just a few to several hundred here. It is a safe assumption that
right now there are more horses with the )V( brand in Montana than any other
brand. Our horses are freeze branded, so they show up really well and it is
a nicer process for the horse. We have had the Department of Livestock
write hundreds of lifetime brand inspections with this brand, costing
thousands of dollars. Thousands of people know the )V( brand is ours, as we
trail hundreds of horse through town every year in the Horse Drive and send
hundreds of horses across the country every year to work. It is recognized
across the West. Most brand inspectors know this is our brand, since our
horses travel for a living and it is their travel license. We are compliant
with all brand laws. We do it right, we pay the fees, we obey the laws.
This also costs thousands of dollars, but we genuinely respect the
institution. This is our livelihood.
Every ten years it is necessary to re-record your brands. Everyone in the
livestock world and in their right mind makes sure their brand is
re-recorded on time. It is extremely important. This re-record was due
December 31st, 2011. It is an easy procedure, costs about $100 a brand, and
is accessible now online. I am told the Department of Livestock issues
reminders in the mail and announces this process in newspapers and radio,
maybe even local TV. (The next brand re-record deadline will be December
31st, 2021, FYI.)
I, however, did not re-record our brand on time. So I have lost it.forever,
I am told.
Why? Here's the uncomfortable part and where I ask you and the State of
Montana to be human: I just found out in late November from the Department
of Livestock that the re-record was happening. I did not receive a notice
in the mail (they still might have our old address from the last decade), I
do not listen to the radio or get local TV or newspapers where I live. I
called the Department of Livestock about a lien filing in late November, or
I would never have known it was due. So, I put that info in the "get to that
sometime before the end of the year" category in my mind. Shortly
thereafter I was called by my father to come live with him while we cared
for his wife of 34 years in her last few weeks of life. I lived in the
hospital, away from my ranch and business, caring for my family until just a
few days ago. Sherrie died on December 23rd from bone cancer. Her obituary
was in the paper at Christmas, I know this because I wrote it. That was
about the only business-like deadline I handled. I missed the deadline for
the brand re-record, among many other things. (I was late with the
thousands of dollars of Department of Livestock taxes I was to pay on
November 30th for those same horses, but they just charged interest on that
- they didn't take our horses away.)
When I returned to the ranch, I filed for the brand two weeks late. I am
told that it will not be re-issued. PERIOD. It is now considered a new
application, not a re-record. There is no grace period, despite the fact
that they hold all unrecorded brands until March 31st before they release
them. The )V( today will not be issued because its location and content
might conflict with another brand (a legitimate concern). However; had I
filed in time it would have been re-recorded to us with no problem. These,
apparently, are unbending rules that date back hundreds of years. Three
weeks ago we had our brand. Today we do not.
Kail's legacy (now ours) is gone. The )V( in Montana is no more.because of
a technicality. I am told there is no way around this.
If we do not get the brand back in the State of Montana we have few options.
Here they are, as I understand them: 1) Re-brand hundreds of horses. 2)
Spend thousands of dollars and countless hours for new lifetime brand
inspections. 3) Lose forever priceless years of marketing and identification
(it is honestly like having to change your name) OR - Move to Wyoming. The
latter is honestly the more enticing option. In Wyoming (which might have
more livestock than Montana) our brand is safe and secure and the DOL does
not have a public relations officer or an unbending set of concrete rules
which somehow along the way lost their original intent - to protect and
serve the livestock industry and community in the state.
Please understand, this is not an issue of the brand - it was ours 3 weeks
ago. It is an issue of a deadline. If we thought for a moment that
re-issuing this brand to us would be harmful to horses, people, or the
industry, you know we would not request it.
The intent of the law, the very Department, is lost.
In March, I will appear in front of the Board of Livestock to plead my case.
The Board of Livestock are just people, like us, who are livestock producers
in the State and who represent us. In as dignified a manner as I can
muster, I will ask them to re-issue our brand to us, hopefully without
crying. I will explain the legitimate extenuating circumstances that caused
my tardiness. I will verify the size and scope of our operation and provide
detailed accounts of the number of horses and their travels. I will provide
evidence of the familiarity most brand inspectors have with the brand. I
will show records and details about our compliance with the laws and
financial investment in the brand and the enforcing agency. I will exhibit
the material damage losing the brand will cause. I will reiterate our
presence and influence in the industry. I will beg for understanding.
And I will bring reinforcement. That's where you come in.
Please help us, if you can, by providing letters (or personal testimony if
you want to travel to Helena) that might help me with the above. Help me
explain to the Board of Livestock the importance of our brand to us and to
our business, your familiarity with it, your experience with our legitimate
use of the brand, your witness to our compliance with brand laws and
deference to the enforcing agency, your understanding of the size of our
operation and the number of horses who have this brand, your experience with
our horses, your respect for the way we conduct business, your feelings
about the brand, and especially your hope that a government agency might
still have rationale rooted in the people it serves.
The question I will ask the Department of Livestock, The
Board, and you is this, "Are we a nation of laws for law's sake? Or are we
a nation of people who create and fund the enforcement of laws to protect
and serve ourselves, the people? Why does the Department of Livestock, a
government agency funded by livestock producers exist if not to serve and
protect the very livestock producers who created and fund it? And are we
not livestock producers? If the harm in re-recording our brand did not
exist on December 31st, but did on January 1st because of an arbitrary
deadline, then is there real harm in re-recording a legitimate brand to a
legitimate livestock producer, the allowance of which will not serve or
protect other livestock producers?
If a motion is necessary to legitimize it, then I will
suggest this and hope you will too, "I move to allow a grace period
following a ten year re-record, to take into account human error." I
suggest March 31st, the same as all other brand holds. I will suggest a
delinquency letter of warning be issued to those about to lose their brand
and even suggest a hefty monetary penalty to discourage late filings and
cover department costs. I believe this is in the best interest of the
livestock producers of Montana.
Direct your letters to the Montana Board of Livestock or send them to me, be
sure to identify yourself and I'll take them along in March.
We are deeply indebted to you for this.
Many, many thanks,
Renee
Montana Horses, Inc.
Kail Mantle & Renee Daniels-Mantle
9700 Clarkston Road
Three Forks, MT 59752
(406) 285-3541 | (406) 285-0918 fax
info@montanahorses.com
www.montanahorses.com
Montana, our friends, clients, and the livestock world to convey to the
government of Montana the tragedy in this mistake on my part and
misapplication of policy and regulation on theirs. For this purpose, I ask
you to weigh in, on my behalf to plead my case. I hope that with this
process we can also see that laws are made for reasons, the enforcement of
which must speak to the reason for the law, not to the process. I think in
Montana we can still hope this is the case. If not, more is lost than I
feared.
So, here's the story, uncomfortable as it is to tell:
Our horse brand is a )V( on the right hip of our horses.
The brand was given to Kail when he was a boy in Wyoming. When we got our
start in Montana we brought his horses up here to start our business. We
registered the brand here so we didn't have to re-brand our horses and so we
could be a legitimate Montana operation. The family ranch and brand still
exist in Wyoming. It is synonymous with our herd of horses and the Mantle
name. It is sort of a badge in the West, a source of pride. It brands the
owner, too. It has become part of our ranch and family identity.
We've branded hundreds of horses with this brand, as we grew our initial
herd of just a few to several hundred here. It is a safe assumption that
right now there are more horses with the )V( brand in Montana than any other
brand. Our horses are freeze branded, so they show up really well and it is
a nicer process for the horse. We have had the Department of Livestock
write hundreds of lifetime brand inspections with this brand, costing
thousands of dollars. Thousands of people know the )V( brand is ours, as we
trail hundreds of horse through town every year in the Horse Drive and send
hundreds of horses across the country every year to work. It is recognized
across the West. Most brand inspectors know this is our brand, since our
horses travel for a living and it is their travel license. We are compliant
with all brand laws. We do it right, we pay the fees, we obey the laws.
This also costs thousands of dollars, but we genuinely respect the
institution. This is our livelihood.
Every ten years it is necessary to re-record your brands. Everyone in the
livestock world and in their right mind makes sure their brand is
re-recorded on time. It is extremely important. This re-record was due
December 31st, 2011. It is an easy procedure, costs about $100 a brand, and
is accessible now online. I am told the Department of Livestock issues
reminders in the mail and announces this process in newspapers and radio,
maybe even local TV. (The next brand re-record deadline will be December
31st, 2021, FYI.)
I, however, did not re-record our brand on time. So I have lost it.forever,
I am told.
Why? Here's the uncomfortable part and where I ask you and the State of
Montana to be human: I just found out in late November from the Department
of Livestock that the re-record was happening. I did not receive a notice
in the mail (they still might have our old address from the last decade), I
do not listen to the radio or get local TV or newspapers where I live. I
called the Department of Livestock about a lien filing in late November, or
I would never have known it was due. So, I put that info in the "get to that
sometime before the end of the year" category in my mind. Shortly
thereafter I was called by my father to come live with him while we cared
for his wife of 34 years in her last few weeks of life. I lived in the
hospital, away from my ranch and business, caring for my family until just a
few days ago. Sherrie died on December 23rd from bone cancer. Her obituary
was in the paper at Christmas, I know this because I wrote it. That was
about the only business-like deadline I handled. I missed the deadline for
the brand re-record, among many other things. (I was late with the
thousands of dollars of Department of Livestock taxes I was to pay on
November 30th for those same horses, but they just charged interest on that
- they didn't take our horses away.)
When I returned to the ranch, I filed for the brand two weeks late. I am
told that it will not be re-issued. PERIOD. It is now considered a new
application, not a re-record. There is no grace period, despite the fact
that they hold all unrecorded brands until March 31st before they release
them. The )V( today will not be issued because its location and content
might conflict with another brand (a legitimate concern). However; had I
filed in time it would have been re-recorded to us with no problem. These,
apparently, are unbending rules that date back hundreds of years. Three
weeks ago we had our brand. Today we do not.
Kail's legacy (now ours) is gone. The )V( in Montana is no more.because of
a technicality. I am told there is no way around this.
If we do not get the brand back in the State of Montana we have few options.
Here they are, as I understand them: 1) Re-brand hundreds of horses. 2)
Spend thousands of dollars and countless hours for new lifetime brand
inspections. 3) Lose forever priceless years of marketing and identification
(it is honestly like having to change your name) OR - Move to Wyoming. The
latter is honestly the more enticing option. In Wyoming (which might have
more livestock than Montana) our brand is safe and secure and the DOL does
not have a public relations officer or an unbending set of concrete rules
which somehow along the way lost their original intent - to protect and
serve the livestock industry and community in the state.
Please understand, this is not an issue of the brand - it was ours 3 weeks
ago. It is an issue of a deadline. If we thought for a moment that
re-issuing this brand to us would be harmful to horses, people, or the
industry, you know we would not request it.
The intent of the law, the very Department, is lost.
In March, I will appear in front of the Board of Livestock to plead my case.
The Board of Livestock are just people, like us, who are livestock producers
in the State and who represent us. In as dignified a manner as I can
muster, I will ask them to re-issue our brand to us, hopefully without
crying. I will explain the legitimate extenuating circumstances that caused
my tardiness. I will verify the size and scope of our operation and provide
detailed accounts of the number of horses and their travels. I will provide
evidence of the familiarity most brand inspectors have with the brand. I
will show records and details about our compliance with the laws and
financial investment in the brand and the enforcing agency. I will exhibit
the material damage losing the brand will cause. I will reiterate our
presence and influence in the industry. I will beg for understanding.
And I will bring reinforcement. That's where you come in.
Please help us, if you can, by providing letters (or personal testimony if
you want to travel to Helena) that might help me with the above. Help me
explain to the Board of Livestock the importance of our brand to us and to
our business, your familiarity with it, your experience with our legitimate
use of the brand, your witness to our compliance with brand laws and
deference to the enforcing agency, your understanding of the size of our
operation and the number of horses who have this brand, your experience with
our horses, your respect for the way we conduct business, your feelings
about the brand, and especially your hope that a government agency might
still have rationale rooted in the people it serves.
The question I will ask the Department of Livestock, The
Board, and you is this, "Are we a nation of laws for law's sake? Or are we
a nation of people who create and fund the enforcement of laws to protect
and serve ourselves, the people? Why does the Department of Livestock, a
government agency funded by livestock producers exist if not to serve and
protect the very livestock producers who created and fund it? And are we
not livestock producers? If the harm in re-recording our brand did not
exist on December 31st, but did on January 1st because of an arbitrary
deadline, then is there real harm in re-recording a legitimate brand to a
legitimate livestock producer, the allowance of which will not serve or
protect other livestock producers?
If a motion is necessary to legitimize it, then I will
suggest this and hope you will too, "I move to allow a grace period
following a ten year re-record, to take into account human error." I
suggest March 31st, the same as all other brand holds. I will suggest a
delinquency letter of warning be issued to those about to lose their brand
and even suggest a hefty monetary penalty to discourage late filings and
cover department costs. I believe this is in the best interest of the
livestock producers of Montana.
Direct your letters to the Montana Board of Livestock or send them to me, be
sure to identify yourself and I'll take them along in March.
We are deeply indebted to you for this.
Many, many thanks,
Renee
Montana Horses, Inc.
Kail Mantle & Renee Daniels-Mantle
9700 Clarkston Road
Three Forks, MT 59752
(406) 285-3541 | (406) 285-0918 fax
info@montanahorses.com
www.montanahorses.com
Done ... letter on its way.
Dave
Reply to this
Consider a letter on its way to the board girl and I will forward this blog to all of our surrounding ranchers in this part of Montana. With any luck we shall also see you in Helena for the Board meeting. Because at this point, with this unjustice, you will be representing us all as this could easily happen to any of us. Human error and in your case due to your family loss. So how I'm hoping the Department of Livestock understands the circumstances surrounding your family of late and especially for you, the bookkeeper/family caretaker of your passed loved ones and does indeed re-issue your FAMILY brand.
A small late fee is acceptable as with any due bill of course but what they are currently saying to you is totally unacceptable. It's not as if you are applying for the first time or simply planned on not paying. Let alone the fact that you weren't late by months or years!
That's the only FAIR thing to do.
Lord knows you have paid your fair share of dues here in Montana over the many years, enough taxes yearly to support an average family and that your family name, your horses, (with their brand), and the ranch itself is such a great pride and source of family enjoyment to this great State. What a tragic loss to even think you would have to go Wyoming way! So certainly they shall understand and re neg.
If not, know I will be awaiting another blog informing everyone and then it will be time for all ranchers caring long term Montana brands to raise some pure cane. A brand is our family legacy, our pride in ownership and our good name and if they can't see that, replacements are due in.
See you come spring as we need a couple of horses! And know we cross all fingers and toes that the board does not let you down.
Montana
Reply to this
I will compose a thoughtful reasonable letter and have asked severals others to consider this too.
Reply to this
when in march are you going? I will be back in MT and will make a point of including Helena in my week I am there if I can.
Reply to this
I will be happy to help, Renee. Letter will be on it's way. Hope it helps. Your brand on our two horses have been recognized by many and we are proud to own them.
Julie
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