Nebraska § 54-199 - Livestock brand; application; fees; requirements; issuance.

§ 54-199. Livestock brand; application; fees; requirements; issuance.

(1) To record a brand, a person shall forward to the Nebraska Brand Committee a facsimile or description of the brand desired to be recorded, a written application, and a recording fee and research fee established by the brand committee. Such recording fee may vary according to the number of locations and methods of brand requested but shall not be more than one hundred fifty dollars per application. Such research fee shall be charged on all applications and shall not be more than fifty dollars per application.

(2) For recording of visual brands, upon receipt of a facsimile of the brand, an application, and the required fee, the brand committee shall determine compliance with the following requirements:

(a) The brand shall be an identification mark that is applied to the hide of a live animal by hot iron branding or by either hot iron branding or freeze branding. The brand shall be on either side of the animal in any one of three locations, the shoulder, ribs, or hip;

(b) The brand is not recorded under the name of any other person and does not conflict with or closely resemble a prior recorded brand;

(c) The brand application specifies the left or right side of the animal and the location on that side of the animal where the brand is to be placed;

(d) The brand is not recorded as a trade name nor as the name of any profit or nonprofit corporation, unless such trade name or corporation is of record, in current good standing, with the Secretary of State; and

(e) The brand is, in the judgment of the brand committee, legible, adequate, and of such a nature that the brand when applied can be properly read and identified by employees of the brand committee.

(3) All visual brands shall be recorded as a hot iron brand only unless a co-recording as a freeze brand or other approved method of branding is requested by the applicant. The brand committee shall approve co-recording a brand as a freeze brand unless the brand would not be distinguishable from in-herd identification applied by freeze branding.

(4) If the facsimile, the description, or the application does not comply with the requirements of this section, the brand committee shall not record such brand as requested but shall return the recording fee to the forwarding person. The power of examination and rejection is vested in the brand committee, and if the brand committee determines that the application for a visual brand falls within the category set out in subdivision (2)(e) of this section, it shall decide whether or not a recorded brand shall be issued. The brand committee shall make such examination as promptly as possible. If the brand is recorded, the ownership vests from the date of filing of the application.

(5) The brand committee may by rule and regulation provide for the use of approved nonvisual identifiers for purposes of enrolling cattle identified by such method of livestock identification. Such method of livestock identification shall be approved only if it functions as satisfactory evidence of ownership for the purpose of enrollment of cattle and for electronic inspection authorized under section 54-1,108. Before approving any nonvisual identifier, the brand committee shall consider the degree to which such method may be susceptible to error, failure, or fraudulent alteration. Any rule or regulation shall be adopted and promulgated only after public hearing conducted in compliance with the Administrative Procedure Act.

Brand on livestock is presumptive evidence of ownership. Whiteside v. Whiteside, 159 Neb. 362, 67 N.W.2d 141 (1954).