National Geographic Interactive - 02.2020

Wayne French (foreground)
castrates a calf at a com-
munity branding near
Malta, Montana, north
of APR land. Brandings are
cooperative affairs: Local
families move from ranch
to ranch, rounding up and
branding neighbors’ cattle.
“If you’re within 80 miles,”
says rancher Jesse Blunt,
“you’re a neighbor.”