SOUTH DAKOTA STATE BRAND BOARD

NEWS RELEASE

                                                For Immediate Release: Sept. 10, 2010

                                                Media Contact: Larry Stearns, 605-773-3324

South Dakota Brand Book Now Available Online

PIERRE, S. D. – For generations, South Dakota livestock producers have looked to the South Dakota Brand Board’s official brand book for information about brands and brand owners.  Now this useful directory is available online.

To view the online brand book, visit www.sdbrandboard.com .

“This was a project we worked on for a long time,” said South Dakota Brand Board Director Larry Stearns.  “We have had many requests for this service in the last few years and now it is available.”

The directory includes more than 25,000 brands for several species, including cattle, horses, buffalo and sheep.  Because brand information changes frequently as new brands are registered or transfers are made, the online directory will be updated monthly with the latest available information.

Individuals can search for a specific brand by entering the brand owner’s full name or last name into the appropriate field.  Drop down windows offer users the ability to search for a specific brand based on the first and second characters included in the brand.  Searches return an image of the brand, the species of animal and the location of the brand, and the brand owner’s name.

The online South Dakota brand book was made possible through a collaboration with ERC Computing and the South Dakota Bureau of Information and Telecommunications.

- 30 -