Gjermundson recognized for local brand inspection work

Posted 09/26/2026

For immediate release: Sept. 26, 2026

For more information, contact:

Tim Erbele, NDSA president: (701) 269-3045 • [email protected]

Julie Schaff Ellingson, NDSA executive vice president: (701) 223-2522 • [email protected]

Elizabeth Hasenwinkel, NDSA communications director: (701) 833-1162 • [email protected]

Gjermundson recognized for local brand inspection work

The North Dakota Stockmen's Association (NDSA) recognized long-time local brand inspector Casey Gjermundson of Richardton, N.D., with the organization's Honorary Local Brand Inspector Award at a special banquet during its 97th Annual Convention & Trade Show in Bismarck, N.D., tonight.

Livestock have been part of Gjermundson's life since childhood. Today, he and his family operate a ranch near Marshall, N.D., in Dunn County, where they run commercial cattle and goats.

Gjermundson has served as a local brand inspector since October 2002, primarily inspecting cattle at a weigh station north of Marshall, as well as on area ranches and a local feedlot. For Gjermundson, brand inspection provides an important safeguard when livestock change hands or move from one location to another. "It's just good policy to have someone else looking out for what's going on when cattle are moving," he said.

He has seen the value of that extra set of eyes firsthand, identifying livestock that did not belong with the herd being inspected and helping ensure they were returned to their rightful owners. "Brand inspection gets cattle back to the right owners," he said.

Gjermundson said honesty, a sense of humor and a good knowledge of cattle are important qualities for a brand inspector. Sometimes, he said, it is not the brand that first catches an inspector's attention, but an animal that simply does not fit with the rest of the herd.

The work has also allowed Gjermundson to build lasting relationships with area livestock producers. "I've made a lot of friends through brand inspecting," he said. "Just to see them every year when I go to their ranch to brand inspect - it's rewarding to do that."

Gjermundson is a 37-year NDSA member. He has served on the Dunn County Soil Conservation District Board for 20 years and the Marshall Lutheran Church Council, where he was the treasurer for nearly two decades.

Gjermundson and his wife, Colette "Koko," have two daughters, Kazanne (Jayden Hicks) and Chesney.

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