We aren't located in the mandatory brand zone here, so I don't know a whole lot about it. In the meats and livestock eval. classes I have taken, the teachers really stressed the importance of placing brands that scar the hide in areas where packing plants can easily cut them out without causing too much loss of the hide (making more money off a good hide). Do you all who brand pay much attention to this? Do you take some hits at the sale barn/slaughterhouse for having brands in the rib or stomach region instead of the hip and shoulder area?