Made from the same material as road signs, the tags are designed to prevent motorists from hitting cows at night.

Rancher Sandy Johnson, who has grazing permits along State Route 95, said he lost about 10 cows in a year to collisions with cars but has not lost any since November, when he began putting the tags on his cattle.

Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Rick Eldredge, who polices San Juan County, said he came up with the idea five or six years ago and delivered some to a rancher a with range between Bluff and Montezuma Creek. He began delivering new batches to Johnson last year after a series of accidents with his herd, which numbers about 350.

Many of the vehicles striking cows are thought to have been crammed with undocumented immigrants.

“We'd just find an abandoned van, a dead cow and no one around,” Eldredge said.

The county's jail commander has provided inmates to manufacture the tags. The inmates cut and fold the scraps into tags, usually about 1 inch by 6 inches.

Most of the motorists who hit Johnson's cattle either drove off without telling him or did not have insurance to pay, he said. The couple's insurance policy allows for no more than two claims of lost cows per year or the provider will eliminate their coverage, according to his wife, Gail Johnson. A pregnant cow is worth about $1,000.

"You kind of feel bad for the [immigrants]," said Sandy Johnson. "They're just looking for jobs and stuff. But you get tired of them hitting your cows and you never get anything out of them."

ncarlisle@sltrib.com