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Ranching
Ranching is an extensive way of raising livestock, primarily grazing cattle, sheep and horses, but also involves production of many other animals. The term ranch is used loosely as it is primarily up to the owner's discretion whether his/her locale is a farm or ranch, but it is commonly known as a very large tract of land that is often used in its native state. The historical and current practices of ranching and rangeland management among other things pertaining to ranching can be discussed in this category.
743 Questions
Why did ranchers decide to drive their cattle from Texas to towns along the railroad?
Cowboys take cattle to the rail road station (actually the proper term is "stockyards") to be shipped to the facilities that slaughter them for our food.
That's what happened in the past, over 100 years ago. In today's world, trains are not used to ship cattle to slaughter plants. Ninety-nine percent of all cattle are shipped by cattle liners or trailers from a handling facility on a ranch all the way to the slaughter plant. Cattle can still be gathered off of the range, pasture or from the corrals to be loaded on to the trucks just like with loading cattle on the stock cars, but these trucks come to the ranch or farm to pick them up. Cowboys and ranchers don't drive them to another distant facility off their land, not especially with all the highways and suburban areas and other farms they have to travel through.
It has no specific area, no specific population of livestock and no specific location. It is a ranch if that is what you call it. Your neighbors might be laughing behind your back and the term "All Hat and No Cows" certainly comes to play. In theory it is a place that raises cattle as a commercial enterprise. In actual practice it can be something quite different. Many ranchesare rich peoples play things and are rarely operated as means of livelyhood but as a status symbol. For example a Colorado farmer might own 13,000 acres and run cattle on 17,000 acres of Government land and choose to call himself a farmer to avoid sounding uppity.
Answer 2:An operation that specializes in raising cattle. It is an extensive way to manage native pasture and rangeland using cattle. Ranches can be as small as 20 acres or more than 100,000 acres in size. And not all ranches specialize in cattle; other ranches may raise sheep, horses, goats, bison, elk, etc.How was the cattle kingdom significant?
The Cattle Kingdom
The cattle industry grew tremendously in the two decades after the Civil War, moving into western Kansas and Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and the Dakotas in the 1870s and 1880s with the expansion of the railroads. While motion pictures, television, and novels have helped make cowboys -the men who rounded up, branded, and drove the cattle to market - the most heroic and best known symbols of the West, cattle ranching was in fact a big business that attracted foreign investment and required considerable organization.
The long drive. The rise of the cattle kingdom coincided with the spread of the railroads across the country. In 1866, Texas ranchers drove their herds of longhorn cattle north to the railhead at Sedalia, Missouri, for shipment to the slaughter and packinghouses in the East. As the railroads moved west, the terminus of the long drive moved with them. The famed Chisholm Trail went from San Antonio to Abilene, Kansas, while the Western Trail ended in Dodge City. These drives covered approximately 800 miles and took about two months; the Goodknight-Loving Trail, which swung through west Texas and then north into New Mexico and Colorado, was considerably longer.
The cattle business was a profitable one. A steer purchased for less than ten dollars in south Texas might sell for three or more times that amount in the Kansas cow towns. Since the herds grazed on the open range and as few as a dozen cowboys could handle several thousand heads of cattle, a rancher's operating expenses were low. Given this positive outlook, it is not surprising that the cattle industry attracted capital from investors both in the East and overseas. Many ranchers simply managed cattle and land for outside corporate interests. Two of the largest corporate ranches - the Anglo-American Cattle Company (1879) and the Prairie Cattle Company (1881) - were established in England and Scotland, respectively.
Few cowboys made driving cattle their life's work, and after a year or two, most moved on to some other occupation. Although there were certainly cowhands who hoped to save enough money to start a ranch of their own, this was not easy. The cowboys were basically wageworkers, paid a meager $25 to $40 per month plus room and board. Ranch hands in the Texas Panhandle and in Wyoming even went on strike demanding higher salaries in the 1880s. Although whites were invariably hired as foremen in the ranch-hand hierarchy, nearly 20 percent of the cowboys were African and Mexican Americans. Indeed, the techniques for handling cattle on the range and the clothes the cowboys wore owed much to their early Mexican counterparts, the vaqueros.
Range wars. As settlers advanced into cattle country, a conflict was inevitable between the farmers who fenced their land with barbed wire and sought to control water sources and the ranchers whose livelihood depended on keeping the range open. But the so-called range wars also pitted cattlemen against sheepherders (sheep were notorious for eating grasses down to the stubble so that the land was unsuited for cattle grazing) and cattle barons against smaller ranchers. In what was known as the Johnson County War (1892), the Wyoming Stock Growers Association hired gunmen to get rid of small operators accused of stealing cattle.
The collapse of the cattle kingdom. A combination of factors brought an end to the cattle kingdom in the 1880s. The profitability of the industry encouraged ranchers to increase the size of their herds, which led to both overgrazing (the range could not support the number of cattle) and overproduction. As with crop production, more beef on the market and the rise of foreign competition led to declining prices. In addition to the loss of grazing land, nature took its toll. Successive harsh winters in 1886 and 1887, coupled with summer droughts, decimated the cattle herds on the Great Plains and forced ranchers to adopt new techniques. With some notable exceptions, such as the fabled King Ranch in south Texas, the trend shifted toward smaller ranches. Cattlemen fenced in more manageable herds averaging 200 head, feeding them hay or grain in the winter and turning to selective breeding to increase the amount of beef produced.
What factors caused the rise and fall of the cattle industry?
The railroad and the development of railroad cars that were refrigerated led to the rise of the western cattle industry. The land was perfect for cattle and the railroad allowed ranchers to send meat all over the country.
What factors ended the cattle boom?
Corporate structure and frenzied investment/speculation, insufficent grass to support long drives, ranges were shrunk by railroads, severe weather in 1885-1887
The cattle frontier ended because barbed wire was invented, which replaced the need for cowboys. Weather also influenced the downfall, as blizzards trapped herds and droughts caused fire. These disasters destroyed land, and many animals were lost.
What were the changes that railroads brought to the nation?
In the 19th century (before as well as after the Civil War), railroads brought many changes to the United States of America. For one thing, trade and commerce increased, with a complementary expansion of industry, especially in the North. For another, settlement of the 'wild West' was made easier, as was increased growth of areas already settled. For yet another, military operations became more sophisticated and generally more power-packed: during the Civil War, Union and Confederate forces could be quickly reinforced or moved to areas of special need due to the rapid transportation provided by railroads.
What is a Mexican ranch owner called?
* Mexico & northern South America - 'haciendas' are owned by 'hacendados' * Mexico & northern South America - 'latifundios' are owned by 'latifundista
Why did cattle ranching spread to the plains?
Because there was lots more grass to graze than in other areas. Cattle could the stocked more on the open plains than in forested or very hilly areas.
Also, the expansion of railroads helped the cattles move west.
In the 1800's why didn't the Americans think that cattle ranches in the great plains were practical?
Because they thought it a waste of space for cattle to be grazing on land that had such good soil. Back then, good soil often and primarily meant soil to raise crops on, not to graze animals. Consequently, they didn't see that maintaining the native grasslands of the great plains by grazing cattle on them was practical, because they thought it was a waste of land that could otherwise be used to grow crops on.
How were railroads important to Texas ranchers?
They drastically reduced the distance the ranchers had to travel to sell their cattle, as they often grazed on the great plains - but the introduction of the cross continent railway system allowed a much easier transportation of cattle from point A to point B.
What do cowboys do living in the ranches of prairies?
traditional cowboys worked on ranches and farms living in small comunities hunting for food for there families and killing bandits that were threatning there land.
Ronald Reagan was a sort of gentleman rancher. He had a ranch he liked to ride over, but I think he lost money on it. Theodore spent some summers working on a ranch and may have had a financial interest in one.
Military insures d/t. Protection from enemies. Not all nations have this.
Post Office insures d/t. Corresponding with loved ones far away assists tranquility.
Fire departments. Police. Court Systems that incarcerate evildoers.
Why is cattle ranching causing deforestation?
It's not the ranching itself that causes deforestation, it's the clearing of land for agricultural purposes includingranching. Ranching is not the big sore thumb in the equation and the main reason why deforestation is occurring, you know.
What are the dimensions of a Bail of hay?
Hay bails can vary in size depending on the type of equipment used in bailing the hay. They typical size of the rectangular bale of hay is 15 inches high and 20 inches wide with varying lengths.
What are some reasons a Texas cowboy might not want to re up for another cattle drive next year?
Dangerous
Where there any black Confederates?
The blacks, almost overwhelmingly slaves, who were pressed into service by the Confederate Army as servants, teamsters, drovers and laborers were *not* soldiers. They were not trained, were not uniformed, were not paid and were not armed. Furthermore their service was not voluntary, they did what their owners required them to do. Although the nature of their duties was such that they did sometimes come under fire, even being killed and wounded, without weapons they could not fight. They were not in the army, they were all merely laborers used by the army for detail work to free white men, soldiers, for fighting. The only black militia unit of which I am aware was formed in New Orleans in 1861. New Orleans had a large free black population who were accepted as such by white society. The blacks formed a militia regiment and offered there services to the Confederacy but were refused. After the city fell to Union forces they accepted service in the Union army. The only blacks actually enlisted in the Confederate Army were those taken under an act of a desperate congress in 1865. A few regiments of slaves were formed in Richmond and they began drilling but the city fell before they could be put into line. They do not seem to have been with the army when it surrendered at Appomattox so presumeably the units just dissolved and the men went home. Now having said all that, I will acknowledge that, nationalism being a funny thing, there were Southern blacks with regional pride that was stronger than whatever resentment they may have had of slavery and who hoped for and did what they could for Southern victory but they were not enlisted in the Confederate Army nor were they soldiers.
there were Black Confederate soldiers. This is a fact, not fiction. Conservative estimates state that over 50,000 African-Confederates served in the Confederate Army. Many of these men saw combat and participated in it. Some died.
Although the Confederate Congress did not authorize Colored Units in the Confederate Army until 1865, when it was too late, there were many unofficial soldiers overlooked by officers who were desperate to fill the ranks so quickly dwindling. Also, many individual Southern states authorized colored militia units. For example, Alabama in 1862.
Some would ask, "Why would they serve; why would they fight?" They served and fought for the same reasons as their white counterparts. They felt that the South was their home, too. Whether slave or free, each had a stake in the society and each had a home they felt endeared to. For example, many Charleston negroes actually cheered at the possibility that they would be able to shoot Yankees shortly after the outbreak of War.
African-Confederates not only offered their services as soldiers but also as laborers. Many colored communities took up collections for the Confederate War Effort. Even individual negroes, both free and slave, contributed their money for the Confederate Government.
The African-Confederate went to War for the South as body servants, teamsters, laborers, and even soldiers. Many saw action. Some were wounded and some were killed in defense of the South. Most were loyal and cared for their master with whom they went to war. Many cases tell of a body servant removing a wounded soldier to the surgeon or taking the body of a fallen soldier home for proper burial.
How many Black soldiers served for the Confederacy in the War Between the States? Perhaps no one will ever know. Estimates run anywhere from 30,000 to 100,000. However, because the victors- the north - needed to give the world the impression the War was fought over slavery, a concerted scheme was put into motion to suppress the figures by destroying records, thus giving credence to their 'the war was fought over slavery' mantra. While a large number of government records were distorted or destroyed, thousands of 'other' records in the form of letters and photos remain.
The black Confederates were a combination of free blacks and slaves who were house servants accompanying white masters, Kennedy said. Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest freed 44 of his slaves after they served Forrest's cavalry forces, Kennedy said. Unlike blacks in the Union Army who served in all-black regiments, blacks in the Confederate Army fought in mixed units, he said.
Black Confederates Why haven't we heard more about them? National Park Service historian, Ed Bearrs, stated, "I don't want to call it a conspiracy to ignore the role of Blacks both above and below the Mason-Dixon line, but it was definitely a tendency that began around 1910" Historian, Erwin L. Jordan, Jr., calls it a "cover-up" which started back in 1865. He writes, "During my research, I came across instances where Black men stated they were soldiers, but you can plainly see where 'soldier' is crossed out and 'body servant' inserted, or 'teamster' on pension applications." Another black historian, Roland Young, says he is not surprised that blacks fought. He explains that "some, if not most, Black southerners would support their country" and that by doing so they were "demonstrating it's possible to hate the system of slavery and love one's country." This is the very same reaction that most African Americans showed during the American Revolution, where they fought for the colonies, even though the British offered them freedom if they fought for them.
