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Lecture 6 discusses the legends of cowboys and the lifestyle inspired by cattle. The process of raising cattle went through many changes before it came to its present state. Before barbed wire or fencing in general became popular in the West, cattle grazed on open range, land not really owned by the cattlemen. Because of better prices north of where the cattle were raised, they were taken to cattle towns on foot to be sold. Trains facilitated the movement of cattle towards urban centers where the meat was needed. The golden age of cattle ended in the 1880s/1890s after a series of hard winters and droughts. Cattlemen now fenced cattle and grew hay to feed the cows in the winter. Consumer tastes in cattle changed with the introduction of other European breeds and health concerns about saturated fat.

I’m a vegetarian, so I'm not interested in whether or not it is necessary to trim the fat off a steak before cooking, but my dad is a farmer/rancher. He raises mostly wheat in the summer and also grows hay for his Angus cattle. I sympathize with anyone who ever had to fix fence for cattle and certainly understand why rancher used to open range wouldn't want to change to such a laborious system. My father always seemed to wait for a day when the weather wasn't cooperating well enough to do anything else, then he would fix fence. If I wasn't at school I had the dubious pleasure of accompanying him. My dad is allergic to beef, and I find it ironic that both of us, who will never eat his cows or anyone else's cows, will go through so much trouble to fence these animals.