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Tom began the lecture with asking about cowboy legends. His point being almost all well-known cowboys were actually actors. We learned most main highways and interstates run east and west while most cattle trails run north and south. The discussion was then moved to cattle. There was a surplus of cattle after the Civil War, and ranchers moved onto the plains. Cattle towns eventually became farm towns. Canadian ranches were also formed. They had Canadian framework but were formed from American methods. Ranchers found that the winters left devastation on the cattle as they were a little too harsh for the animals. Family operation became the most successful form of business. Ranches were introduced to the barbed wire, and the open ranges disappeared. Pure bred cattle were much easier to maintain as the cattle could be separated. Different grazing methods were discussed. The 1960s brought the introduction of the feedlots. With this brought meatpacking businesses.
I think the most interesting part of this lecture was the cattle kingdom. I found it interesting that there once used to be longhorns way up in this area. I have always tied that in with the south, but it makes sense when the trails came from the south. The feedlot discussion was also interesting. I didn't know that feedlots were relatively new, but I guess refridgeration would have been required to make meatpacking a success. ~Chris Schmaltz