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Post by bobdurham on Sept 30, 2009 10:57:04 GMT -5
I've been reading The Cattle Towns by Robert R. Dykstra -- about the Kansas cattle towns of Abilene, Ellsworth, Wichita, Caldwell and Dodge. Its mainly how they related to the railroads passing through Kansas at the time. I was wondering, and hoping, that someone (maybe Wolfpack) might know how much influence the railroads have over the present-day cattle industry -- or has their place been taken over by trucking? Are the main cattle markets still mainly in the mid-west (St. Louis, Chicago, et. al)?
Thanks, Bob
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Post by Herb on Sept 30, 2009 16:37:23 GMT -5
Bob,
The cattle industry has changed drastically from those days. A couple of book plugs first: The era you're currently reading probably the best all round source remains J. Frank Dobie's The Longhorns, The transition era of the early 20th Century try Ben K. Green's Wild Cow Tales. The second book is a personal history and an absolute fantasic read. Also our friend Jack Edmondson, "starred" in a PBS special called iirc, Fort Worth Wall Street of the West - its worth a look if you can find it.
After the era of the Kansas Cow Towns, the cattle industry was dominated by major Stockyard towns where the railroads and meat packers such as Swift and Armour would colocate. Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City, Oklahoma City, Fort Worth, were probably the major ones. Kansas City, Oklahoma City and definitly Fort Worth still have stockyard areas that are worth visiting.
This era lasted to the Great Depression, when FDR pushed through legislation/regulations that favored smaller operations (and which the expanding trucking industry made viable). The major stockyards struggled on into the 1960s, but local auction barns became the main gateway for beef to ultimately reach the consumer.
In Texas virtually every county east of I35 had it's own sale barn (which is basically what the Fort Worth Stockyards beef operations of today are), until urbanization. Still in the 9 county area I live in at least 6 of them still have at least one sale barn.
Cattle Operations today bascially have 4 segments. There's the Cow Calf operation (what I am). Stocker Operations, Feedlots, and meat packers. Obviously some in the industry will participate in mutiple segments, but the local sale barn is where all 4 segments will meet and move the beef to the consumer.
The cow calf operation is what most people think of when they think of raising cattle. I have my basic herd of adults and except for replacement heifers and bulls, I drive all my calves at weaning (generally 6 months) to the Sale Barn. Heifers will generally be bought by other cattle raisers as replacement females, steers and bulls taken to the sale barn will generally be bought by a stocker. Once a cow stops producing or gets around 10-12 years old, I'll take her to market. I generally keep a breeding Bull for 3 years, and will then either take him to market or try and sell him to another cattleraiser by advertising (Bulls can be started as young as 12- 14 months though generally most will wait til 18 months or older, you wnat a heifer to have her first calf when she turns 2 years old. There are differences between breeds, and owner's preferences, but this is a good rule of thumb). Old cows at the Sale Barn will usually be bought by a rep for the packers. All bulls that end up at a packer usually end up as hamburger. Old Cows will end up as hamburger and the cheap steaks at your cheaper chain restauarants.
Stockers, will take young steers (and some young bulls which they'll cut) and fatten them up usually on grass and supplemented with feed. They'll then take them back to the sale barn where a feedlot operation will buy them and then continue to fatten them up almost purely on grain. Your quality steaks come almost 100% from this beef.
Meetpackers generally buy direct from feedlots. And virtually all packer operations are located in more rural areas away from big cities in contrast to the Stockyard era.
Virtually all transportation is by truck.
The quality steaks you remember as a kid generally never make it to the grocery anymore, but are bought straight from the packer by your better restaurants and speciality beef shoppes.
Thats probably a lot more than you asked for.
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Post by bobdurham on Sept 30, 2009 19:00:02 GMT -5
Wolfpack,
Many thanks pardner -- you've made it all a lot more clear how these things happen, you're a wealth of information. I grew up on a farm and my grandfather raised a few beef cattle when he grew older (started out as a dairy farm but couldn't justify the cost when the law was passed that he had to use electric milkers -- too small an operation) but Pennsylvania is a lot different than Texas. I have J. Frank Dobie's The Longhorns -- a great read. I'll have to find your other recommendation.
Again, thanks a lot, Bob
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Post by sloanrodgers on Nov 9, 2010 20:26:09 GMT -5
While searching for the elusive wolf attack on cattle in old newspapers I stumbled across this morbid, but slightly funny article on an accidental bar-b-que of forty cows.
The Cococino Sun (Flagstaff, Arizona) March 24, 1906
Cattle Burned on Hoof
Forty head of cattle were burned to death recently on the Matador ranch on the Texas-New Mexico line as the result of branding a steer, which had just been dipped in oil. The cattle of the Matador ranch were being dipped in oil when it was discovered that one of the steer was unbranded. Immediately after the dipping the men in charge attempted to brand the animal. As soon as the hot iron touched the oil soaked hair, the steer caught fire. Breaking away the animal ran headlong through the herd setting fire to a large number of them. Forty burned to death. - Ex.
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Post by sloanrodgers on Nov 11, 2010 21:22:07 GMT -5
Another funny cow story. Those crazy kids! ;D
State Gazette (Austin, Texas) Sept. 16, 1855
Cattle in Lavaca. - We see by the Herald, that owing lately to the unusual quantity of mosquitoes on the the prairies near Lavaca, a number of cattle have sought refuge at night in the town of Lavaca. The editor censures the conduct of a party of young men who attempted to stampede them by attaching fire crackers and boxes to their tails, & c., which infruriated the animals, resulted in the destruction of valuable steers, cows, &c.
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Post by Richard Weddle on Feb 18, 2011 1:40:31 GMT -5
... A couple of book plugs first: The era you're currently reading probably the best all round source remains J. Frank Dobie's The Longhorns, The transition era of the early 20th Century try Ben K. Green's Wild Cow Tales. The second book is a personal history and an absolute fantasic read. ... Informative post, wolfpack. I'm sure you'll agree the brother book to Dobie's The Longhorns would be J. Marvin Hunter's The Trail Divers of Texas, first published in 1920. This compilation of interviews and reminiscences with cowpunchers, some of whom were old enough to remember the beginnings of the cattle trade, is indispensable and absolutely necessary for anyone reading up on the cattle trade. It is also a genuine Texas book from start to finish. This book IS Texas. Unfortunately, there is no collection of black and Latino cowboy accounts to augment it. I've also found Joseph G. McCoy's Cattle Trade of the West and Southwest, a Kansas book first published in 1874 by the man who helped start the industry, useful and informative. William B. Shillingberg's recently published Dodge City is a definitive history of that cattle town and an absorbing read. Richard
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Post by Herb on Feb 18, 2011 11:41:40 GMT -5
Thanks for the post, Hunter's Trail Drivers is indeed a treasure. I hadn't heard of Schillenberg's book and will have to look for it. And thanks for the reminder about McCoy's book.
A couple of other related books that are pretty interesting are J. Evetts Haley's Charles Goodnight and The XIT Ranch.
I'm pretty interested in the cattle trails (and their modern roads) so I find almost any good book on the cattle trails interesting. I used to live a couple of blocks off of Preston Road in Dallas, to me it's a unique connection with history, when you look at today's bumper to bumper traffic, and then try to visualize that 140+ years ago this was the first major cattle trail taking Texas cattle north.
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Post by Allen Wiener on Feb 18, 2011 12:06:07 GMT -5
I need to find the Shillingberg book too; I'd like to get his take on the Earps, Masterson, Holliday, et al.
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Post by Richard Weddle on Feb 18, 2011 22:35:32 GMT -5
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Post by rriddle3 on Feb 19, 2011 14:16:03 GMT -5
Slightly off-topic, but relevant to the old cowboys - you might want to read 'Dakota Cowboy: My Life in the Old Days' by Ike Blasingame. He was my great-uncle and tells of his times with the Matador Land and Cattle Company and its move from Texas to South Dakota. The book was highly recommended by J. Frank Dobie.
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Post by Richard Weddle on Feb 19, 2011 17:26:56 GMT -5
Thanks for the suggestion. I've heard of the Blasingame memoir and I'll definitely get it now that you've reminded me. It is quite a distinction, to be descendant of the pioneers.
With regard to early Texas ranches, cattle men, the cattle trails and cattle towns, I'm looking for perhaps a Texas bookseller who specializes in the subject. Someone who gathers all the local and regional books, pamphlets, and ephemera that wouldn't come to one's notice if you don't live there. You guys must know the kind of bookseller I mean. Any suggestions?
Richard
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Post by TRK on Feb 19, 2011 17:58:16 GMT -5
Richard, It always pays to watch for Dorothy Sloan Books' online catalogs, which often has the choice stuff. Check her periodic catalogs: sometimes she'll have one devoted solely to ranching. www.dsloan.comOn the right margin of Sloan's website are links to a ranching books catalog. These are books that Sloan has sold in the past, but it comprises an interesting bibliography and wish list. Larry McMurtry's rare bookstore in Archer, Texas, used to have a good Texas ranching section, but I'm not sure if it's still in business. Then, of course, you can always check Abebooks, Alibris, and EvilBay.
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Post by Allen Wiener on Feb 19, 2011 18:10:33 GMT -5
If you go to bookfinder.com it consolidates your search and covers many of these dealers, including Abebooks, Alibris and even Amazon, where many used books are being sold by private dealers now. And don't forget eBay.com and iOffer.com
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Post by Richard Weddle on Feb 19, 2011 20:51:32 GMT -5
One needs to know the title and / or author to use bookfinders, and I've been using them for a long time. The advantage of a booklist like Dorothy Sloan is that books you never knew existed -- obscure, limited, localized from a community -- are listed, and that's how you find out about them. I suspect there are probably some booklets and pamphlets about ranches and cowboys in central Texas that were printed up by some local historical society or family that don't make onto amazon. My thanks to you both.
Richard
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Post by Richard Weddle on Feb 19, 2011 23:51:49 GMT -5
Richard, It always pays to watch for Dorothy Sloan Books' online catalogs, which often has the choice stuff. Check her periodic catalogs: sometimes she'll have one devoted solely to ranching. www.dsloan.comOn the right margin of Sloan's website are links to a ranching books catalog. These are books that Sloan has sold in the past, but it comprises an interesting bibliography and wish list. Larry McMurtry's rare bookstore in Archer, Texas, used to have a good Texas ranching section, but I'm not sure if it's still in business. Dorothy Sloan is an auction house, right? Not really a book-seller. If I want a book I have to bid on it. She looks to be awfully pricey. But you're right, her back catalogues are useful checklists. The last time I drove through Lampasas on my way to Austin I picked up a few locally printed books about the town and county in the old west days that I'd never seen listed anywhere. That's the kind of stuff I look for. I bought some 1st editions from McMurtry's Tucson store. It closed in the mid-1990s along with most bookstores in Tucson. I hear he closed a number of his stores. If only someone would reprint the massive Prose and Poetry of the Livestock Industry (1905) from the original plates, and the edition of The Cattlemen of Texas that Harwood Hinton edited, in editions that people could afford to buy. If I were sufficiently well-heeled, I'd become a publisher of western books, and you'd all see a renaissance in books about the cattle trade. Richard
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