High Falutin’ Beef nebraskastudies.org

Introduction

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Lewis Hoppie's livestock near Lexington, 1887
Source: Nebraska State Historical Society

Not native to Nebraska, beef began moving here after the Civil War. The start of meat-processing plants in Chicago, the swarming of gold miners to the Black Hills, the destruction of the Plains bison (making more room for cattle and creating a need for a new meat source for Native Americans), all gave Nebraska the demand for beef and made it a perfect place to raise it. The end of the nineteenth century saw a spurt of phenomenal growth in the beef industry, a spurt full of changes and challenges.

Longhorn & Hereford cattle
Source: Nebraska State Historical Society

In the 1870s, Americans’ taste for beef became more refined. The Texas Longhorn, the animal that could take care of itself, produced lean and tough meat. Americans developed a taste for the more tender and flavorful meat produced by English and Scottish breeds, like Hereford and Angus.

Alexander Hamilton Swan, a Scottish rancher from Wyoming, was one of the first to try to fulfill this new beef preference. Swan was so influential that his admirers acted much like fans of a famous celebrity would today.