High Falutin’ Beef
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“Up Breeding” Cattle


Cows and their calves at Snyder place near Milburn, Nebraska
Source: Nebraska State Historical Society
In response to this change in taste, ranchers began to "up breed" their herds. But cattle like Hereford and Angus needed more tending than Longhorns did. They needed hay supplied to them in winter. They needed easy access to water. They often needed help calving, and especially during calving, they needed protection from predators. And there were now thousands of them who needed this special care.

Watch this video, Delicate Cattle, about these new breeds in western Nebraska, and the Blizzards of 1886 and 1887 that severely affected the beef industry.


Barbed wire from the late 1800s
Source: Nebraska State Historical Society
Many ranchers left, but others learned how to provide more protection for these delicate new cattle. Barbed wire and windmills allowed ranchers to control their cattle. Fenced pastures allowed ranchers to manage their grasslands and protect hay meadows. Windmills let them put the water where the cattle were, rather than taking the cattle to where the water was.

Over time, the large free-range ranches became the privately-owned, fenced, and managed ranches we know today.