By 1925, beef production had been greatly reformed. Enforcement of new laws reduced ranchers’ illegal use of public land. Stockyards and packing houses began to follow health guidelines and had somewhat improved working conditions for their workers.
Inspecting beef carcasses
Source: Nebraska State Historical Society
 |
In 1926, a new and magnificent Livestock Exchange Building towered over the South Omaha stockyards. It reflected the strength that the livestock industry, and cattle in particular, had enjoyed for nearly a quarter century and it promoted optimism for the future. |
"Union Stockyards, Showing
Exchange Building, Omaha, Neb."
Source: Nebraska State Historical Society
|
Gasoline-powered tractor
Source: Nebraska State Historical Society |
Everywhere you looked, life was being modernized. Mechanization was revolutionizing agriculture all across Nebraska. The introduction of gasoline-powered engines made some of the most radical changes. With a tractor, a farmer could raise more corn and deliver it more efficiently. This contributed to the growth of feedlots around the state.
Click the Magnifying Glass icon
or the image for a closer look at the whole ad.
Advertisement: Moving a hay stack with a D-8 Caterpillar
on the Peterson Brothers Ranch
near Lakeside, Nebraska, 1949
Source: The Nebraska Cattleman |
As engines grew larger and roads improved, trucks slowly began to compete with the railroads as the way to ship livestock to South Omaha. In South Omaha, the stockyards continued to grow, eventually covering over 200 acres. Cars, trucks, and light tractors coupled with a growing system of roads and highways helped ranchers improve the amount of hay that they could produce. Farmers could manage more acres, and with a vibrant cattle market, feeders paid good money for corn.
Cattle on a Roller Coaster
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Then, in late 1929, everything caved in. Prices for livestock and grain dropped to unheard of lows. And the rains stopped. Banks collapsed, and mortgages that farmers had taken out to increase their acres came due. Nebraska agriculture was in turmoil. |
Auctioning Farm Equipment
on the Zimmerman Farm
near Hastings, Nebraska, March 1940
Source: Nebraska State Historical Society |
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Aid from the federal government improved things, such as rural electrification and highway construction. World War II created both a demand for beef and technologies that would allow the cattle industry to grow. |
Electricity added to rural areas in the 1930s
Source: Farm Security Administration,
Library of Congress |
After the War, diesel technology added more muscle to tractors, and with larger trucks, ranchers could further reduce dependency on the railroads. Antibiotics, fertilizers, and herbicides improved corn production and led to larger and larger feeding operations.
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