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The Civil War & Texas Beef

Because of the Civil War, two things happened that created the American beef industry:

1. The development of industrial meat processing and
2. The Union’s blockage of Texas trade from the rest of the U.S. as well as other markets.

Birth of Industrial Meat Processing

The Union had a huge army that needed food. To meet this demand, innovative butchers in Chicago with names like Gustavus Swift and P. D. Armour acquired large buildings, hired every butcher they could find, and bought every head of livestock ... Read more

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Cattle Drives

Because there were so many cattle in Texas and so few people, the cattle were worthless. But those same cattle were worth a lot in the north, where Americans’ taste for beef had grown. The four-dollar steer in Texas was worth 30 to 40 dollars in the north. The problem was getting the worthless cattle to the place where they had value.

The creation of the Union Pacific and Southern Pacific Railroads solved that problem. Texans could drive their cattle north ... Read more

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The End of the Bison

The change in the Nebraska landscape was dramatic. In just a few short years, cattle replaced the American bison as the leading, cloven-hoofed, grass-eating mammal on the Great Plains. In 1850, millions of bison ranged the grasslands and were the main natural resource for the region’s American Indians.

In 1868, the steel rails of the transcontinental railroad created a barrier that bison did not like to cross. That divided the great herd into northern and southern herds.

When the great trail drives ... Read more

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Beef Moves To Nebraska

Lesson Plans: 1850-1874: Beef Moves to Nebraska - Grade Level [4-8]

Introduction

Cattle are so much a part of Nebraska life today that it may seem strange to think of a time when there were none in our area.

We think "west" when we think about beef in America, but its story is really about going north. Cattle are not native to the American continents. The Spanish brought them to the Americas in the 16th Century.

In Mexico, strays from Spanish herds, especially ... Read more

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"Up Breeding" Cattle

"Delicate Cattle" describes these new breeds in western Nebraska. Find out how they fared in the Blizzards of 1886 and 1887 that severely affected the beef industry.
From the 2008 NET Television production Beef State

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 ... Read more

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High Falutin’ Beef

Lesson Plans: 1875-1899: High Falutin' Beef - Grade Level [8-12]

Introduction

Several events caused an increase in the number of cattle in Nebraska after the Civil War. The destruction of the Plains bison made more room for cattle, and Native Americans needed a new meat source. Meat-processing plants in Chicago and gold miners rushing to the Black Hills needed beef. The enormous growth in the beef industry caused many changes and challenges.

In the 1870s, Americans’ taste for beef became more refined. ... Read more

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Genetics

As early as the 1870s, ranchers knew that genetics were important. As their markets changed, they needed to produce cattle that in turn produced the quality of beef that their consumers wanted.
From extra footage from the 2008 NET Television production, Beef State

In the very first issue of Nebraska Farmer, published in January 1877, there were two articles on the importance of breeding. One, entitled "Galloway Cattle", praised the breed for its size, endurance, and traits, making it well suited ... Read more