On the Range Summary and Analysis

The author met Hank in Colorado Springs. Hank was a rancher with 400 head of cattle that he graced on his ranch about 30 miles from Colorado Springs. He was diligent about caring for his land, rotated grazing areas so natural grasses could replenish themselves, and protected the ecosystem of a creek that ran through his property. He was a dying breed. The small rancher can no longer compete with the few large meatpackers who contract with huge corporate ranchers and control prices of beef. The meatpacking industry has a long history of this behavior, and, in 1920, after an FTC investigation showed that the five large meatpackers colluded to drive the price of beef down, the governemtn forced the five to split up and give up some of their related businesses. Things were better for the independent ranchers, as...