Cattle Ranching Hasn’t Changed Much in 200 Years

Out with the old and in with the new is not necessarily the best way to examine cattle ranching as it is today. Many of the ways the earliest cattle ranchers from centuries ago still work today, even in the Internet and high-tech society that is overtaking the cattle ranching industry. There are significant differences from state to state, but there is one thing that they all have in common and that is that cattle ranching is thriving and the nation’s love of beef is not going away anytime soon.

The Internet and new marketing strategies are certainly a part of the new cattle ranching industry, but there are plenty of ranchers who are sticking to their old ways, doing things the way they were done long ago. In rural areas, many ranchers do not have the access to the Net and to the endless information that may or may not be adequate to suit their needs, so they use the methods that have been so successful in the past.

There are definitely benefits to today’s new technology and it comes in handy for those that have access, but smaller ranchers still hit the local cattle auctions rather than going to the Net. The local auction is still the favored way to sell cattle. You can see the cattle on sale instead of just a photo on the Net.

Internet sales of cattle have not caught on as expected. People everywhere are shopping on the Net, but cattle ranchers still want to go to the local auctions. In order for the Internet sales to grow, they have to compete with the small auctions that have been a way of life in the Midwest for as long as the country has existed.

Also, in rural areas, Internet service does not come quite as easily, so the local auctions are more convenient. Interruptions in service, or even small delays, can cost a small rancher a lot of money because immediacy is vital today. Person to person contact is the way most ranchers do their business despite the changes taking place today. Studies also indicated a rancher’s reputation impacts pricing. According to the study, a rancher with a positive reputation “will realize a higher price across all cattle marketing channels,” and does not have to pigeonhole themselves into one particular cattle marketing channel.

 Jeff Berlinicke