30 NEBRASKA CATTLEMAN April/May 2024 Perhaps even more important is the cultural shift the Omaha Stockyards helped propel in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The yards represented the first time in history that food could be produced for the masses, which allowed people to leave subsistence farming to higher paying jobs in town. Indeed, 1920 marked the first time in the country’s history that more than 50 percent of the U.S. population lived in urban areas. Today, more than 80 percent of the nation’s population lives in a densely developed area, according to the U.S. Census. Trouble was, with all those people now living in cities, it became increasingly difficult to operate large stockyards in heavily urbanized areas. The smells, noise and waste resulted in pressure by cities to move the facilities elsewhere, and although the Omaha Stockyards continued to operate into the 1990s – much longer than those in Chicago and Kansas City – its days were numbered. Packers moved their plants to rural areas where they could build bigger, more efficient facilities. The advent of the Interstate Highway System meant livestock could be transported more easily on potbelly trucks rather than trains from farms and ranches to local livestock markets, feedlots and packing plants. In 1999, the historic Union Stockyards closed its gates, marking the end of an era. The history of the Omaha Stockyards remains a testament to the transformative power of the livestock industry in shaping the development of American agriculture. From its humble beginnings in the late 19th century to its status as the world’s largest livestock market, it played a vital role in the nation’s agricultural and economic landscape. While the physical structures may have faded, the legacy of the stockyards lives on, woven into the fabric of Omaha’s history and the broader narrative of America’s westward expansion. For Gerlach, the memories are more personal. It was a time for family and friends, a break from pressures of farm life, a trip to a fast-food joint for a burger. And a memory of a once vast complex that changed American agriculture forever. “It was sad to see it go,” Gerlach recalls. “We have many memories of that place.” For historians and writers, who just now are beginning to understand the mighty influence of the stockyards, it was a transformative time when the country shook off its frontier roots and became a modern, industrialized country. All of this resulted in the technologically advanced, hyper-connected world we live in today. “I think the stockyards teach us that we were once tremendous entrepreneurs,” Hough says. “To even think of building something of the scale of the Omaha Stockyards, I mean, it’s really incredible. But this is where it all started, where we started producing food on an industrial scale. Today, we are feeding hundreds of millions of people around the world because of what happened in the yards.” ~NC~ BOOMTOWN CONTINUED FROM PAGE 28 DEFEND OUR GRASSLANDS PREVENT AND REMOVE EASTERN REDCEDAR ----The Great Plains Grassland Initiative ---- VISIT YOUR LOCAL NRCS OFFICE OR A PARTNER BELOW FOR DETAILS. BEFORE AFTER Images courtesy of USDA-NRCS EASTERN REDCEDAR TREE REMOVAL Apply Now! USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender. © ®
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