Celebrating the connection between the western lifestyle and the hands that feed us.
By Krysta Paffrath
“Agriculture was the first occupation of man, and as it embraces the whole earth, it is the foundation of all other industries.” — Edward W. Stewart
Welcome to the ninth edition of Cowboy Lifestyle Magazine! In this issue, I am excited to celebrate the roots of agriculture and the ties it has to the western industry. I believe if we all dig deep enough, we all have a tie to agriculture, regardless of how far removed you might be from it. I hope to bring you a little bit closer to agriculture by sharing the stories of those who are at the forefront of feeding America.
Within the pages of this magazine, you will find stories of farmers, first and multi-generational ranchers, agriculture advocates, and those who are working to bridge the gap between themselves and the American families they feed daily. Agriculture is, in fact, the original western lifestyle. It is what built the country we live in today and it gave the western industry a foundation to be built on. Everything from rodeo to livestock shows, and horse shows to bull riding can be traced back to agriculture.
In fact, the term “rodeo” came from the Spanish word “rodear”, which meant “to encircle or round up”. Which is exactly what Mexican cowboys did to maintain control of their cattle herds before there was fencing and formal ranches like we know today. Over time, the actions performed by the cowboys grew into a healthy competition as the American cowboys of the southwest started working and coexisting with them through cattle drives and round-ups. There are claims of formal rodeos being present in the northern states as early as 1872 but the first official annual rodeo was held in 1888 in Prescott, Arizona which is now home to the Prescott Frontier Days Rodeo, also known as the World’s Oldest Rodeo. Without the early beef industry, there would be no rodeo or bull riding industry today.
While I am closer to agriculture than I have ever been, I have also been in the role of being fairly removed from it, which is where a majority of Americans are today. While I currently work with those in the western and agriculture industry, I think it’s important to not only highlight but celebrate the lives of our American farmers and ranchers.
To set the stage for the stories on the following pages, here are some statistics based on the American farmer or rancher. (Pulled from the American Farm Bureau Federation)
- Farm and ranch families comprise less than 2% of the U.S. population.
- One U.S. farm feeds 166 people annually in the U.S. and abroad.
- 86% of U.S. agricultural products are produced on family farms or ranches.
- 2 million farms dot America’s rural landscape, and 98% are operated by families – individuals, family partnerships, or family corporations (America’s Diverse Family Farms, 2020 Edition).
With some of these stats in mind as you explore the pages beyond this story, I urge that if you are interested, passionate, or curious about the western or agriculture industry to reach out to me or even a local farmer to learn more about where your food comes from or how to get involved in the lifestyle. I will leave you with this, you don’t need to be a cowboy or cowgirl to love the western lifestyle and you don’t need to be a farmer or rancher to support agriculture.
