Trails and Trials: Markets and Land Use in the Alberta Beef Cattle Industry, 1881–1948

Maxwell L. Foran

$34.95 sc
Available Now
1-55238-089-0
316 pp.
6" x 9"
46 b/w photos, 4 maps, 9 tables

Ranching History

About the Book

Alberta’s ranching heritage occupies an important place in the province’s historical consciousness. With regional focus, but with national and international implications, Trails and Trials documents the development of the beef cattle industry in Alberta from its open-range ranching phase to the beginnings of the modern era. This narrative history tells the story of how the beef cattle industry responded to the challenges following the end of the open-range era through two world wars and the Great Depression.

Trails and Trials is a story of struggle, of victories, and defeats as a romanticized industry struggled to survive and mature in the real world. It provides a new case study for readers interested in Canada’s economic development and settlement history.

“This is a fine book that helps to fill a significant gap in the historiography of western Canadian cattle industry and in doing so makes a valuable contribution to the agricultural and economic history of the province of Alberta.… Indeed, the author deserves high praise for thoroughness of his research and the manner in which it is referenced in his narrative.”
David H. Breen, Professor and Acting Head of the Department of History, University of British Columbia

“This is an important and innovative undertaking that provides a point of departure for more detailed inquiries into specific eras and issues which have not yet been addressed. In a broad sense, then, Foran opens doors which have been closed too long.”
Simon Evans, Department of Geography, University of Calgary

About the Author

Maxwell L. Foran has been working in the field of Western Canadian history for over thirty years and has published widely on various urban, rural, and cultural topics. He is an assistant professor in the Faculty of Communication and Culture at the University of Calgary.

Contents

• Dedication v
• Introduction xi

ONE
Legacy of the Ranching Era 1881–1907
Land Tenure Factors 2
Climatic Variables and Ranching Practices 7
Mixed Farming Operations 9
Feeding and Finishing 11
Markets 15
The Export Market 19
The British Embargo and Canadian Store Cattle 24
Conclusion 26

TWO
The Agricultural Frontier 1900–1913
Agriculture and its Impact on the Cattle Industry 29
Impact on the Livestock Industry 36
Cattle Feeding 38
Markets 40
The Chilled Beef Initiatives 46
Land Use 49
Mixed Farming 50
Recovery 53
Conclusion 55

THREE
Mixed Blessings 1914–1920
The Export Market 57
The American Market 58
The British Market 60
Positive Impacts 62
Mixed Blessings 65
The Dominance of Ranching 68
The End of Prosperity 71
Land Issues 72

FOUR
Change Out of Necessity 1921–1930
Markets 83
The Export Market 84
The American Market 84
Battling the Tariff 86
Federal Disinterest 94
The British Market 98
Removal of the Embargo 99
The Federal Government and the British Market 102
The Japanese Market 109
Feeding and Finishing 109
The Domestic Market 118
Conclusion 124
Land Use 125
Leasehold Tenure 125
The Community Pasture Issue 130
Range Degradation 135
Rising Production Costs 136
Overall Land Use 137
Conclusion 137

FIVE
The Depression Years 1930–1939
The Export Market 141
The Domestic Marketing Problem 150
Finishing and Feeding 155
Cattle Quality 159
Solutions to the Marketing Problem 162
Land Issues 169
Financial Miseries 170
Leasehold Tenure 172
Land Reclamation and Irrigation 177
Range Management 181

SIX
Extraordinary Times 1938–1948
Marketing 186
The Closure of the American Market 187
The Impact of Price Controls 191
The British and American Markets 196
The Domestic Market 205
Feeding and Finishing 207
Other Marketing Issues 210
Breeding Implications 210
“Dwarfsm” 211
Grading 212
Land Use 213
Leasehold Tenure 216
Conclusion 221

• Conclusion 223

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