America has lost roughly 4 in 10 cattle ranches since 1978
Years of drought throughout the Midwest have degraded pastures, forcing ranchers to sell more of their cattle rather than retain heifers for breeding
Cattle belonging to rancher Mike Wintz stand in a pasture 20 miles north of Ashby where they were relocated after the Morrill Fire burned much of the rangeland where Wintz’s cattle previously grazed.Photo by Bob Alberts for the Flatwater Free Press