Chapter 6

What are some of the problems facing cattle ranchers?

Cattle ranchers now a days face many problems from rising land prices all the way to health scares about beef. Ranchers look to have a big amount of land for their cattle, however, with the price of the land increasing, they cant afford to buy more land. Another problem that ranchers face is the increase of development. As new cities, buildings and highways are being built,there is less land available for ranchers and their cattle. Increased shipment of cattle from different countries is another problem that ranchers in the US face. For example, United States is receiving cattle from Mexico and Canada because it is cheaper than buying cattle from ranchers living in the United States. Finally, the last problem the cattle ranchers face is that many ranchers don't earn enough money and become poor. This causes them to sell their cattle at very low price and run out of business.

How does the suicide rate for ranchers and farmers compare with the rate for U.S. citizens in general?

The suicide rate for ranchers and farmers compare with the rate for U.S. citizens is that the rate for ranchers/farmers is three times higher than the rate for U.S. citizens. I believe that this is a very important issue that needs to be closely looked at. However, in the book it states that this statistic is ignored and I believe it is wrong of people to just ignore it. The suicide rate of farmers and ranchers is slowly and steadily increasing. Their traditional way of living is being destroyed. They try so hard to become successful and at the end, they have nothing and this is the reason why suicides are occurring.