5-26 FB Cowboy Unemployment

 Cowboys are facing tough challenges these days…particularly  in finding work. Recently a headline appeared in The Oregonian: –

Oregon cowboys face a tough new adversary: unemployment. The article said, in essence, The recession and ranch economics are trampling the job market for cowboys, one of the West's most enduring symbols. Many cowhands are out of work, work for ranches only part time or have left the field altogether.

 But beef prices have been up haven’t they. And people seem to be buying beef in stores and restaurants again. I talked with Jeff Faulkner, rancher and member of the Western Legacy Alliance, a pro cattleman organization. Beef producers have been harassed constantly by enviro-lawyer  groups like Western Watersheds and I asked Jeff if he would recommend that his kids leave this lifestyle: “Sure. I’d be hard pressed to tell my kids that trying to get into farming and ranching right now would be a good thing. You mentioned the economy not being good and I don’t know what I would encourage them to do right now. There just making it too tough on us. We’re the original environmentalists, we’re not harming the land.” 

 So with ranchers being driven out of business, and no kids taking over, no wonder cowboys are unemployed.