A5 Special Focus B: What is the past and future of Santa Cruz County’s Ranching Economy?

Ethan Stedelin, University of Arizona Student

Key Concepts:

  • Cattle ranching has been an economic industry in what is now Santa Cruz County and Arizona since the introduction of cattle and livestock in the region by Spanish missionaries beginning in the 1680s-1690s
  • Santa Cruz County’s rolling grasslands, high elevation, and natural sources of water were excellent conditions to help sustain cattle ranching
  • Ranching has persisted as technological advancements throughout American society began to take off; efficient forms of water storage, air conditioning, railroad developments, and America’s massive middle-class growth since World War II

Key Terms:

  • Cattle: Cow and calves.
  • Cattle Ranching: Raising large herds of cattle, then later utilizing their byproducts such as dairy products, and beef.
  • Mission Communities: Communities founded by Spanish Catholic missionaries to promote Christianity and adoption of Hispanic identity by indigenous peoples.
  • Land Grants: gifts of land by the Spanish and Mexican governments to Spanish and Mexican colonists to promote settlement, wealth, and tax base.
  • Grazing: the method of cattle-raising in which cows and other cattle are allowed to roam and eat vegetation on their own
  • Overgrazing: excessive grazing that causes damage to grasslands
  • Drought: A prolonged period of abnormally low rainfall.
  • Gadsden (or Mesilla) Purchase (1853-1854) – the U.S. purchase of land from Mexico which includes what is now Southern New Mexico and Arizona, and all of present-day Santa Cruz County
  • Buffelgrass – and invasive species of grass imported into the Sonoran Desert to help with erosion control, range management, and promote cattle ranching; during droughts this species can create massive wildfires

Research Article

A5 Special Focus B: What is the past and future of Santa Cruz County’s Ranching Economy?

Ethan Stedelin, University of Arizona Student

Introduction:

Ever go to the store and ask yourself how does this ground beef stay so fresh when it’s coming from so far away? Well, what If I told you that Santa Cruz County and Arizona have cattle farms all around the state and your ground beef could be coming from somewhere right here in Arizona? Cattle have become a staple embedded in American society, the Arizona economy, and Southern Arizona history for centuries. Despite the persistence of ranching in Santa Cruz County, future cattle ranches might face more changes with ever-growing political, economic, and environmental shifts.

Ranching and cattle distribution have been predominant factors of the Santa Cruz County economy for hundreds of years. However, cattle ranching in Santa Cruz County has also had its hiccups throughout history facing drought, reduction in cattle value, and shifts in ecological values. Cattle ranching has been going on in Southern Arizona since the 1680s and has been not only supplying cattle to surrounding towns (Nogales, Patagonia, and Sonoita,) but distributing to large meat packing plants throughout the entire United States. In the 19th century, mining throughout southern Arizona created even more demand for beef. Surrounding towns within Santa Cruz County had numerous mines and offered a high demand for beef, which helped the growth and development of these ranches during this time.  

Leading into the 20th century, World War II would create a booming economy and the rise of the middle class. Coinciding with the increased demand for beef throughout the middle class, technological advancements and suitable ranching conditions in Santa Cruz have been three aspects of the success of ranchers throughout the region. Despite these, Santa Cruz County is facing new challenges: increasing technology prices, environmental & conservationist  concerns, and low return on investment might mean  the future of Santa Cruz’s economy could shift. 

The Birth of Ranching

Santa Cruz County hasn’t always been as populated as it is today. Its modern history has its roots in the Spanish colonization of the Americas starting in the 1500s. The area that became Santa Cruz County was settled by Spanish settlers who created missionary communities at places like Tumacácori. Missionary communities were small settlements established by Spanish priests who hoped to convert the Native people to the Catholic religion; they brought cattle and sheep as a way to sustain the missions. Indeed, the missionaries introduced cattle into Santa Cruz County in the1680s-1690s, beginning Arizona’s ranching history.[1] The area’s relatively higher elevation and its rolling grass hills, and “permanent water sources,” would offer suitable conditions for cattle ranching to prosper.[2]

Ranching gradually grew when Southern Arizona was under Spanish and then Mexican rule through the 1850s. The Spanish government and later the Mexican government would begin handing out land grants (gifts of ranch land) to early European and Mexican settlers to help establish wealth and begin a tax base. Despite numerous people taking advantage of these land grants, many of them refused to live on the land they were given. With the constant threat of native Apache attacks, many ranchers preferred to live in military forts or missionary communities like Tumacacori. When the U.S. purchased what is now Santa Cruz County from Mexico in the 1853-1854 Gadsden/Mesilla Purchase, many local ranchers had hopes for the future. However, Apache raids onto ranches (which often involved the stealing of livestock and the killing of Mexican families) prevented ranching from really expanding.

A new idea surrounding ranching:

Despite these hard times, the U.S. Government’s increasing presence in Southern Arizona gradually allowed the ranching economy to finally expand. As with mining, ranching only took firm root in the mid-1880s after the U.S. Army forcibly relocated the Apaches onto distant Indian Reservations, ending the threat of Apache raids in the area. Greater peace and safety allowed for mining to grow, especially after railroads were built in the area in the 1880s. The creation of more mines (and the presence of more miners and their families) provided a market for ranchers. This would lead to the founding of Southern Arizona’s, such as the Vail Empire Ranch & Cienega Ranch which are still operational to this day.  However, once again change was afoot and the 1890s brought drought paired with the overgrazing of cattle which would begin to undermine the cattle ranching industry.

By the 1920s-1930s, a new species of grass was brought into the agricultural market in Southern Arizona in order to help the range recover from overgrazing. Buffelgrass was native to regions of Africa and was brought over to the Sonoran Desert to help with erosion control and range management.[3]  This invasive species of grass helped with range management and also helped compensate for earlier overgrazing of local southwestern grass species.[4] Although one downside with the use of buffelgrass is it outcompetes other native grasses and can cause massive wildfires when it gets too dry. Buffelgrass can be helpful for cattle grazing, but it comes at a heavy environmental cost being a fire-prone invasive species.

In the 1930s the Great Depression emerged in the United States taking a toll on the whole nation’s economy. Unemployment would rise to 24.9% nationwide by 1933[5], preventing the average person from being able to buy essential resources for survival. This would also affect the ranchers. Cattle sales began to fall once again until World War II.

Emerging into Modern Day

World War II would not only help pull the country out of the Great Depression but also bring important changes for ranchers. The post-World War II economy created a massive new population of the middle class, indirectly causing the demand for beef to rise. By the middle of the 20th century, ranchers in Santa Cruz County took a different approach to cattle production. These ranchers would raise superior cattle and calves and have them sent out to other regions of the United States to “fatten them up.”  During the immediate postwar years, Santa Cruz County ranchers made the effort to help preserve ranching. With help from government agencies, ranchers adopted new technologies to support their operations. These included utilizing spring wells, dams, and water tanks to help sustain ranching. Although times were changing and so was the cattle industry, throughout the next 80 or so years ranching remained relatively stable. It provided jobs for people in Santa Cruz County and helped stimulate the economy, but as new generations emerge, we are starting to see a slight decline in ranchers in the county.

“Arizona Rancher on Mexico Border Uses Science to Breed Sustainable Cattle.” Cronkite News. December 27, 2017. (https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2017/12/27/arizona-rancher-border-breed-sustainable-cattle/.)

A study conducted by the Nogales International showed that 134 ranches were reported in Santa Cruz County in 2007. Five years later that number dropped to 108 ranches. According to the International, “Ranchers are getting older, and the younger generations aren’t taking interest.[6]”

Conclusion

Cattle ranching has been a staple of Southern Arizona’s lifestyle for over 300 years, providing meat and sustenance for families as well as supporting the local economy. The changes that ranching has experienced throughout those years have been immense, and more changes are underway moving forward. The United States will likely continue to demand beef from cattle, meaning that small/large ranches will remain on the Santa Cruz County landscape for years to come.

Author Bio:

Ethan Stedelin is a University of Arizona student studying history and education with aspirations of being an educator.

Bibliography:

Holcombe, Tracy. “What Is Buffelgrass?” What is buffelgrass? | U.S. Geological Survey, March 30, 2011. https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-buffelgrass#:~:text=Buffelgrass%20was%20brought%20to%20Arizona,regular%2C%20fast%2Dmoving%20wildfires.

Hyde, Shayla. “Arizona Rancher on Mexico Border Uses Science to Breed Sustainable Cattle.” Cronkite News, December 29, 2017. https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2017/12/27/arizona-rancher-border-breed-sustainable-cattle/.

Woodhouse, Murphy.  “Times Getting Better for Santa Cruz County Ranches, but Fewer Exist.” Nogales International, November 4, 2015. https://www.nogalesinternational.com/news/times-getting-better-for-santa-cruz-county-ranches-but-fewer-exist/article_4e7cf274-81bf-11e5-8776-ef89b29d8b69.html.

Jason Gauthier, History Staff. “March 2015 – History – U.S. Census Bureau.” United States Census Bureau, March 2015. https://www.census.gov/history/www/homepage_archive/2015/march_2015.html#:~:text=The%201933%20banking%20crisis%20was,had%20risen%20to%2024.9%20percent.

n/a, n/a. “Erosion Control Best Management Practices for Soil Conservation.” Ocean County Soil Conservation District, April 4, 2022. https://soildistrict.org/soil-erosion-control/#:~:text=Not%20only%20is%20soil%20erosion,reduce%20hazards%20of%20eroding%20soil.

Orton, Madelene. “Ranching in Santa Cruz County A Summary of Research Findings .” U.S Department of Agriculture Forest Service, March 1996, 120–31.

scvnha, n/a. “Ranching Traditions (1680 to Present).” archaeologysouthwest, 2000. https://www.archaeologysouthwest.org/pdf/scvnha/chapter04_h.pdf.

Trading, Economics. “Mexico Imports from United STATES2024 Data 2025 Forecast 1990-2022 Historical.” Mexico Imports from United States – 2024 Data 2025 Forecast 1990-2022 Historical, December 2022. https://tradingeconomics.com/mexico/imports/united-states.

[1]  “‘Ranching Traditions (1680-present)’ Interpretive themes and related resources” 

[2] During this time water referred to as permanent was deprived from a river or other natural water resource.

[3] “What is Buffelgrass” USGS & National Park Services, 2024 https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-buffelgrass#:~:text=Buffelgrass%20was%20brought%20to%20Arizona,regular%2C%20fast%2Dmoving%20wildfires.

[4] “Soil erosion Protection” Ocean County Soil conservation, 2012. https://soildistrict.org/soil-erosion-control/#:~:text=Not%20only%20is%20soil%20erosion,reduce%20hazards%20of%20eroding%20soil.

[5] “U.S. Census bureau History” United States Census Bureau, March 2015 https://www.census.gov/history/www/homepage_archive/2015/march_2015.html#:~:text=The%201933%20banking%20crisis%20was,had%20risen%20to%2024.9%20percent.

[6] “Times getting better for Santa Cruz ranches, but fewer exist,” Murphy Woodhouse, November 4th, 2015. https://www.nogalesinternational.com/news/times-getting-better-for-santa-cruz-county-ranches-but-fewer-exist/article_4e7cf274-81bf-11e5-8776-ef89b29d8b69.html