Advent of Barbed Wire

Oh, the farmer and the cowman should be friends,
Oh, the farmer and the cowman should be friends.
One man likes to push a plough,
The other likes to chase a cow,
But that's no reason why they cain't be friends.

from Oklahoma, the musical

The West was settled through the application of new technologies, like barbed wire. The farmer fenced the cattle out of his fields so he could produce a crop. Open range eventually became a thing of the past in most of Kansas, because the farmer gained the right to fence his crops with barbed wire. Funny, how a simple invention can change the course of history. Perhaps nothing has changed ranching more than the application of windmills to water the herds. This state could not have been homesteaded had it not been for windmill technology. Perhaps our new wind generating technology will once again change lifestyles so that we are more environmentally healthy.