Home on the Range (1942)

[Music] yes we like to sing about the Beauty and the Roman of the old west but there's a West you might not know about just coming out in dude season that's the work a day range country busy making your beef steaks and your lamb chops there are two facts of life out here one's grass the others water there's no prettier water in the world than you'll find in the range country coming down out of Mountain snow but there isn't always enough of it and it isn't always in the right places the idea is to get the grass and the water together where the cattle and sheep can use them if nature doesn't provide the Rancher has to we've been building a good bunch of water holes in the last few years puddles won't do out here it takes a good Big Dam and you got to move quite a pile of dirt it's so costly a lot of us couldn't hardly do it until the government range program gave us a lift lots of places there's water underground too and With a Little Help from the rain program we put in windmills and watering tanks when you got water you can spread your stock and use all the grass not just wear out the best rains close around the water Hol and ruin it with erosion you get more beef when the cows don't walk at all off going 10 miles to get a drink you get more beef on the herd when the grass is good one of the things we're doing in the range program is to plow cont to Furs across the slopes to make the rain soak in so the grass gets all the good of it it's good grass and water that puts the beef on the scale and it's pounds of beef over the scale that pay off naturally we're looking for the kinds of grass that do best for us and one new kind the range program has helped introduce is crested wheat grass there are other kinds adapted to various parts of the range country too they hold the soil they're good for grazing some of them like crested wheat grass are good for [Music] hay I don't suppose Hollywood ever showed you a Cowan putting up hey but we do it we've even got it mechanized maybe the song says the skies are not cloudy all day but the rains country does get some mighty rough weather and if you want a good calf crop and the beef poundage coming off the ranch every season you don't just let the cows rustle through the winter no you feed them every stack of hay on the place is just like another insurance [Music] [Applause] policy if you read some of the story books you'd think Bob w Plum ruined the range country fact of the matter is a good part of our job is keeping fences up in shape you see we're using Bob wire to make the range country better we keep the cattle off a different piece of it each year until the grass has made its seed and gotten a new start deferred grazing we call it in the range program along with proper stocking it's p life into a lot of ranges good grass and water mean more all lambs and wool too sheep hurting on the Range is a hard lonely life living in a wagon All Season keeping the flock moving along to grass and water bringing them up to the sheering floor with thick fleeces to help keep the world warm that's all part of the year's work in the range country though and our folks know their jobs they're working harder now because so many things from the range country help in the war wool and mutton beef and leather we have to work harder we're losing some of our hands too along with the rest of the country you don't make a top cow hand in a month no nor in a year either you sure hate to see one leaving but Uncle Sam's got first call on him so we just look around for what help we can find there's John stands in Timber now a little old for the war path maybe but he's come down off the reservation to make a Roundup [Music] hand it takes a lot of hands at round up too out at Daybreak breakfast at the Chuck Wagon and then get the horses in get a rope on the first Pony in your string and settle up for the morning's [Music] work man's got to be able to take it all day but he'll wear out a couple of horses oh he must have heard [Music] me the boys are got to hunt all the drawers and canyons for the cattle and get them Bunch so they can rope and brand the [Music] Cales [Music] [Applause] up he's down hold still youngster and you'll soon be back with Mama you don't want to be a Maverick do you a touch of The Branding Iron here's your shot of black leg vaccine to keep you frisky [Music] and off you go full-fledged qu Circle [Music] you yes sir here's your beef steak starting to you from out here in the Rain Country good grass and water and a lot of work and worry don't you forget it have going to make that beef here they come the range country's contribution to feeding you and our fighting men and our working men food for Freedom good lean grass beef not fattened and finished yet into Prime but good stuff the Army buys a lot of it just this way the middle west takes a lot of cattle to finish with corn and alphalpha in the feed Lots and then you've got as good beef as there is in the world part of the meat Supply that makes America [Music] strong stakes and roasts short ribs for these chaps building Liberty ships they're a long way from the marange country but our meets helping them slam the ships together to slam the H out of [Music] Hitler if we can't turn out the meat fast enough to keep the Army fed and our friends fed and still put just the cut you'd like on your table every day too well I guess you and I won't mind for a while to pass up a sizzling steak now and then in favor of sending plenty of good red meat to the The Lads in the tanks a man wants regular rations for that [Music] work more coming down in parachutes Behind Enemy Lines somewhere [Music] maybe there'll be enough meat to go around it's just that the boys with the hardest jobs ought to have first call I'll tell you one thing our boys out here in the range that raise the cattle and the Fellas that feed them too we aren't much used to Hitler kind of talk we don't aim to get used to it either we've been brought up to believe one man's as good as another and Americans just as good as they come anyone that says different it better be ready to back his play we're back in [Music] all