Editor's Note

Here’s a selection of recent letters we were unable to run in the magazine due to space limitations:

Thanks to Bill Reynolds for his “Buckaroo Bookshelf” [October 2009 Western Horseman]. I teach many of his excellent selections in my Western Literature and Culture course.  I want to suggest an additional book:  David Dary’s Cowboy Culture.  It may be a scholarly book, but it covers its subject beautifully, from the coming of Columbus, to the end of the open range with the advent of barbed wire. It’s an indispensable book for Western studies.
Phillip A. Snyder
Associate Professor of English
Coordinator, English Department Advisement
Brigham Young University

In the November 2009 article “Desert Bloom,” Dennis Moroney states that the younger generation is not interested in farming and ranching, and that this is leading to the downfall of the culture, lifestyle and business [of agriculture]; he is not alone in thinking this way. We would love to ranch or farm. We have been looking for several years at different properties and have a solid business plan regarding how to make an operation profitable. Ironically, we can’t afford to be ranchers. The starting capital required is astronomical, and loans are impossible to get, especially in the amount needed by a young person. Private investors don’t see farming or ranching as lucrative, and would rather focus on real estate. Even the best business plan won’t help you to start ranching. We are educated people with experience and knowledge, and would love to put that to everyday practice, but can’t afford to.
Ellen Kmack
Desert Hills, Arizona

Thank you for your story about the 47 Ranch in Arizona [“Desert Bloom,” November 2009 Western Horseman]. It makes me proud to be part of an American ranching family when I read about people like Deborah and Dennis Moroney. They have taken an industry with deep roots in the past and brought it into the future with great innovation and smart dialogue with government and interest groups. This gives me hope for my own son, now just 6 months old, (yeah, I’m planning ahead a bit) and hope that, one day, he will feel the pull of the range and see, as I have, the value in protecting open country. Pass my thanks on to the Moroneys for their incredible work.
Kelly Ann Hodges