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Old 05-21-2012, 08:01 AM
 
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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Are there still any noticeable cultural differences between Plains Midwesterners (ND, SD, NE, IA, KS, MO) and the Rocky Mountain West (eastern OR, WA, ID, WY, MT, CO, UT, northern AZ, NM)?

I assume the city-folk in say Omaha and Denver would be broadly similar? Pretty 'All-American' with no strong regional characteristics. Would you say both are equally conservative but Midwesterners more religious?
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Old 05-21-2012, 11:20 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Trimac20 View Post
Would you say both are equally conservative but Midwesterners more religious?
You know, I actually think that might be a fair stereotype. Bearing in mind that the statement is broad, rather than specific.

I've worked with ranchers in TX and UT and farmers in IL and IA. Both are pretty fatalistic now - not sure their lifestyle will still be around for their children.

Their children are FAR better adjusted and behaved humans than city children. This is probably because beginning at a very young age they have responsibilities within the family economy.

As a liberal I've come to understand why these folks are conservative - they want their children to be able to continue to have the same lifestyle their grandparents had. I doubt if that is possible.
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Old 05-21-2012, 11:36 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 601halfdozen0theother View Post
You know, I actually think that might be a fair stereotype. Bearing in mind that the statement is broad, rather than specific.

I've worked with ranchers in TX and UT and farmers in IL and IA. Both are pretty fatalistic now - not sure their lifestyle will still be around for their children.

Their children are FAR better adjusted and behaved humans than city children. This is probably because beginning at a very young age they have responsibilities within the family economy.

As a liberal I've come to understand why these folks are conservative - they want their children to be able to continue to have the same lifestyle their grandparents had. I doubt if that is possible.
Good post, and I agree for the most part. Farmers' kids tend to be quite hardworking and polite..

if I had to guess based upon experiences, I would say that the ranchers are a little more conservative than the farmers, perhaps because they're even more isolated out in the western Great Plains than in Illinois or Iowa..
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Old 05-21-2012, 01:59 PM
 
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Ranchers are very independent minded people. They get little or nothing from the government.
By contrast,many farmers,especially those who produce commodities,often collect farm subsidies.
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Old 05-21-2012, 04:05 PM
 
Location: The heart of Cascadia
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You know if there is some kind of global disaster, we will still need farmers and ranchers =D
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Old 05-22-2012, 08:49 AM
 
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Originally Posted by Electric Blue View Post
Ranchers are very independent minded people. They get little or nothing from the government.
By contrast,many farmers,especially those who produce commodities,often collect farm subsidies.
Farming is more labor-intensive, without a doubt.
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Old 05-22-2012, 09:15 AM
 
Location: New York NY
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Originally Posted by Electric Blue View Post
Ranchers are very independent minded people. They get little or nothing from the government.
By contrast,many farmers,especially those who produce commodities,often collect farm subsidies.

Wrong. Many ranchers receive grazing rights on federal lands out in the west, without which, they would be significantly up a creek.
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Old 05-22-2012, 09:15 AM
 
Location: South Central Nebraska
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 601halfdozen0theother View Post
I've worked with ranchers in TX and UT and farmers in IL and IA. Both are pretty fatalistic now - not sure their lifestyle will still be around for their children.
A lot of farmers and ranchers are doing pretty well out here. The recent commodity prices are helping things for sure.
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Old 05-22-2012, 10:56 AM
 
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I think the major difference is that, ranchers, living in a more isolated area, have even more rugged individualism. The distances to services, etc. means that they don't depend on the community quite as much.

Farmers however depend on a lot more inputs, they depend a lot more on the communities, nearby small town, etc. (Ranchers still do, but isolation/distance) farmers depend much more on their mechanics, parts suppliers for tractors, fertilizers, pesticides, etc.

Overall, farming involves a lot more hardware, services, and live and work on smaller plots of land, that are closer to small towns. Whereas ranchers while being part of a community are much more "on the frontier"

Basically: Farmers are part of a community because they very much have to be, and they are just simply geographically closer. Ranchers, while social, are used to, and may even prefer the wide openness, they need fewer services, etc. and they are too far of a drive anyways.
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Old 05-22-2012, 12:43 PM
 
Location: Østenfor sol og vestenfor måne
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In New Mexico, the ranching areas are largely influenced by Texan and Spanish cultures, while the small amount of arable in the state is more Midwestern (German/Anglo American), especially in the southern part of the state while northern New Mexico's smaller mountain and valley farms are more culturally Spanish*.

*by Spanish, I mean more in the 'roots' culture sense since the Spanish settlers have been isolated from developments in Spanish culture for hundreds of years.
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