Kevin Larrabee at his ranch in Mead, that has belonged to his family for over a hundred years. Kevin breeds and feeds cattle here in a more traditional way that allows animals to go free on pastures and feed on the grass.
Todd Gorman is talking to his daughter, who is helping him out at his feedyard. Millions of cows are gaining weight in feedyards across the region.
Cowboy boots at the feedyard office
Cowboys at the feedyard during a short break
Cowboy Mitchell Gorman, son of feedyard owner
Calf waiting for milk at the feedyard
Corn storage elevator, one of hundreds in this region
Dodge City. Cattle auction
Dodge City. Cattle auction.
View of giant feedyard with the elevators used to store genetically modified corn feed for the cattle
Early morning at the feedyard.
South West Kansas. Straight road till the horizon.
Small family owned meatpacking firm like this one slaughters about 10 cows on a typical day. There's only few left in this region.
Small family owned meatpacking firm
Small family owned meatpacking firm
Immigrant from Salvador at his home in USA. He came here to work at giant Tyson meatpacking plant.
Somali immigrants in their housing estate in Garden City. They came to the town to work at Tyson meatpacking plant
Somali asylant posing by his car. He works at Tyson meatpacking plant in Garden City.
Cattle in a truck, to be transported to meat packing plant from a feedyard.
Line of freezer trucks at the National Beef meatpacking plant in Dodge City, which kills and processes 5 thousand cattle a day.
Dodge City. A device for walking horses in the praire.
View of trailer homes in Garden City. Many hispanic immigrants from Mexico and Salvador live in the trailers
Mexican family watching TV on Sunday
Maria, immigrant from Mexico at her trailer home in Garden City. Many hispanic immigrants from Mexico and Salvador live in the trailers.
Dodge City. Rodeo, a popular sport in the Midwest, where a large percentage of population is raising cattle and working in beef industry.
Dodge City. Mexican family posing for a snap during the horse racing event, one of the favourite past time for immigrant community.
Trailer home in Garden City.
Hispanic girl plays while the strom clouds form on the sky in Dodge City
South-West Kansas. Four enormous meatpacking plants; National Beef, Tyson and Cargill kill and process over 20 thousand cattle a day. The region is full of enormous feedyards and corn elevators. State of Kansas has dominated the beef production in the USA, supplying every fourth steak, hamburger or a rib to American shops and restaurants. In the meantime, food safety questions arise, coming from the enormous scale of this production. Meat is grinded and packed together, so if one cow is ill, lots of meat coming from other cows gets contaminated too. Salmonella outbrakes often force the firms to withdraw hundreds of tonnes of beef from the market. Since the eightees, when the immigrants came in place of skilled workers, the number of production line injuries has risen sharply. Nevertheless, to raise profits, the companies have accelarated their lines, which causes even more stress and injuries. Presently, according to Human Rights Watch, meatpacking work is the most dangerous occupation in the USA.
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