Most people should not be allowed to get too close to nature. The real thing is too messy and too intense for the majority of the population of the civilized world. Most of the world lives in cities and they often find rural life disturbind and wrong. They may say they love farmers and nature but they actually love their fantasy of how farming and nature should. This ideal nature is a cross between a petting zoo and an animatronic amusement park attraction where everything is cute and nothing stinks. A fantasty world where gun battles are eveyday and no one has bad teeth. At the extreme this takes the form of proposals that we should abolish carnivores. Agriculture in Grant County is ranching. Most of the land cannot grow any crop other than grass. The only way to make a living from such land is by feeding the grass to animals and selling the animal. Farming of any kind is a lot of work. An old sheep rancher of my acquaintance once said \"A sheep is happiest when it is dying,\" Cattle are not quite as fragile but it takes constant effort and vigilance to bring a herd of animals from birth to adulthood. Without a steady supply of food, protection and doctoring the majority of any herd of domestic animals would never reach maturity. Real farming as opposed to the fantasy variety is a business. At its best it is a difficult business. Considering the capital and effort it takes most farmers could make more money with less effort doing something else. If the whole world were vegan none of these cattle would exist. Of course, other animals such as ground squirrels and deer would increase but the total number of animals would probably be less than it is now. It is impossible to know but we have to wonder what the cows would make of it. Would they call it genocide?