Too many animals living on one area of grass, causing the grass to be eaten up too quickly, soil erosion, and animals to start starving
Drought in 1883
Remaining grass withered, not enough grass for all the cattle, cattle began to lose weight
Fall in demand
So much beef available that shops had to reduce prices, making cattle ranching less profitable
The Great Die Up
The winter of 1886-87, incredibly harsh with temperatures dropping to -55 degrees, deep snow prevented cattle from reaching grass, around 15% of open range herds died, any surviving cattle were in terrible condition
