Why do you think the U. S government was so eager to obtain more land in the west ??

The opportunity to work in the cattle industry; to be a “cowboy” Faster travel to the West by railroad; availability of supplies due to the railroad. The opportunity to own land cheaply under the Homestead Act. The discovery of wheat strains adapted to grow in the climate of the Plains.

what the first or next guys says

it was on the rise and doing very well and would continue to do well until the great depression from 1929-1939