Why is the image of the cowboy herding cattle on the open range not an accurate description of commercial cattle ranching in the US today?

The image of the cowboy herding cattle on the open range is not an accurate description of commercial cattle ranching in the United States today because land use changes and other economic activities have eliminated the open range. From the 1860s to the 1880s, cattle were driven to railroads to be taken to slaughterhouses. However, other economic activities, farming especially, began to employ grazing lands for other uses. With the invention of barbed wire, private lands could be fenced in cheaply and easily, thus limiting where the cowboys could graze the cattle. Previously, fences had to be made of wood, which was very expensive because it was scarce on the treeless prairies. Nowadays, cattle are raised on private ranches or leased public or private grazing lands, and frequently fattened in commercial feedlots before slaughter. Meatpacking houses are generally located within the cattle raising areas so the cattle do not have to be taken far.