Why were the cattle ranches important to Texas?

The land in Texas, particularly western Texas, is not suitable for growing crops - it's too dry, thin and lacks the deep organic layer found in the Mississippi and Ohio River valleys. It is also quite far from large bodies of water, which limits the amount of commerce. Therefore, a large number of settlers and pioneers in early Texas history turned to raising large herds of cattle on the land. This was the foundation of the early Texas economy and still accounts for a noticeable fraction of the State's economy.