Home on the Range

This 1940s documentary, likely produced during WWII by the U.S. Department of Agriculture or a similar agency, highlights the Western range country’s vital contributions to the war effort. Filmed in black-and-white, it sweeps across vast landscapes—Montana’s rolling plains, Wyoming’s rugged hills—where sheep and cattle graze under big skies. The film details how these lands fuel the military machine: wool for uniforms, mutton and beef for rations, leather for boots and gear. Scenes showcase grizzled ranchers and cowboys herding flocks or branding steers, their weathered faces and Stetsons evoking a timeless West now mobilized for war. Sheep shearers buzz through fleece, cattle thunder across dusty trails to slaughterhouses, and tanneries process hides—all tied to soldiers overseas via narration. Aimed at rural audiences or urban supporters, it honors the range men’s unsung labor, blending pastoral beauty with patriotic purpose in a nation stretched by conflict.