Barbed Wire
Barbed wire fencing was the answer to solve many Western farmers' problems. Many farmers had large amounts of land, but they could not keep the cowboys and cattle drives off their property.
Farmers began putting up barbed wire fences around the perimeter of their farms. This caused a lot of problems for the cowboys, so they would complain and in some instances, tear it down.
However, the production and introduction of barbed wire in the west began a steady decline in the number of cattle drives.