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Cattle Stations and the Beef Industry Worldwide

Beef cattle are raised in many different countries of the world. The stations (‘ranches’) that cover the largest area and run the most cattle are located in specific regions of North and South America and in central and northern Australia.

Brazil is currently the world’s largest exporter of beef with Australia second, followed by Argentina, Canada and New Zealand. The U.S. is the largest importer of beef because although they produce a lot America is also the largest consumer of beef.

World production, exports and imports vary constantly due to climatic conditions and diseases such as BSE (‘Mad Cow’ disease – Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy) and FMD (Foot and Mouth Disease).

In land area terms the largest cattle stations (ranches) are found in Australia. This is primarily because it is the driest and oldest continent on earth so large expanses of land are needed to support sufficient numbers of cattle to earn a reasonable living. These properties are located in relatively remote areas.

Cattle are born, raised and fattened with very little impact on the natural environment because they are on native grassland in huge paddocks that can measure many kilometres across. Due to the distinct wet/dry season there is relatively little trouble with diseases and parasites so scant chemical treatment is required.

Increasing numbers of young cattle are trucked hundreds of kilometres away to feedlots and finished on grain, and in times of drought these stations start to offload cattle quickly to well grassed country elsewhere, feedlots, saleyards or direct to meatworks.

The majority of the very largest cattle stations in the world only run cattle, they don’t grow crops or have any other sources of income, apart from some in America that are dependent on oil for profitability.

Cattle Station Language – Translations

In Australia the largest properties, which run cattle only, are called ‘stations’ (‘ranches’ is the American and Canadian term). Smaller properties and those with other types of livestock or crops are referred to as ‘farms’.

In Mexico and South American countries such as Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile, Bolivia, Colombia and Ecuador common terms for these large grazing properties are ‘estancia’, ‘fazenda’, ‘fundo’, ‘ranchos’ and ‘hacienda’. ‘Run’ is the usual term in New Zealand. For more details see Translations for ‘Cattle Station’.

Oddly enough Australia doesn’t have a specific term for the owner/manager of a cattle station. ‘Ranchers’ own ranches, ‘rancheros’ own ‘ranchos’, ‘hacendados’ own haciendas, etc, but ‘stationers’ does not of course sound right! A ‘cow cocky’ is the owner/manager of a smaller cattle operation, but it’s a bit of a put-down because it implies the owner is a struggling ‘battler’.

The terms used to describe people who work with cattle and stockhorses are even more varied and many of the differences between the meanings of these words are only understood within the cattle industry, not the general community. American, Howard W. Marshall summed the significance of language up beautifully in his interesting book ‘Buckaroo: views of a Western Way of Life’: “Knowledge and use of ‘buckeroo’ separates insiders from outsiders”.

In the same way, a genuine understanding and comfortable use of the word ‘ringer’ separates ‘insiders from outsiders’ in Australia. And referring to someone who works on an Australian cattle station as a ‘cowboy’ is like stamping your forehead with ‘I really don’t know what I’m talking about’. For an explanation of some of the terms see Translations for ‘Stockman’ (cowboy).

For more information regarding genuine Australian outback words and expressions refer to the glossary in ‘A Million Acre Masterpiece’.

Cattle Station Photographs and Writing – What Do I Do?

I produce limited edition fine-art quality photographic prints, postcards, books, magazine articles and advertising images from the best of the thousands of station images that I have taken since 1984.

Locations visited range from Queensland’s Cape York Peninsula and the Channel Country, through the Northern Territory to Western Australia’s Kimberley Region. Quite a few of these cattle stations measure 10,000 square kilometres (6,200 square miles) or more. Properties this size usually run between 20,000 and 60,000 head of cattle each, depending on the carrying capacity of the land and seasonal conditions.

These remote areas have their own unique culture that is rapidly changing, before many people are even aware that it exists.

The Australian wool industry has an equally fascinating culture and history. Unfortunately wool producers have been through some very tough times during the last few decades and sadly sheep have now disappeared from many areas where Merino wool has been grown for more than 100 years.

The majority of wool producing enterprises are located in more closely settled parts of Australia. Because of this relative proximity to larger towns and cities the wool industry has received a lot more attention from photographers and writers over the years, and most notably a lot of this attention has been from photographers and writers who do have a good understanding of their subject (they are not just outsiders looking in).

As I have a chronic time shortage it has been necessary to make difficult choices, so I have made a conscious decision to concentrate on the field that still has a glaring lack of accurate information and understanding images – Australia’s largest and most remote cattle stations.

I like to update this website regularly however being a one-person show it’s impossible to plough through the paperwork as quickly as would be ideal. If you come back for a visit and nothing appears to have changed please remember that this usually means there’s actually more going on behind the scenes, not less, so please do come back for a look at a later date or drop me a line.

And please also let me know if you discover any problems or errors. The website has grown into such a monster that a complete review takes many weeks to complete, so this only occurs on an annual basis. Minor updates and additions occur throughout the year. Add this website to your list of favourites to make revisiting easier.

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