Ranching is the practice of raising herds of animals on large tracts of land. Ranchers commonly raise grazing animals such as cattle and sheep. Some
ranchers
also raise elk, bison, ostriches, emus, and alpacas. The
ranching
and livestock industry is growing faster than any other agricultural sector in the world.
Ranching
is common in temperate, dry areas, such as the Pampas region of South America, the western United States, the Prairie Provinces of Canada, and the Australian Outback. In these
regions
,
grazing animals
are able to roam over large areas. Some Australian ranches, known as stations, extend more than 10,000 square kilometers (3,861 square miles). The largest, Anna Creek
station
, covers almost 24,000 square kilometers (9,266 square miles).
Cowboys are responsible for herding and maintaining the health of animals across these vast ranches.
Cowboys
often work with horses to
herd
cattle
and
sheep
.
Cowboy
culture is an important part of the identity of
ranching
regions
. In Mexico and South America,
cowboys
are known as vaqueros. In Australia and New Zealand, they are called jackaroos.
Herding
, round-ups, cattle drives, and branding often symbolize
ranching
and
cowboy
culture.
Herding
is the practice of caring for roaming groups of
livestock
over a large area.
Ranchers
and
cowboys
often
herd
animals toward favorable grazing areas.
Herding
also involves keeping the
herd
safe from predators and natural dangers of the landscape. Grazing is so important to Australian
stations
,
ranchers
are known as graziers.
A
round-up
, called a muster in Australia, is a gathering of all
livestock
on a ranch. A
round-up
is usually conducted by
cowboys
on horseback, ATV, or other vehicle. It can be done for a wide variety of reasons: health care (such as immunization shots) for the animals, branding, or the shearing of
sheep
.
A
round-up
is one of the most difficult responsibilities of
ranchers
and
cowboys
. Animals often do not want to be rounded up and
herded
into a small, confined area. Even the most docile
cattle
or
sheep
are likely to become aggressive during a
round-up
.
Round-ups
also involve a large number of ranch personnel performing different tasks at the same time: veterinarians administering care to the animals,
cowboys
herding
the animals, and wranglers caring for the ranchs horses.
A
cattle
drive
is a massive effort of moving a
herd
of
cattle
from one place to another. In the 1700s and 1800s,
cowboys
on horseback took a year or more to drive
cattle
thousands of kilometers.
Cattle
drives
start on ranches and usually end near points of major transportation routes, such as a harbor or railroad
station
. From there,
cattle
are loaded into vehicles and shipped to slaughterhouses.
Branding is the process of permanently marking an animal to indicate ownership. The traditional brand is known as a hot brand. A
rancher
or
cowboy
heats an iron instrument with a design unique to his ranch. Each animal belonging to that ranch has the design burned into its skin. The scar left by the burn is the animals brand.
Hot brands
are less frequently used on modern ranches. Ear-tags and ink tattoos are more common. Many
ranchers
use microchips instead of brands. A
microchip
is implanted under the skin of the animal. The
microchip
uses radio-frequency identification (RFID) to not only identify the animals owner, but also to relay information about its location and health.
Livestock
raised on ranches are an important part of a
regions
agriculture.
Livestock
provide meat for human and animal consumption. They also supply materials, such as leather and wool, for clothing, furniture, and other industries.
Some ranches, nicknamed dude ranches, offer tourist facilities. Some of these sites are working ranches that allow guests to help out in real
ranching
activities. Others focus on horseback riding, offering lessons and trail rides. Still others allow visitors to hunt native or imported animals. Resort ranches provide a more relaxing experience, with fun activities like trail rides and sing-alongs.
History of Ranching
People raised
livestock
throughout the Middle Ages, but usually only in small numbers on small areas of land. The practice of raising large
herds
of
livestock
on extensive grazing lands started in Spain and Portugal around 1000 CE. These early
ranchers
used methods still associated with
ranching
today, such as using horses for
herding
,
round-ups
,
cattle
drives
, and branding.
Ranching
was only firmly established in the New World of the Americas. When the first Spanish explorers came to the Americas, they brought
cattle
and
cattle
-raising expertise with them. A variety of
ranching
traditions developed in the Americas, depending on the
region
the settlers came from and the characteristics of the land where they settled.
Gauchos are
cowboys
of the grasslands (or
Pampas
) of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay. In Central Mexico, particularly the state of Jalisco,
cowboys
are called charros, like the charros from Castile, Spain, who settled the region. In Northern Mexico, wealthy ranchers known as caballeros employed vaqueros to drive their cattle. Ranching in the western United States is derived from vaquero culture.
Throughout most of the 1800s,
ranchers
in the United States set their
cattle
and
sheep
loose to roam the prairie. Most of the grazing land was owned by the government. This was the so-called open range.
Ranchers
only owned enough land for a homestead and sources of water. Twice a year,
cowboys
rounded up
cattle
to brand calves (in spring) and gather steers for sale (in autumn).
Several factors contributed to the end of the
open range
. One was the invention of barbed wire in 1874. Farmers began to fence off their fields to protect them from being destroyed by
livestock
. This limited access to grazing land. Farmers and
ranchers
often came into conflict over land and water rights.
Overgrazing was also a problem. As more and more
ranchers
grazed their animals on the
open range
, the quality of the land became degraded.
Cattle
are not native to the Americas, and had to compete with native
grazing animals
, such as
bison
, for forage. Grasses did not have time to grow on the
open range
, especially in winter.
The winter of 1886-87, one of the harshest ever recorded, killed hundreds of thousands of
cattle
that were already weakened from reduced grazing. Many large ranches and
cattle
organizations went bankrupt. Afterwards,
ranchers
began fencing off their land, which they often leased from the American
government
.
In Western movies,
ranchers
and
cowboys
are played mostly by white men like Gene Autry, John Wayne, and Clint Eastwood. However, in the 1800s, more than one-third of all
cowboys
in the United States were Mexican vaqueros. Others were Chinese or Filipino. African Americans, seeking greater freedom in the West, also worked as cowboys and ranch hands during this period.
Working Animals
Ranches include animals other than
livestock
. These
working animals
help with the job of
herding
and rounding up
livestock
.
Horses are perhaps the most familiar
working animal
on ranches. If you imagine a
cowboy
, you probably picture him sitting astride a horse. Horses allow
cowboys
to travel over rangelands quickly and keep up with moving
livestock
. Horses are also strong and responsive, making them excellent herding animals.
The sport of rodeo
developed
from the skills required of
cowboys
and ranch horses. Informal competitions among
ranchers
and
cowboys
tested their speed, agility, and endurance. Today, events such as roping, barrel racing, and bull riding demonstrate those same qualities among professional athletes.
Dogs are also common on ranches. Several types of dogs have been bred for their
herding
abilities. Many of these highly intelligent, agile animals are simply called shep
herds
; Australian shepherds and German shep
herds
are probably the most
familiar
. Collies and sheepdogs are also used on ranches.
Livestock
guardian dogs do not
herd
animals, but are used to protect
herds
from
predators
. For example, the Great Pyrenees was bred to protect
grazing animals
from wolves and other
predators
native to the Pyrenees mountains in Spain and France.
Ranching Around the World
Today, ranches exist on every continent except Antarctica. South America enjoys an enormous
ranching
culture. The largest beef-producing company in the world is the Brazilian multinational corporation JBS-Friboi.
The South American
ranching
industry continues to grow. Many South American countries, led by Brazil and Argentina, are rapidly
developing
. The growing middle class has expanded the market for
beef
. Argentina and Uruguay are the worlds top per capita consumers of
beef
.
In Australia, like the Americas,
ranching
is a way of life and a strong part of the economy. A typical jackaroo (or female jillaroo) is a young, seasonal employee.
Stations
may employ their own
veterinarians
, mechanics, and engineers.
Sheep
stations
are more common than
cattle
stations
in Australia. The difficult, annual process of
shearing
sheep
is a symbol of Australian
livestock
culture. A
shearing
team or company usually moves from ranch to ranch with specialized
shearing
equipment and machinery.
In Africa, most ranches are wildlife ranches.
Wildlife ranches
, also known as game ranches,
maintain
healthy populations of species such as rhinoceros, elephant, leopard, and antelope. People pay a fee to
hunt
these animals on the ranch.
Wildlife ranches
also appeal to eco
tourists
. Ecotourism promotes traveling in a way that has minimum environmental impact and benefits local people.
Large-scale
cattle
ranching
is rare in Asia but fairly common throughout the islands of the South Pacific. In the U.S. state of Hawaii,
cowboy
culture was born when Mexican vaqueros were brought in to help herd cattle in the 1830s. Cowboys in Hawaii are called paniolos.
In Europe, few ranches exist outside Spain and Portugal. Most countries in Europe are too small to support ranches. In fact, Australias Anna Creek station is only slightly smaller than the entire nation of Belgium.
Ranching and the Environment
Ranching
is an efficient way to raise
livestock
to provide
meat
, dairy products, and raw materials for fabrics. It is a vital part of economies and rural
development
around the world. However, the
livestock
industry has major, disruptive effects on the
env
ironment
.
In South America,
ranching
has expanded beyond
grasslands
into rain forests.
Ranchers
clear large swaths of
forest
in order to create pastureland for their
cattle
. This clearcutting
reduces
habitat for native species such as monkeys, tropical birds, and millions of species of insects not found anywhere else in the world. During the past 40 years, about 20 percent of the Amazon rain
forest
has been cut down, much of it for
cattle
ranching
.
Ranches established on former rain
forest
lands are usually not economically productive. Cleared rain
forest
land usually makes poor grazing land. A rain
forests
biodiversity exists in its above-ground canopy, not the earth beneath. Grasses do not thrive in the thin, nutrient-poor soil.
Even outside of the rain
forest
, many
ranching
practices have significant effects on the
env
ironment
.
Overgrazing
, a threat throughout the Great Plains of the United States and Canada, puts the native tallgrass prairie ecosystem at risk. This can lead to
soil
erosion. The loss of valuable topsoil can
reduce
the agricultural productivity for crops and grazing lands. Poor agricultural practices contributed to the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, which
destroyed
hundreds of ranches throughout the
Great Plains
.
Compaction of the
soil
from animal hooves further
degrades
the land. This is unique to introduced species.
Bison
, native to the Americas, have small, sharp, pointed hooves. Their stampeding aerates the
soil
and actually contributes to the
prairie
ecosystem
.
Cattle
have heavy, flat hooves that flatten the
soil
and
reduce
its ability to absorb water and
nutrients
.
Drylands are especially at risk for
overgrazing
and reduction in the quality of
soil
. In fact,
ranching
can be a key cause of desertification.
Livestock
ranching
also contributes to air and water pollution. Runoff from ranches can include manure, antibiotics and hormones given to the animals, as well as fertilizers and pesticides. Chemicals from tanneries that treat animal hides can also seep into water.
Ranching
is also a major contributor to global warming. In fact,
livestock
are responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than
transportation
. Carbon is released when
forests
are cleared for
pastureland
.
Manure
produces nitrous oxide, which has 296 times the warming potential of carbon dioxide.
Cattle
release large amounts of methane from their digestive systems.
Scientists,
governments
, and
ranchers
are working together to find ways to
reduce
these problems and make
ranching
a sustainable economic activity.
Fast Fact
Deep Hollow Ranch
The oldest ranch in the United States may be Deep Hollow, in Montauk, New York. English and Dutch settlers, as well as native Montauk Indians, established the area as a cattle ranch in the mid-1600s. Deep Hollow remains a working cattle ranch, offering trail rides and living history events.
Fast Fact
Ranch Dressing
Ranch dressing, a rich combination of buttermilk, yogurt, sour cream, mayonnaise, green onions, and garlic, was invented at a dude ranch in California in the 1950s. The ranchs name? Hidden Valley.
Fast Fact
Jewish Gauchos
In the late 1800s, thousands of Jewish refugees fled oppression in Eastern Europe. Many of them settled in the pastures of Argentina and quickly adapted to the gaucho, or cowboy, culture. These Jewish ranchers established the town of Moises Ville and developed their own dialect, a combination of Spanish and Yiddish. A second wave of immigrants relocated to Moises Ville to escape Nazi persecution during World War II.
Fast Fact
Ranchera
Ranchera is a type of Mexican popular song. Rancheras that developed in the rural, ranching state of Jalisco are often played by mariachi musicians.
Fast Fact
Ranch House
A ranch house is a popular architectural design throughout the western United States and Canada. Ranch houses are typically one story, with a low roof and attached garage.
Fast Fact
Ranchos
Before California became a state in 1850, the region was largely divided into huge land grants, called ranchos. Wealthy Spanish and Mexican landowners worked with native California Indians to manage these huge cattle and sheep ranches. The largest rancho, Los Nietos, stretched through what are today Los Angeles and Orange counties.