ranching (2024)

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.

National Geographic News: Vaqueros—The First Cowboys of the Open RangeNational Geographic News: Ranches in Western U.S. Shifting From Grazers to Greens

Dylan Winter: Sheep Station NZ

National Library of Australia: Sheep Stations

USDA: National Resources Conservation Service—At Work on the Range (Montana)

National Ranching Heritage Center