View of the Grant-Kohrs Ranch near Deer Lodge, Montana

A ranch is an area of landscape, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool. Established by Canadian Fur trader Johnny Grant and expanded by Cattle baron Conrad Kohrs, Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site commemorates Deer Lodge is a city in and the County seat of Powell County, Montana, United States. Montana ( is a state in the Western United States. One-third of the state in the western part contains numerous mountain ranges (approximately 77 named of the northern Cattle, colloquially referred to as cows, are domesticated Ungulates a member of the Subfamily Bovinae of the family The word most often applies to livestock-raising operations in the western United States and Canada, though there are ranches in other areas. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page People who own or operate a ranch are called stockgrowers or ranchers. Ranching is also a method used to raise less common livestock such as elk, American Bison or even ostrich and emu. Livestock is the term used to refer (singularly or plurally to a Domesticated Animal intentionally reared in an agricultural setting to produce such as Food The elk, or wapiti ( Cervus canadensis) is one of the largest Species of Deer in the world and one of the largest Mammals in The American bison ( Bison bison) is a Bovine Mammal, also commonly known as the American buffalo. The Ostrich ( Struthio camelus) is a large Flightless bird native to Africa (and formerly the Middle East) The Emu ( Dromaius novaehollandiae, is the largest Bird native to Australia and the only extant member of the Genus

Ranches generally consist of large areas, but may be of nearly any size. In the western United States, many ranches are a combination of privately owned land supplemented by grazing leases on land under the control of the federal Bureau of Land Management. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior which administers America's Public lands totaling approximately If the ranch includes arable or irrigated land, the ranch may also engage in a limited amount of farming, raising crops for feeding the animals, such as hay and feed grains. A farm is an area of land including various structures devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food ( Produce, Grains, or Livestock Hay is a generic term for grass or Legumes that have been cut dried and stored for use as animal feed, particularly for grazing animals like

Ranches that cater exclusively to tourists are called guest ranches or, colloquially, "dude ranches. A colloquialism is an expression not used in formal speech, writing or Paralinguistics. " Most working ranches do not cater to guests, though they may allow private hunters or outfitters onto their property to hunt native wildlife. Hunting is the practice of pursuing Animals for Food, Recreation, or Trade. An outfitter is a company or individual who provides equipment and guidance for the pursuit of certain activities However, in recent years, a few struggling smaller operations have added some dude ranch features, such as horseback rides, cattle drives or guided hunting, in an attempt to bring in additional income. Ranching is part of the iconography of the "Wild West" as seen in Western movies. Iconography is the branch of Art history which studies the identification description and the interpretation of the content of images The Western is a fiction Genre seen in Film, Television, Radio, Literature, Painting and other Visual arts.

Origins of ranching

Ranching and the cowboy tradition originated in Spain, out of the necessity to handle large herds of grazing animals on dry land from horseback. A cowboy is an animal Herder who tends Cattle on Ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback and often performs a multitude of Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. During the Reconquista, members of the Spanish nobility and various military orders received large land grants that the kingdom of Castile had conquered from the Moors. The Reconquista (a Spanish and Portuguese word for "Reconquest" Arabic: الاسترداد, "Recapturing" was a period The Spanish nobility are the persons who possess the legal status of Nobility, and the system of Titles and honours of Spain and of the former kingdoms that military order is a Christian Order of knighthood that is founded for crusading, i The Reconquista (a Spanish and Portuguese word for "Reconquest" Arabic: الاسترداد, "Recapturing" was a period These landowners were to defend the lands put into their control and could use them for earning revenue. In the process it was found that open-range breeding of sheep and cattle (under the Mesta system) was the most suitable use for vast tracts, particularly in the parts of Spain now known as Castilla-La Mancha, Extremadura and Andalusia. The Mesta (Spanish Honrado Concejo de la Mesta, Honored Council of the Mesta was a powerful association of Sheep holders in the medieval Kingdom of Castile-La Mancha ( Spanish "Castilla-La Mancha" is an autonomous community of Spain. Extremadura is an autonomous community of western Spain whose capital city is Mérida. Andalusia (Andalucía is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the most populous and the second largest in terms of land area

History in North America

The historic 101 Ranch in Oklahoma showing the ranchhouse, corrals, and out-buildings.

Spanish North America

When the Conquistadors came to the Americas in the 16th century, followed by settlers, they brought their cattle and cattle-raising techniques with them. This article is about the Spanish explorer soldiers of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuriesfor other uses see Conquistador (disambiguation A Conquistador The Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere or New World, consisting of the Continents of North America and South America Cattle, colloquially referred to as cows, are domesticated Ungulates a member of the Subfamily Bovinae of the family Huge land grants by the Spanish (and later Mexican) government, part of the hacienda system, allowed large numbers of animals to roam freely over vast areas. Hacienda is a Spanish word for an estate usually but not always a vast Ranch. A number of different traditions developed, often related to the original location in Spain from which a settlement originated. For example, many of the traditions of the Jalisco charros in southern Mexico come from the Salamanca charros of Castile. Jalisco is a state in Mexico. The capital of Jalisco is the city of Guadalajara. In Mexico charro is a term referring to a traditional Horseman or Cowboy of Mexico, originating in the State of Jalisco. Salamanca is a province of western Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. The Vaquero tradition of Northern Mexico was more organic, developed to adapt to the characteristics of the region from Spanish sources by cultural interaction between the Spanish elites and the native and mestizo peoples. ^[1]

United States

Cattle drive in New Mexico, USA

As settlers from the United States moved west, they brought cattle breeds developed on the east coast and in Europe along with them, and adapted their management to the drier lands of the west by borrowing key elements of the Spanish vaquero culture. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the

However, there were cattle on the eastern seaboard. Deep Hollow Ranch, 110 miles (180 km) east of New York City in Montauk, New York, claims to be the first ranch in the United States, having continuously operated since 1658. Theodore Roosevelt County Park (formerly Montauk County Park is just east of Montauk New York and includes Montaukett Village where the Native The City of New York Montauk is a hamlet (and Census-designated place) in Suffolk County, New York on the South Shore of Long Island. ^[2] The ranch makes the somewhat debatable claim of having the oldest cattle operation in what today is the United States, though cattle had been run in the area since European settlers purchased land from the Indian people of the area in 1643. Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States ^[3] Although there were substantial numbers of cattle on Long Island, as well as the need to herd them to and from common grazing lands on a seasonal basis, the cattle handlers actually lived in houses built on the pasture grounds, and cattle were ear-marked for identification, rather than being branded. ^[3] The only actual "cattle drives" held on Long Island consisted of one drive in 1776, when the Island's cattle were moved in a failed attempt to prevent them from being captured by the British during the American Revolution, and three or four drives in the late 1930s, when area cattle were herded down Montauk Highway to pasture ground near Deep Hollow Ranch. In this article the inhabitants of the thirteen colonies that supported the American Revolution are primarily referred to as "Americans" with occasional references to "Patriots" ^[3]

The Open Range

The prairie and desert lands of what today is Mexico and the western United States were well-suited to "open range" grazing. Prairie, from the French prairie ("meadow" "grassland" "pasture" refers to an area of land of low topographic relief that historically A desert is a Landscape or region that receives very little precipitation. The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the For example, American bison had been a mainstay of the diet for the Native Americans in the Great Plains for centuries. The American bison ( Bison bison) is a Bovine Mammal, also commonly known as the American buffalo. For indigenous peoples in the United States other than Hawaii and Alaska see also Native Americans in the United States. Likewise, cattle and sheep, descended from animals brought over from Europe, were simply turned loose in the spring after their young were born and allowed to roam with little supervision and no fences, then rounded up in the fall, with the mature animals driven to market and the breeding stock brought close to the ranch headquarters for greater protection in the winter. The use of livestock branding allowed the cattle owned by different ranchers to be identified and sorted. Livestock branding is any technique for marking Livestock so as to identify the owner Beginning with the settlement of Texas in the 1840s, and expansion both north and west from that time, through the Civil War and into the 1880s, ranching dominated western economic activity. Texas ( is a state geographically located in the South Central United States and is also known as the Lone Star State. Causes of the war See also Origins of the American Civil War, Timeline of events leading to the American Civil War The coexistence of a slave-owning South

Along with ranchers came the need for agricultural crops to feed both humans and livestock, and hence many farmers also came west along with ranchers. A farm is an area of land including various structures devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food ( Produce, Grains, or Livestock Many operations were "diversified," with both ranching and farming activities taking place. With the Homestead Act of 1862, more settlers came west to set up farms. The' Homestead Act' was a United States Federal law that gave an applicant freehold title to 160 Acres (one quarter section or about 65 Hectares A farm is an area of land including various structures devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food ( Produce, Grains, or Livestock This created some conflict, as increasing numbers of farmers needed to fence off fields to prevent cattle and sheep from eating their crops. Barbed wire, invented in 1874, gradually made inroads in fencing off privately owned land, especially for homesteads. Barbed wire, also known as barb wire (and frequently in dialect form spelled bob or bobbed) is a type of fencing Wire constructed There was some reduction of land on the Great Plains open to grazing. The Great Plains are the broad expanse of Prairie and Steppe which lie east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada

End of the Open Range

The severe winter of 1886-1887 brought an end to the open range. Waiting for a Chinook, by C.M. Russell. Charles Marion Russell (March 19 1864 St Louis Missouri—October 24 1926 Great Falls Montana) also known as C

The end of the open range was not brought about by a reduction in land due to arable farming, but by overgrazing. Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to Livestock Grazing for extended periods of time or without sufficient recovery periods Cattle stocked on the open range created a tragedy of the commons as each rancher sought increased economic benefit by grazing too many animals on public lands that "nobody" owned. The Tragedy of the Commons is the title of an influential article written by Garrett Hardin, first published in the journal Science in 1968. In all modern States some land is held by central or local Governments This is called public land. However, being a non-native species, the grazing patterns of ever-increasing numbers of cattle slowly reduced the quality of the rangeland, in spite of the simultaneous massive slaughter of American bison that occurred. The American bison ( Bison bison) is a Bovine Mammal, also commonly known as the American buffalo. The winter of 1886-1887 was one of the most severe on record, and livestock that were already stressed by reduced grazing died by the thousands. Many large cattle operations went bankrupt, and others suffered severe financial losses. Thus, after this time, ranchers also began to fence off their land and negotiated individual grazing leases with the American government so that they could keep better control of the pasture land available to their own animals.

Ranching in Hawaii

Ranching in Hawaii developed independently of that in the continental United States. The State of Hawaii ( or həˈwaɪʔiː Hawaiian: Mokuāina o Hawaii) is a state in the United States located on an Archipelago in the In colonial times, Capt. George Vancouver gave several head of cattle to the Hawaiian king, Pai`ea Kamehameha, monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom, and by the early 1800s, they had multiplied considerably, to the point that they were wreaking havoc throughout the countryside. Captain George Vancouver Kamehameha I, also known as Kamehameha the Great, (born February 1758 or November 1737 or May 1, 1738 – died May 8, 1819) About 1812, John Parker, a sailor who had jumped ship and settled in the islands, received permission from Kamehameha to capture the wild cattle and develop a beef industry.

The Hawaiian style of ranching originally included capturing wild cattle by driving them into pits dug in the forest floor. Once tamed somewhat by hunger and thirst, they were hauled out up a steep ramp, and tied by their horns to the horns of a tame, older steer (or ox) and taken to fenced-in areas. Oxen (singular ox) are Cattle trained as draft animals. Often they are adult castrated males The industry grew slowly under the reign of Kamehameha's son Liholiho (Kamehameha II). Kamehameha II (1797 - 1824 was the second king of the Kingdom of Hawai‘i. When Liholiho's son, Kauikeaouli (Kamehameha III), visited California, then still a part of Mexico, he was impressed with the skill of the Mexican vaqueros. Kamehameha III (born Kauikeaouli) ( August 11, 1813 ?&ndash December 15, 1854) was the king of Hawaii from 1824 to 1854 California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. In 1832, he invited several to Hawaii to teach the Hawaiian people how to work cattle.

The Hawaiian cowboy came to be called the paniolo, a Hawaiianized pronunciation of español. "Kanaka" redirects here For the Tamil actress see Kanaka (actress. Even today, the traditional Hawaiian saddle and many other tools of the ranching trade have a distinctly Mexican look, and many Hawaiian ranching families still carry the surnames of vaqueros who made Hawaii their home.

Ranching in South America

In Argentina, ranches are known as estancias, and in Brazil, they are called fazendas. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Argentina topics. An Estancia is the Spanish word for Ranch. These ranches are usually larger than ranches in North America |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld Fazenda is a Portuguese word for ' Farm ' but is used in the English language for the Coffee estates that spread within the interior of Brazil between 1840 In much of South America, including Ecuador and Colombia, the term hacienda may be used. South America is a Continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Ecuador topics. Colombia (kəˈlʌmbɪə officially the Republic of Colombia () is a country in northwestern South America. Hacienda is a Spanish word for an estate usually but not always a vast Ranch. Ranchero or Ranchos are also generic term used throughout Latin America.

In the colonial period, Pampas regions of South America, particularly the Semi-arid Pampas of Argentina, were often well-suited to ranching and a tradition developed that largely paralleled that of Mexico and the United States. Laguna de Gomezjpg|thumb|left|240px|Lake Gomez near Junín in the heart of the Pampas grain belt South America is a Continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a The Semi-arid Pampas, also known as the Dry Pampas, is a temperate grassland ecoregion of central Argentina. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Argentina topics. However, in the 20th century, cattle raising expanded into less-suitable areas. Particularly in Brazil, the 20th century marked the rapid growth of deforestation as rain forest lands were cleared by slash and burn methods that allowed grass to grow for livestock, but also led to the depletion of the land within only a few years. |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld Deforestation is the conversion of Forested areas to non-forest land for use such as Arable land, Pasture, urban use logged area or wasteland Rainforests are Forests characterized by high Rainfall with definitions setting minimum normal annual rainfall between 1750–2000 mm (68-78 inches Slash and burn consists of cutting and burning of Forests or Woodlands to create fields for Agriculture or Pasture for Livestock, or Many of Indigenous peoples of the rain forest opposed this form of cattle ranching and protested the forest being burnt down to set up grazing operations and farms. The term Indigenous Peoples or autochthonous peoples can be used to describe any Ethnic group who inhabit a geographic region with which they have the earliest historical This conflict is still a concern in the region today.

Ranches outside the Americas

Cattle in a dehesa in Bollullos Par del Condado, Spain

In Spain, where the origins of ranching can be traced, there are ganaderías operating on dehesa-type land, where fighting bulls are raised. Bollullos Par del Condado is a town and Municipality located in the province of Huelva, Spain. Bullfighting or Tauromachy (from Greek ταυρομαχία - tauromachia, "bull-fight" is a traditional spectacle of Spain

In Australia, ranches are known as 'stations' in the context of what stock they carry - usually referred to as Cattle stations or Sheep stations. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Station is the term for a large Australian landholding used for Livestock production Cattle station is an Australian term for a large farm ( station, the equivalent of Ranch) usually in the Outback, whose main activity is the raising A sheep station is a large property ( station, the equivalent of a Ranch) in Australia or New Zealand whose main activity is the raising The largest cattle stations in the world are located in Australia's dry rangeland in the outback. Outback or the Outback refers to remote arid areas of Australia, although the term colloquially can refer to any lands outside of the main Urban areas Employees are known as Stockmen, jackaroos and ringers rather than ranchers or cowboys. In the Australian lexicon stockman is the traditional name given to a person who looks after the Livestock on a large property known as a station and owned A cowboy is an animal Herder who tends Cattle on Ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback and often performs a multitude of A number of Australian cattle stations average 10,000 km² or more, and the very largest is Anna Creek station which measures 23,677 km² in area. Anna Creek Station is the world's largest working Cattle station. Anna Creek is owned by S Kidman & Co.

New Zealanders use the term runs. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island

The term "ranch" and the need for vast grazing area is not used in British agriculture. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The nation has far less land area, and sufficient rainfall to allow the raising of cattle on much smaller areas. Cattle, colloquially referred to as cows, are domesticated Ungulates a member of the Subfamily Bovinae of the family From medieval times, cattle were traditionally raised in the small-area bocage. Cattle, colloquially referred to as cows, are domesticated Ungulates a member of the Subfamily Bovinae of the family Bocage is a Norman word which has entered both the French and English languages For similar reasons, the concept of a "ranch" is also not seen to any significant degree in most of western Europe. The only stock-raising properties in the British Isles that are anywhere close to the size of the smaller ranches in other nations are the largest hill farms in the upland areas of the United Kingdom. The British Isles (Irish variously Na hOileáin Bhriotanacha, Oileáin Iarthair Eorpa, Éire agus an Bhreatain Mhór; Ellanyn Goaldagh Eileanan The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located

See also

• Pastoralism
• Farm
• Cowboy
• Horse
• Guest ranch (also known as a Dude Ranch)
• Rangeland
• Movie ranch
• Hunting
• Animal husbandry
• Transhumance
• List of Ranches and Stations
• Ranch-style house

References

Further reading

• Blunt, Judy. Judy Blunt (born 1954 is an American Writer from Montana. She was raised on a ranch in a remote area near Regina Montana, south of Malta Breaking Clean Knopf: 2002, hardcover, ISBN 0-375-40131-8
• Campbell, Ida Foster and Alice Foster Hill. Triumph and Tragedy: A History of Thomas Lyons and the LCs, High-Lonesome Books, Silver City, New Mexico, 2002, softcover, ISBN 0-944383-61-0
• Ellis, George F., The Bell Ranch As I Knew It, Lowell Press: 1973, hardcover, ISBN 0-913504-15-7
• Greenwood, Kathy L. George F Ellis was a cattleman pioneer in the field of beef cattle production and a published author Heart-Diamond, University of North Texas Press, 1989, hardcover, ISBN 0-929398-08-4
• Paul, Virginia. This Was Cattle Ranching: Yesterday and Today, Superior Publishing Company, Seattle, Washington, 1973
• Ward, Delbert R. Great Ranches of the United States, Ganada Press, San Antonio, Texas, 1993, paperback, ISBN 7-880-510-25-1

External links

• The Canadian Museum of Civilization - Native Ranching and Rodeo Life on the Plains and Plateau
• The Handbook of Texas Online: Ranching
• Society for Range Management
• The Quivira Coalition
• Rangelands West
• Western Watersheds Project
• Cattle Ranges of the Southwest, published 1898, hosted by the Portal to Texas History