Farm & Ranch
The Drover – 18,000 Cattle, Nine Months and 1,600 Miles
By Jessica Crabtree
Imagine if you will, being in the saddle, atop a horse, behind cattle, in the dust and heat for nine months. That’s 39 weeks, 273 days and 6,570 hours. That is just the logistics behind the Brinkworth Cattle Drove of 2013 that took place from Winton, Queensland to Hay, New South Wales, in Australia, traveling various stock routes. Between Queensland and New South Wales are 3.2 million hectares (7,907,372 acres) of stock routes.
It is an authorized thoroughfare for farmers to walk domestic livestock from one location to another. Most commonly the stock route is known as “The Long Paddock.” A huge undertaking, the drovers navigated the stock routes through advisement from the local shire council on which were passable, had good grazing and were with or without water. Permits were written weekly to the “mobs” or herds so that they could keep traveling. The stock routes were put in place years before roads were made and trucks were used to haul cattle. When made, the water was put in place every six miles or so. Modernization proved the demise of the routes.
Australian farmer and agriculture tycoon Tom Brinkworth purchased 18,000 head of cattle in 2013 in the midst of a staggering drought. That totaled $8 million. This was the largest transaction ever in the world from a seller to a buyer in cattle. Brinkworth was challenged with moving his cattle more than 1,600 miles to his station, also known as his ranch. When adding up the cost of freight to truck the massive amount of cattle, it was nearly the same amount of money to simply walk the cattle down. The purchased cattle were eight months to two-year-old breeding heifers. Their breeding was a mix of Brahman crosses, short horn crosses and Santa Gertrudis.
To read more of “The Drover” pick up a copy of the 2017 June NTFR issue. To subscribe call 940-872-5922.
(Photos by Alice Mabin)
Alice Mabin, photogrpagher and publisher of “The Drover.”
(Photo courtesy of Alice Mabin)
By Heather Welper
Husband and wife duo, Heather and Calvin Welper, are the Co-Owners and Operators or Two C Livestock, located in Valley View, Texas.
The pair’s operation has a show cattle focus where they raise and sell purebred heifers of all breeds and club calf Hereford steers.
When it comes to show cattle, the Welpers know a thing or two including how to prepare for the cold winter months and the Texas major show season run.
To read more, pick up a copy of the November edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Hannah Claxton, Editor
As the sun rises each day, so do the dozens of mouths that Meghan McGovern is responsible for getting fed. Rather than the sounds of a rooster crowing, McGovern hears the bellows and bleats of a variety of exotic deer, the chortle of kangaroos, the grunts of water buffaloes, and the chirps of a lemur.
Nestled against the banks of the Red River, the Double M Ranch and Rescue, with its high game fences and deer sprinkling the landscape,s its in stark contrast to the surrounding ranches.
“Having deer is kind of like eating potato chips- you can never actually have just one,” said McGovern with a laugh.
McGovern has several herds to take care of- fallow deer, axis deer, water buffalo, goats, and bison. In smaller numbers, there’s also a few kangaroos, a lemur, a potbelly pig, a pair of zebras, a watusi, and a few horses.
To read more, pick up a copy of the November edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Barry Whitworth, DVM, MPH
With the prolonged drought, most pastures in Oklahoma end up in poor condition. With the lack of available forage, animals may go in search of alternative foods.
If oak trees are in the pastures, acorns may be a favorite meal for some livestock in the fall. This may result in oak poisoning.
Oak leaves, twigs, buds, and acorns may be toxic to some animals when consumed.
To read more, pick up a copy of the November edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
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