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{{Short description|Large area of land for raising livestock}}
{{About|a type of land use and method of raising livestock|information on people who handle cattle on ranches|Cowboy|other uses|Ranch (disambiguation)}}
{{redirect|Rancher}}
[[File:Grant-Kohrs Ranch.jpg|thumb|350px|View of the [[Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site|Grant-Kohrs Ranch]] near [[Deer Lodge]], [[Montana]], U.S.]]
A '''ranch''' (from {{langx|es|rancho}}/[[Mexican Spanish]]) is an area of [[landscape|land]], including various structures, given primarily to '''ranching''', the practice of raising [[grazing]] [[livestock]] such as [[cattle]] and [[sheep]]. It is a subtype of [[farm]]. These terms are most often applied to livestock-raising operations in [[Mexico]], the [[Western United States]] and [[Western Canada]], though there are ranches in other areas.<ref>Spiegal, S., Huntsinger, L., Starrs, P.F., Hruska, T., Schellenberg, M.P., McIntosh, M.M., 2019. Rangeland livestock production in North America, in: Squires, V.R., Bryden, W.L. (Eds.), Livestock: Production, Management Strategies, and Challenges. NOVA Science Publishers, New York, New York, USA.</ref><ref group="note">For terminologies in Australia and New Zealand, see [[Station (Australian agriculture)]] and [[Station (New Zealand agriculture)]].</ref> People who own or operate a ranch are called '''ranchers''', '''cattlemen''', or '''stockgrowers'''. Ranching is also a method used to raise less common [[livestock]] such as [[horse]]s, [[elk]], [[American bison]], [[ostrich]], [[emu]], and [[alpaca]].<ref name=":0">Holechek, J.L., Geli, H.M., Cibils, A.F. and Sawalhah, M.N., 2020. Climate Change, Rangelands, and Sustainability of Ranching in the Western United States. ''Sustainability'', ''12''(12), p.4942.</ref>
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]] or the [[United States Forest Service]]. If the ranch includes [[arable land|arable]] or [[Irrigation|irrigated land]], the ranch may also engage in a limited amount of [[farm]]ing, raising crops for feeding the animals, such as [[hay]] and feed grains.<ref name=":0" />
Ranches that cater exclusively to tourists are called [[guest ranch]]es or, colloquially, "[[dude]] ranches". Most working ranches do not cater to guests, though they may allow private [[hunter]]s or [[outfitter]]s onto their property to hunt native wildlife. However, in recent years,{{when|date=October 2021}} a few struggling smaller operations have added some dude ranch features such as horseback rides, cattle drives, and guided hunting to bring in additional income. Ranching is part of the [[iconography]] of the "[[Wild West]]" as seen in [[Western movies]] and [[rodeo]]s.
==Etymology==
The term ranch comes from the Spanish term ''rancho'', itself from  the term ''rancharse'', which means “to get ready, to settle in a place, to pitch camp”, itself from the military French term ''se ranger'' (to arrange oneself, to tidy up), from the [[Frankish language| Frankish]] ''hring'', which means ''ring'' or ''circle''.<ref>{{cite web |title=rancho |url=https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rancho#Noun_8 |website=Wiktionary |publisher=Wikimedia Foundation |access-date=6 November 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=rancho |url=https://etimologias.dechile.net/?rancho |website=Etimologías |publisher=De Chile |access-date=6 November 2024}}</ref> It was, originally, vulgarly applied in the 16th century to the provisional houses of the [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|indigenous]] peoples of the Americas.<ref>{{cite web |title=rancho |url=https://www.elcastellano.org/palabra/rancho |website=El Castellano |access-date=6 November 2024}}</ref>
The term evolved differently throughout the [[Hispanophone| Spanish speaking world]]:<ref>{{cite web |title=Rancho |url=https://dle.rae.es/rancho |website=Diccionario de la Real Academia Española |publisher=Real Academia Española |access-date=6 November 2024}}</ref>
In Mexico, it evolved to mean a cattle farm, station or estate, a pasturing land or agricultural settlement where cattle are raised.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Davis Robinson |first1=William |title=Memoirs of the Mexican Revolution: Including a Narrative of the Expedition of General Xavier Mina |date=1820 |publisher=Lydia R. Bailey |location=Philadelphia |page=84 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Memoirs_of_the_Mexican_Revolution/UAUOAAAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=Rancho |access-date=8 November 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Lyon |first1=George Francis |title=Journal of a Residence and Tour in the Republic of Mexico in the Year 1826 |date=1828 |publisher=J. Murray |location=London |page=43 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Journal_of_a_Residence_and_Tour_in_the_R/JCtmCdi4y3sC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=rancho+journal+of+a+residence&pg=PA43&printsec=frontcover |access-date=8 November 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Rancho |url=https://dem.colmex.mx/ver/rancho |website=Diccionario del Español de México |publisher=Colegio de México |access-date=6 November 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Definición de Rancho |url=https://significado.com/rancho/ |website=Significado |access-date=6 November 2024}}</ref> Originally used to refer to a hamlet or village where cattle is raised and where the land is sowed;<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ward |first1=Henry George |title=Mexico |date=1829 |publisher=H. Colburn |location=London |page=642 |edition=Second |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Mexico/VgrgsS2nHCEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=rancho+mexico&pg=PA642&printsec=frontcover |access-date=8 November 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Gomez Serrano |first1=Jesús |title=Haciendas y ranchos de Aguascalientes estudio regional sobre la tenencia de la tierra y el desarrollo agrícola en el siglo XIX |date=2000 |publisher=Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes |location=Mexico |isbn=9789685073059 |page=61 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ioe3_sZLDvwC&dq=ranchos+son+en+estos+reinos+unas+casas+campestres&pg=PP65 |access-date=23 February 2022 |language=es}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Serrera Contreras |first1=Ramon María |title=Guadalajara ganadera estudio regional novohispano, 1760-1805 |date=1977 |publisher=Escuela de Estudios Hispano-Americanos |location=Sevilla, Spain |isbn=9788400036959 |page=33 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GRTLanaWVvcC&dq=ranchos+viven+pocas+gentes+con+pocos+bienes+y+albergados&pg=PA33 |language=es}}</ref> and to a small independent cattle farm,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Leyba |first1=Diego de |last2=Aparicio |first2=Sebastian de |title=Virtudes y Milagros en vida y muerte del V. P. Sebastian de Aparicio |date=1687 |publisher=Lucas Martin |location=Sevilla |page=157 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Virtudes_y_Milagros_en_vida_y_muerte_del/32TIYD3YxSAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=rancho&pg=RA2-PA157-IA1&printsec=frontcover |access-date=6 November 2024}}</ref> or to a cattle station, an area of land for cattle raising, that is dependent of a [[hacienda]], a large cattle estate.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Salvá y Perez |first1=Vicente |title=Nuevo diccionario de la lengua Castellana que comprende la última edicion íntegra, muy rectificada y mejorada, del publicado por la Academia Española |date=1846 |publisher=Salvá |location=Paris |page=912 |edition=Sixth |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2RNfAAAAcAAJ&dq=rancho+cortijo&pg=PA912 |access-date=21 August 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=de Zamacois |first1=Niceto |title=Historia de Méjico desde sus tiempos mas remotos hasta nuestros dias Volume 10 |date=1879 |publisher=J.F. Párres y compañia |location=Barcelona and Mexico |page=61 |edition=Volume 10 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tF1KAAAAYAAJ&q=derivado%20de%20la%20voz%20rancho |access-date=23 February 2022}}</ref>
In Spain it retained its military origin, being defined as: the group of people, typically soldiers, who eat together in a circle; a [[mess]] hall. “Rancho” in Spain is also the: “food prepared for several people who eat in a circle and from the same pot.”<ref>{{cite book |last1=Caballero |first1=Jose |title=Diccionario General de la Lengua Castellana |date=1849 |publisher=V. de D. R. J. Domínguez |location=Madrid |page=1066 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Diccionario_General_de_la_Lengua_Castell/9ySUaXwvN78C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=La+comida+dispuesta+para+varias+personas+que+comen+en+rueda+y+de+la+misma+olla.&pg=PA1066&printsec=frontcover |access-date=11 November 2024}}</ref> It was also defined as a family reunion to talk any particular business.<ref>{{cite book |title=Diccionario de la lengua castellana, en que se explica el verdadero de las voces |date=1737 |publisher=Real Academia Española |location=Madrid |page=488 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Diccionario_de_la_lengua_castellana_en_q/_CHEd9t6dY4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=rancho&pg=PA488&printsec=frontcover |access-date=6 November 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Diccionario español e ingles |date=1786 |publisher=Piestre & Dellamolliere |location=London |page=522 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Diccionario_español_e_ingles/hzc0d3RJFGoC?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%20Rancho |access-date=6 November 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Neuman |first1=Henry |title=Spanish and English |date=1809 |publisher=J. Johnson |location=London |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Spanish_and_English/28osAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1 |access-date=6 November 2024}}</ref> While “ranchero” is defined as the: “steward of a mess”, the steward in charge of preparing the food for the “rancho” or mess-hall.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Neuman |first1=Henry |title=Diccionario Nuevo de las Dos Lenguas Española e Inglesa |date=1809 |publisher=J. Johnson |location=London |page=34 |edition=Second |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Inglés_y_espanõl/PxUUAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=ranchero+steward&pg=PA34-IA1&printsec=frontcover |access-date=11 November 2024}}</ref>
In South America, specifically in Argentina,<ref>{{cite web |title=Rancho |url=https://www.diccionarioargentino.com/term/Rancho |website=Diccionario Argentino |access-date=6 November 2024}}</ref> Uruguay, Chile, Brasil, Bolivia and Paraguay, the term is applied to a modest humble rural home or dwelling, a [[cottage]]; while in Venezuela it’s an improvised, illegal dwelling, generally poorly built or not meeting basic habitability requirements; a shanty or slum house.<ref>{{cite web |title=Definición de Rancho |url=https://significado.com/rancho/ |website=Significado |access-date=6 November 2024}}</ref>
{{agriculture}}
==Ranch occupations==
{{see also|Cowboy}}
[[File:Cattle_Ranch_(5451966167).jpg|thumb|Aike Ranch, El Calafate]]
The person who owns and manages the operation of a ranch is usually called a ''rancher'', but the terms ''cattleman'', ''stockgrower'', or ''stockman'' are also sometimes used. If this individual in charge of overall management is an employee of the actual owner, the term ''foreman'' or ''ranch foreman'' is used. A rancher who primarily raises young stock sometimes is called a ''cow-calf operator'' or a ''cow-calf man''. This person is usually the owner, though in some cases, particularly where there is absentee ownership, it is the ranch manager or ranch foreman.
The people who are employees of the rancher and involved in handling livestock are called a number of terms, including ''cowhand'', ''ranch hand,'' and ''[[cowboy]]''. People exclusively involved with handling horses are sometimes called [[wrangler (profession)|wrangler]]s.
==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. During the [[Reconquista]], members of the [[Spanish nobility]] and various [[Military order (society)|military order]]s received large land grants that the [[Kingdom of Castile]] had [[reconquista|conquered from the Moors]]. 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]].
==History in North America==
[[File:Frijole_Ranch_4.JPG|thumb|right|450px|[[Frijole Ranch]] ({{Circa|1876}}) is part of [[Guadalupe Mountains National Park]] in west [[Texas]], United States.]]
When the [[Conquistador]]s came to the [[Americas]] in the 16th century, followed by settlers, they brought their [[cattle]] and cattle-raising techniques with them. 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. 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]] ''[[charro]]s'' in central Mexico come from the [[Salamanca (province)|Salamanca]] ''charros'' of Castile.{{Citation needed|date=April 2012}} The [[cowboy|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.<ref>Haeber, Jonathan. [https://web.archive.org/web/20030816071325/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/08/0814_030815_cowboys.html "Vaqueros: The First Cowboys of the Open Range"]. ''National Geographic News'', August 15, 2003. Accessed online October 15, 2007.</ref>
Cattle ranching [[Cattle ranching in Spanish Florida|flourished in Spanish Florida]] during the 17th century.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Arnade|first=Charles W.|date=1961|title=Cattle Raising in Spanish Florida, 1513-1763|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/3740622|journal=Agricultural History|volume=35|issue=3|pages=116–124|issn=0002-1482|jstor=3740622}}</ref>
[[File:Rancho Jalisco.jpg|200px|thumb|A rancho in [[Jalisco]]]]
The word "Rancho" in Mexico developed different definitions from what it originally meant in Spain. In the book "Descripción de la Diócesis de Guadalajara de Indias" (1770), [[Mateo José de Arteaga]] defined "Ranchos" as "extensions of land where few people live with few assets and sheltering in huts."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Serrera Contreras |first1=Ramon María |title=Guadalajara ganadera estudio regional novohispano, 1760-1805 |date=1977 |publisher=Escuela de Estudios Hispano-Americanos |location=Sevilla, Spain |isbn=9788400036959 |page=33 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GRTLanaWVvcC&dq=ranchos+viven+pocas+gentes+con+pocos+bienes+y+albergados&pg=PA33 |language=es}}</ref> In 1778, [[José Alejandro Patiño]], in his text "Topografía del Curato de Tlaxomulco," defined Ranchos as "In these Indian kingdoms, Ranchos are country houses of little pomp and value, where men of average means and the poor live, cultivating the small plots of land that they own or rent, sowing to the extent that each one can afford and raising their domestic, country animals, according to their strength."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gomez Serrano |first1=Jesús |title=Haciendas y ranchos de Aguascalientes estudio regional sobre la tenencia de la tierra y el desarrollo agrícola en el siglo XIX |date=2000 |publisher=Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes |location=Mexico |isbn=9789685073059 |page=61 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ioe3_sZLDvwC&dq=ranchos+son+en+estos+reinos+unas+casas+campestres&pg=PP65 |access-date=23 February 2022 |language=es}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Serrera Contreras |first1=Ramon María |title=Guadalajara ganadera estudio regional novohispano, 1760-1805 |date=1977 |publisher=Escuela de Estudios Hispano-Americanos |location=Sevilla, Spain |isbn=9788400036959 |page=33 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GRTLanaWVvcC&dq=ranchos+viven+pocas+gentes+con+pocos+bienes+y+albergados&pg=PA33 |language=es}}</ref>
By the nineteenth century, the words Rancho and Estancia as used in [[Mexico]] had been consolidated to define a unit of land that made up a [[Hacienda]] or any rural area or the countryside in general. Domingo Revilla in 1844, in his text "Los Rancheros", defined a Rancho or Estancia as "a unit of land which comprises a Hacienda, where cattle and horses are raised, and which is in the care of a Caporal who is the captain of the other cowboys."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Revilla |first1=Domingo |title=El museo mexicano o miscelánea de amenidades curiosas e instructivas Volume 3 |date=1844 |publisher=Ignacio Cumplido |location=Mexico City |page=557 |edition=Volume 3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h7vX10wQ9A8C&q=(17)%20una%20parte%20está%20dividida%20una%20hacienda |access-date=23 February 2022}}</ref> [[Niceto de Zamacois]], in his book "Historia de Méjico" (1879), defined terms as follows: "...the men of the countryside who carry out their jobs on horseback are given the name of "Rancheros," derived from the word Rancho that is applied to a small hacienda, or to a part of a large one that is divided into racherias or ranchos. Those who carry out the same tasks in the haciedas of Veracruz are given the name of "Jarochos."<ref>{{cite book |last1=de Zamacois |first1=Niceto |title=Historia de Méjico desde sus tiempos mas remotos hasta nuestros dias Volume 10 |date=1879 |publisher=J.F. Párres y compañia |location=Barcelona and Mexico |page=61 |edition=Volume 10 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tF1KAAAAYAAJ&q=derivado%20de%20la%20voz%20rancho |access-date=23 February 2022}}</ref>
Thus the term Rancho in [[Mexican Spanish]] became a unit of land that makes up a hacienda where cattle is raised and where people live in farmhouses. The people that live and work in those Ranchos managing cattle and horses are called Rancheros.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Domínguez |first1=Ramon Joaquin |title=Diccionario nacional ó gran diccionario clásico de la lengua Española |date=1856 |publisher=Mellado |location=Madrid, Paris |page=268 |volume=2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BstKAAAAcAAJ&q=Rancho%20Méjico%20cortijo%20 |access-date=23 February 2022}}</ref>
===United States===
[[File:RanchOklahoma.ws.jpg|700px|thumb|center|The historic 101 Ranch in Oklahoma showing the ranchhouse, corrals, and out-buildings]]
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.
[[File:Colorado. Round up on the Cimarron.jpg|thumb|250px|An 1898 [[photochrom]] of a round-up in or near the town of [[Cimarron, Colorado]]]]
However, there were cattle on the eastern seaboard. [[Deep Hollow Ranch]], {{convert|110|mi|km|-1}} east of [[New York City]] in [[Montauk, New York]], claims to be the first ranch in the United States, having continuously operated since 1658.<ref>[http://deephollowranch.com/history1.htm Deep Hollow Ranch History] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071122032723/http://deephollowranch.com/history1.htm |date=2007-11-22 }}</ref> 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 [[Native Americans in the United States|Indian people]] of the area in 1643.<ref name="Newsday">[http://www.newsday.com/community/guide/lihistory/ny-hs328a,0,6827509.story Ochs, Ridgeley. "Ride 'em, Island Cowboy," ''Newsday,''. Accessed May 5, 2008]</ref> 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.<ref name="Newsday"/> 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 during the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]], and three or four drives in the late 1930s, when area cattle were herded down Montauk Highway to pasture ground near Deep Hollow Ranch.<ref name="Newsday"/>
===The open range===
[[File:2013-06-28 15 48 26 Cattle along Deeth-Charleston Road (Elko County Route 747) at the Bruneau River, about 38.6 miles north of Deeth in Elko County, Nevada.jpg|thumb|[[Cattle]] near the [[Bruneau River]] in [[Elko County, Nevada]]]]
The [[prairie]] and [[desert]] lands of what today is [[Mexico]] and the western [[United States]] were well-suited to "[[open range]]" grazing. For example, [[American bison]] had been a mainstay of the diet for the [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native Americans]] in the Great Plains for centuries. Likewise, cattle and other livestock 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. Beginning with the settlement of [[Texas]] in the 1840s, and expansion both north and west from that time, through the [[American Civil War|Civil War]] and into the 1880s, ranching dominated western economic activity.
Along with ranchers came the need for agricultural crops to feed both humans and livestock, and hence many [[farm]]ers also came west along with ranchers. 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 [[farm]]s. 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. There was some reduction of land on the [[Great Plains]] open to grazing.
===End of the open range===
[[File:Chinook2.gif|thumb|200px|The severe winter of 1886–87 brought an end to the open range. ''Waiting for a Chinook'', by [[Charles Marion Russell|C.M. Russell]].]]
The end of the open range was not brought about by a reduction in land due to [[Agriculture|crop farming]], but by [[overgrazing]]. 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. 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 [[winter of 1886–87]] 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. 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 19th century, they had multiplied considerably, to the point that they were wreaking havoc throughout the countryside. 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. The industry grew slowly under the reign of Kamehameha's son Liholiho ([[Kamehameha II]]). When Liholiho's brother, Kauikeaouli ([[Kamehameha III]]), visited [[California]], then still a part of [[Mexico]], he was impressed with the skill of the Mexican [[cowboy|vaquero]]s. In 1832, he invited several to Hawaii to teach the Hawaiian people how to work cattle.
The [[Native Hawaiians|Hawaiian]] cowboy came to be called the ''paniolo'', a [[Hawaiianize]]d pronunciation of ''español.'' 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]] and [[Uruguay]], ranches are known as ''[[estancias]]'' and in [[Brazil]], they are called ''[[fazendas]]''. In much of [[South America]], including [[Ecuador]] and [[Colombia]], the term ''[[hacienda]]'' or ''[[finca]]'' may be used. ''Ranchero'' or ''Rancho'' are also generic terms used throughout tropical [[Latin America]].
In the colonial period, from the [[pampas]] regions of [[South America]] all the way to the [[Minas Gerais]] state in Brazil, including the [[Semi-arid Pampas|semi-arid pampas]] of [[Argentina]] and the south of Brazil, were often well-suited to ranching, and a tradition developed that largely paralleled that of Mexico and the United States. The [[gaucho]] culture of [[Argentina]], [[Brazil]] and [[Uruguay]] are among the cattle ranching traditions born during the period. However, in the 20th century, cattle raising expanded into less-suitable areas of the [[Pantanal]]. 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. 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. This conflict is still a concern in the region today.
==Ranches outside the Americas==
[[File:Dehesa Boyal. Bollullos Par del Condado (Huelva).jpg|thumb|200px|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 (pastoral management)|dehesa]]''-type land, where [[Spanish fighting bull|fighting bulls]] are raised. However, ranch-type properties are not seen to any significant degree in the rest of western [[Europe]], where there is far less land area and sufficient rainfall allows the raising of [[cattle]] on much smaller farms.
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In [[Australia]], a rangeland property is a '''[[Station (Australian agriculture)|station]]''' (originally in the sense of a place where stock were temporarily stationed). In almost all cases, these are either [[cattle station]]s or [[sheep station]]s. The largest cattle stations in the world are located in Australia's dry [[outback]] rangelands. Owners of these stations are usually known as [[wikt:grazier|graziers]] or pastoralists, especially if they reside on the property. Employees are generally known as [[Stockman (Australia)|stockmen/stockwomen]], [[Jackaroo (trainee)|jackaroos/jillaroos]], and ringers (rather than cowboys). Some Australian cattle stations are larger than 10,000&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>, with the greatest being [[Anna Creek Station]] which measures 23,677&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> in area (approximately eight times the largest US Ranch). Anna Creek is owned by [[Sidney Kidman|S Kidman & Co]].
The equivalent terms in [[New Zealand]] are '''run''' and '''[[Station (New Zealand agriculture)|station]]'''.
In [[South Africa]], similar extensive holdings are usually known as a farm (occasionally also ranch) in [[South African English]] and '''plaas''' in [[Afrikaans]].
==See also==
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*[[Animal husbandry]]
*[[Cattle station]]
*[[Garden tools]]
*[[Estancia]]
*[[Holistic management]]
*[[Homestead (buildings)]]
*{{section link|Intensive animal farming|Cattle}}
*[[List of Ranches and Stations]]
*[[Movie ranch]]
*[[Pastoralism]]
*[[Ranch school]]
*[[Ranch-style house]]
*[[Sheep station]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=note}}
==Further reading==
*{{cite book |author-link=Judy Blunt |last=Blunt |first=Judy |title=Breaking Clean |publisher=Knopf |year=2002 |isbn=0-375-40131-8 }}
*{{cite book |last1=Campbell |first1=Ida Foster |first2=Alice Foster |last2=Hill |title=Triumph and Tragedy: A History of Thomas Lyons and the LCs |publisher=High-Lonesome Books |location=Silver City, New Mexico |year=2002 |isbn=0-944383-61-0 }}
*{{cite book |author-link=George F. Ellis |last=Ellis |first=George F. |title=The Bell Ranch as I Knew It |publisher=Lowell Press |year=1973 |isbn=0-913504-15-7 }}
*{{cite book |last=Greenwood |first=Kathy L. |title=Heart-Diamond |publisher=University of North Texas Press |year=1989 |isbn=0-929398-08-4 }}
*{{cite book |last=Paul |first=Virginia |title=This Was Cattle Ranching: Yesterday and Today |publisher=Superior |location=Seattle, Washington |year=1973 }}
*{{cite book |last=Ward |first=Delbert R. |title=Great Ranches of the United States |publisher=Ganada Press |location=San Antonio, Texas |year=1993 |isbn=1-88051-025-1 }}
== External links ==
{{Commons category multi|Ranches|Ranching}}
<!-- Do not post individual ranch links here, they will be removed. IF your ranch is significant, create its own Wikipedia page -->
*[http://www.civilization.ca/cmc/exhibitions/aborig/rodeo/rodeo01e.shtml The Canadian Museum of Civilization - Native Ranching and Rodeo Life on the Plains and Plateau ]
*[https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/azr02 ''The Handbook of Texas Online:'' Ranching]
*[http://texashistory.unt.edu/permalink/meta-pth-2412 Cattle Ranges of the Southwest], published 1898, hosted by the Portal to Texas History
*[http://swco.ttu.edu/Reference/Collections/Bibliographies/ranching.htm Guide to ranch archives in Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library at Texas Tech]
*[http://www.nps.gov/history/museum/exhibits/grko/overview.html Cowboys to Cattlemen Virtual Museum Exhibit and Lesson Plans at Grant-Kohrs Ranch NHS] from [[National Park Service]]
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[[Category:Cowboy culture]]
[[Category:Livestock]]
[[Category:Ranches| ]]
[[Category:Cattle companies| ]]
[[Category:Ranchers| ]]
[[Category:Culture of the United States| ]]
[[Category:Culture of Mexico| ]]
[[Category:Culture of Canada| ]]
[[Category:Farms by type]]
[[Category:Western (genre) staples and terminology]]
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