Getting a cow that just freshened from the pasture was sometimes an event. If we couldn’t see her from the gate, we might have had to split up and walk through sections of brush or woods until we found her. If she wasn’t easy to herd, we might have to carry her calf all the way, in hopes that she would trot behind us. If she didn’t follow, it might then be all-hands-on-deck, and we’d probably be sweating by the time she was in the barn.
Once, while visiting my cousins on their farm, my uncle mentioned that he needed to bring in a dry cow. We offered to help, but instead he hopped on his four-wheeler and sped down the pasture, eventually maneuvering her toward the barn with the ATV.
It’s not that we never thought of using a four-wheeler to herd cattle, but that we didn’t have one.
“I bet it spooks the cow,” we said to one another on the ride home. “How do you even get any exercise like that?”
As much sour grapes as we may or may not have had back then, times have changed, and not just on small dairy farms in the U.S. Cattle farming looks different all over the world.
As in many places, the size of ranches in Australia – or stations, as they’re called Down Under – has increased. Twenty or 30 years ago, cattle were rounded up by horses, and then later with additional help from ATVs. However, especially in remote areas such as the Northern Territory, stations often manage 20,000 head or more and include vast regions of 350,000 or 400,000 acres. It would be a tired horse and rider that tried to cover that sort of ground.
One change that has allowed stations to grow that big is the use of the helicopter to herd, or “muster,” the cattle. When cattle need to be brought back to the station, a team of trained helicopter musterers is deployed in the air.
The person inside the machine still wears a cowboy hat and still needs to be a stockman because they have to know the behavior of cattle and how to manage them. However, instead of a quarterhorse, they’re in an R22, a small and nimble aircraft built specifically for the purpose. The helicopter must be able to turn quickly and fly between trees, brush and other obstacles, as well as be swift enough to anticipate the movement of cattle and be able to dig them out of hard-to-reach places.
A bit of cowboy spirit may also be needed for the job, because it’s not for the faint of heart. The R22s often fly slowly and low to the ground, both of which make it impossible to react if there is engine failure or some other problem. The latest estimation available suggests that about 10 helicopter musterers perish in crashes each year in Australia. Every musterer knows others in the business who have died, and often they are friends or family members. When interviewed, they all cite the adrenaline associated with the job, but are also well aware of the danger.
Because of the difficult conditions the musterers fly under, a pilot needs 150 hours of low-flying training in addition to the 110 hours it takes to get a general helicopter license. Although the occupation remains male-dominated, there are more women joining crews. Regardless of who steps into the R22s, nonetheless, they have to be confident – maybe even cocky or at least oblivious to the type of fate that can await them. Although they are seen as heroes by many in their communities, they also tend to leave behind sad mothers when accidents happen.
Those who don’t like to see the old ways die can at least take comfort in the fact that not all of the mustering is done in the air. Once the cattle have been herded to a kilometer or so from the station, horses and ATVs manage the final stretch. This keeps the helicopters from having to fly close to buildings, as well as ensures that the more particular sorting of the cattle can be done on the ground.
If Louis L’Amour were alive and Australian, I can only imagine what his Westerns would look like. Nonetheless, if you know cattle and choppers, or would like to, mustering jobs are always advertised online. Typical pay starts at $85,000 Australian dollars (about $53,000 U.S. dollars), but you probably have to bring your own cowboy hat. As for me, I think I’ll keep it old school and get my exercise in a pasture when I can.
