Anna Creek Station, World's Biggest Cattle Ranch, Sells Stock & Mothballs Operations Due To Drought

[hatrack]

Anna Creek station, which is bigger than Israel, encompasses 9,267 square miles of scrub, sand dunes and savannah in the Outback of South Australia. It is normally capable of supporting 16,000 cattle but the "Big Dry" – the worst drought in a century – has exhausted the land, forcing the herd to be whittled down to less than 2,000.

Half the cattle were sold for slaughter, while the rest were moved to other properties owned by S Kidman & Co, one of Australia's best known pastoral companies.

Over the next few months the number of cattle on the station is expected to dwindle even further, until only a handful will remain. Anna Creek's normal staff of around 20 men and women has been reduced to a skeleton operation of half a dozen.

This is only the third time the ranch has been cleared of cattle since it was established more than a century ago.

EDIT

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/WiMax-Hits-the-Patent-Pool/

[kestrel91316]

1. I doubt it's capable of supporting 16k cattle even in good times.

They have probably been massively overgrazing it by force of habit for a century. It's basically desert.

[Zachstar]

2. More economic disasters. Just great...

[phantom power]

3. K+R