Beefy jargon
Your guide to speaking beef fluently amongst the Australian cattle industry. Moo to that!
After attending #Beef2024 I realised there’s a specific language used throughout the industry. If you’re not fluent it can be tricky to understand what and who the hell is going on! Below is a list of terms commonly referred to..
More than just a cow
Bos indicus: The breeds of cattle that are referred to as tropical or humped breeds, eg Brahman, Sahiwal and other Zebu breeds.
Bos taurus: The temperate, British or European breeds of cattle, eg Angus, Poll Hereford, Charolais and Limousin.
Bovine: Animals of the ox family, commonly referred to as cattle.
Bull: A mature male animal used for breeding.
Bullock: Mature castrated male destined for meat production.
Calf: A bovine with no permanent incisor teeth, can be a male or a female with no secondary sex characteristics.
Cow: A mature female used for breeding with eight permanent incisor teeth.
Heifer: A female bovine that has not produced a calf and is under 42 months of age. After 42 months of age she is known as a 'grown heifer', unless she has had a calf, and then she is a cow.
Grown heifer: A female showing no more than seven permanent incisor teeth. Can be up to 42 months. Usually having not produced a calf.
Micky bull: A young bull, usually up to about 18 months of age, which should have been branded and castrated but has been missed in previous musters.
Mob: A group of cattle, horses or sheep running or mustered together.
Steer: A castrated male bovine showing no secondary sex characteristics.
Weaner: A young animal that has been weaned from its mother’s milk to live completely on pasture.
Yearling: Young bovine, fully weaned without permanent incisor teeth, approximately 12 to 18 months of age.
Station roles
Backgrounder: A cattle producer who produces young cattle ready for lot feeding.
Bore Runner: A person who drives around the station usually 2 or 3 times a week checking the water for the cattle. The water can be in dams or natural waterholes but it is often underground water which needs to be pumped by a windmill, solar or diesel motor.
Grazier/ Pastoralist: A farmer which raises livestock such as cattle. In the north they’re mostly known as a producer or pastoralist.
Ringer: The contemporary term for a male or female stock worker on an Australian cattle station, a name to refer to rounding up mobs of cattle. They were previously referred to as Jackeroos or Jillaroos.
If you’re interested in working in the cattle industry, particularly on stations check out RFTTE - Ringers from the Top End, founded by Simon Cheatham. The imagery and stories behind Simon’s communications for RFTTE are addictive and glorious, showing the real characters, landscapes and responsibilities of the top end’s cattle industry. I met Simon at Beef and he’s just as lovely IRL as his social media presence and brand emits.
Cattle breeds
Cattle in the north need to be tolerant of heat, resistant to external parasites such as ticks, and willing and able to walk up to 5km to watering points.
The major breeds used are based on the heat-resistant Bos indicus (zebu).
The predominant breed is Brahman, 49%, followed by tropical composites like Angus, Brangus, Droughtmaster, Santa Gertrudis and Wagyu. *
Working terms
Draft/ Drafting: Separating cattle into different categories for branding, trucking or treating. Can be done on horseback or in a yard.
Grain fed: An animal which has been fed on grain in a feedlot.
Grass fed: An animal which has been fed on pasture (grass).
Mothering up: Calves are often separated from their mothers during mustering and processing through the yards. Before the cattle are let go they are held together to allow the cow and calf to find each other.
Muster: Rounding up cattle from across the station.
Pasture fed: Cattle that have grazed on pastures or crops rather than grains.
Range or rangeland management: The practice of managing natural ecosystems, such as grasslands, scrublands, and forests, where livestock are allowed to graze. These ecosystems are typically vast and cover millions of hectares.