Written by Anne Marie Huey – Dampier Downs Station. We’ve all heard the old adage “It takes a village to raise a child”. Well, in my opinion, it takes a community to raise a steak. While we’ve been encouraged to “Thank a farmer” for our next meal, as someone whose job it is to contribute […]
Host: Dampier Downs Station Written by Anne Marie Huey – co-Manager, Dampier Downs. Find part 1 here, part 2 here, and part 3 here. Northern Australia is a big, empty place. Or at least it seems that way at first glance. Spend some time in the outback, though, and you will discover a tight-knit network of […]
Host: Dampier Downs Station Written by Anne Marie Huey – co-Manager, Dampier Downs. Find part 1 here and part 2 here. Live export underpins the economic viability of the northern beef industry. The beef industry in turn contributes significantly to the economic prosperity of northern Australia. There are few other industries (mining and gas extraction […]
Host: Dampier Downs Station Written by Anne Marie Huey – co-Manager, Dampier Downs. Find part 1 here. Live export is the mainstay of the northern beef industry. For most of its history, live export barely registered on the radar of many Australians. That all changed in 2011 when footage of abhorrent animal cruelty was aired […]
Host: Dampier Downs Station Written by Anne Marie Huey – co-Manager, Dampier Downs. This year has been a year of extremes. We started with an unprecedented amount of rain and the largest flooding we have ever seen. While rain is always a good thing, it was devastating to see our brand-new paddocks wash away in […]
Host: Dampier Downs Station Written by Anne Marie Huey – co-Manager, Dampier Downs. Mother Nature is a fickle mistress. At times she can be kind and benevolent, bestowing gentle seasons that fill rivers and water holes and result in a lush carpeting of grass across the landscape. Other years she can be heartbreakingly cruel withholding life-giving […]
Host: Dampier Downs Station Written by Anne Marie Huey – Station Manager, Dampier Downs. Working with animals is arguably the best aspect of cattle station life. Whether it is dogs, horses, poddy calves, or cattle, animals add colour and character to our lives. However, as with all things worth-while, working with animals can also be […]
Host: Dampier Downs Station Written by Anne Marie Huey – Station Manager, Dampier Downs. Communication is key on a cattle station. In this job, things can – and do – change in an instant. It is easy to forget that everyday terms for us are a baffling journey into the unintelligible for those not used […]
Host: Dampier Downs Station Written by Lisa Sentfleben – Backpacker/Stationhand, Dampier Downs. Lisa worked for us last season – one of our many successful backpackers. Below is her experience in her own words. We – the boss, his sister, an English farmgirl, and me – work ten to twelve days in a row, then drive […]
Host: Dampier Downs Station Written by Lisa Sentfleben – Backpacker/Stationhand, Dampier Downs. Lisa worked for us last season – one of our many successful backpackers. Below is her experience in her own words. Red dust. Shimmering heat. Endless dry landscape. Silence. A chirping noise every now and then. Underneath the rabbit skin cowboy hat my […]
Host: Dampier Downs Station Written by Anne Marie Huey – Station Manager, Dampier Downs. Working on a cattle station is a complex job that requires a diverse skill-set. Working cattle, building and maintaining fences, operating machinery, servicing equipment, and keeping water flowing are all essential tasks that must be performed on a regular basis. In […]
Host: Dampier Downs Station Written by Anne Marie Huey – Owner, Dampier Downs Station. I breed cattle for slaughter. It’s the business I’m in and it’s what pays the bills. To me, this is not extraordinary I was raised on the land and from a very young age understood that my choice to eat meat […]
Host: Dampier Downs Station Written by Anne Marie Huey – Owner, Dampier Downs Station. “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” While this quote is most commonly attributed to Charles Darwin, it was actually coined by […]
Host: Dampier Downs Station Written by Anne Marie Huey – Owner, Dampier Downs Station. Women are the back-bone of the cattle industry. Admittedly, it is still a very male dominated world with the vast majority of managers and head stockmen being men. However, alongside every successful cattleman you will find a busy, hard-working woman whose […]
Host: Dampier Downs Station Written by Anne Marie Huey – Owner, Dampier Downs Station. There are endless ways for cattle to be classified when drafting in the yards. Some of the most common categories are: Breeders – mature cows whose job it is to have a calf hopefully every year. Heifers – young cows being […]
Host: Dampier Downs Station Written by Anne Marie Huey – Owner, Dampier Downs Station. A lot happened in 2015. Our infrastructure development plan is well and truly underway with the completion of many new paddocks that will allow us to implement better herd management strategies. New bores are pumping and additional pipe-lines have enabled us […]
This entry was one of the finalists in our 2015 Birthday Competition and was written by Anne-Marie Huey. One of the advantages of living in a well-developed, affluent country like Australia is that we have the luxury of being able to allocate our discretionary spending according to our own personal moral leanings. Nowhere is this more […]
Host: Dampier Downs Station Written by Anne Marie Huey – Owner, Dampier Downs Station. Cattle producers in northern Australia have had a tough few years. Fortunately, this year is shaping up to be one of the most promising in recent times. Prices are up, large parts of the north have received life-giving rain, and our […]
Host: Dampier Downs Station Written by Anne Marie Huey – Owner, Dampier Downs Station. Fifty years ago last month my parents were married in New Zealand, my mother’s home country. For my mother, this meant moving to the Australian outback, first to the family property near Kynuna, Queensland and then to a small, undeveloped station […]
Host: Dampier Downs Station Written by Peta Anderson – Dampier Downs Station. Hi my name is Peta Anderson and I am here to tell you about my recent adventure in the Kimberley, Western Australia. Filled with fun, animals, and a small amount of sleep. Last school holidays, for about two weeks, I visited Dampier Downs […]
