Herding Cattle With Helicopters Across The Outback| Big Australia | Spark

Australia an island a continent and a country the sixth biggest country in the world with the largest coastline on earth a landmass of over seven and a half million square kilometres Australia lies at the bottom of the globe surrounded by the Pacific Indian and Southern Oceans isolated beaches border a landscape vast and varied from coastal beaches to farming Plains to deserts and snow-capped mountain ranges Australia is divided into states and territories its major cities are contrasted by wide open spaces of Central Australia there are major engineering and mining projects in operation in the middle of nowhere and spectacular farmland produces food which is exported all over the world big Australia Australia's northern state of Queensland makes up almost one quarter of Australia's landmass its coastline is famous with holiday makers from all over the world but some 2,000 kilometres inland is Australia's Gulf farming country though people who live here are unique resilient passionate farmers working their land producing beef cattle for the local and export market Milan gas station is one of those farms it's a mammoth million acres of grazing land with 35,000 head of cattle to be mustered some of us never been into the Queen's and Outback I suppose it's just closing the paradise you get in this story of Australia we ride along with the helicopter pilots and the stock men and women as they must a yard and sought their herd this property is big it's one of the world's biggest family farms in a country where cattle outnumber the human population this is big Australia the act and family have been here in Australia since the early 1860s my great-grandfather William Acton had a thousand acres and now Evan and I owned approximately some four million acres in Queensland [Music] Evan and Graham Acton are brothers running one of the country's biggest beef cattle empires they both have a love affair with the Australian outback [Music] it gives you a thrill to be able to look at over paddocks for the south and cows in and and have them nice and quiet and beautiful red Santa cattle or gray brown and Cheryl a cross cattle and it's you know there being a fourth generation grazes and cattle produces in Australia from an Irish background you know we've sort of had a long association with the rural side of things a long way back through our family's history [Music] we've expanded over the last 150 years to from the Rockhampton region where we first started our family to the Northern Territory Queensland border cattle numbers vary a bit depending upon the seasons you know where herd ranges from 150 to 180 thousand head of cattle dad North agreement and their brothers were now younger and and granddad their father their will built a pretty good Empire for themselves dad now for Graham together and the Acton Zone seven properties almost four million acres of cattle country that's 15,000 square kilometres 267 times bigger than Manhattan Island Milana itself is 68 times bigger [Music] [Music] [Music] it takes more than three hours to drive around the perimeter of milonga forget cars you need helicopters here to work this property senior pilot Kent Hanson has worked with the Acton's for more than 20 years [Music] a lot of these paddocks that they're so big and physically being on a horse or man on the ground can't cover the country longer is big it's a million acres and the homestead is in the bottom southern corner so when the men do go mustering they often have to travel a long way because it's about a 90 to 100 kilometers to the back of the property that's just just the sky love things and the amount of catalyst quite amazing area it's just huge and you can just you'll drive down the road and you can't even see what's in front of you the road just keeps going it looks like it's going to drop off at the end but you always get somewhere people get I've rode by the sides but there's a lot of flights lot bigger than this and a lot of place a lot smaller but I just look at it it's a lot of quarter acre block we didn't know their places this big where we grew up so it's quite amazing [Music] [Music] vilandra currently has 35,000 head of cattle scattered across this vast property twice a year each beast needs to be mustard or herded into cattle yards and then grouped by sex and age Milagros nation sits north of the Tropic of Capricorn on malanga we have a definite wet season it starts with storms a bit late October early November a lot of years a lot of electrical storms can cause some pause big heavy storms that cover small smaller areas and then you get through to 2 January February and you get the monsoonal influences which cover the whole area the whole Gulf area and Ken hat caused major flooding in the wet season Milan drew is often isolated due to floods across the station helicopters and light planes are vital to bring in supplies [Music] on a cattle station like this the dry season is the only time to muster it is indeed the busiest time of year and everybody has a role to play to ensure this cattle master is completed without a hitch [Music] [Music] the day of the muster arrives it takes a team of around 40 people to get the job done everyone is up before dawn breaks ready for the huge day in front of them well obviously first thing before the Sun comes up you know the horses saddle up and get a start in the dark but it takes about an hour bit more than they had to get out to where we're going cause it's about 70 odd kilometers so that headed out already and so get out and in position before the helicopters go [Music] the key to this master is the use of helicopters safety checks and preparations occur before the Sun rises I don't fire until I can see just on Daybreak doesn't take them too long 20 minutes or so to get out they're all ready to go and when it's daylight and everyone can see evident Graham actin managed the actin beef empire but mustering cattle is in their blood it's what they love best we're going out to start our normal life cattle operation we do two ends a year of mustering here at milonga and and most of the cattle stations and western Queensland of the same going yes to muster green old paddock here on milonga this morning which is the paddock runs about three thousand Santa Gertrudis cows and all their progeny and the purpose of the muster is to to take all the wieners off plan the carbs and identify the empty cows by preg testing take the empty fat cows often and market them Graham and Evan are anxious to get working and bring the mob in well Malone was the million acres of grazing land and we run around 35 tales and had a branded cattle here at any one time we have had up to 40,000 cattle I spread it out in wide areas over the country because of the fact that we very lucky we've got 23 artesian balls and they're free-flowing boys some of them are capped and flow into 100 kilometres odds of two and three inch poly pipe in the restaurant fly down Lord rise up to five or six hundred kilometres of board rain still on milonga with the master we have the helicopters a couple of helicopters in a big paddock like this one bringing the cattle into the horseman and then the horsemen driving them along to a designated yard the muster takes place 70 kilometers northeast of the farmhouse in the paddock known as green holes but this is no ordinary paddock with a circumference of about 100 kilometers this one paddock is bigger than most farms in other parts of the world there is an estimated three and a half thousand cattle scattered throughout this single paddock today's job is to gather the cattle into what is known as the mop they're scattered in small groups so it's a gigantic task to bring them together three helicopters will be needed the cattle are pushed into the center of the paddock known as the Lane this is where the Stockman and women on horseback play their part driving the cattle through the lane to the cattle yards some 10 kilometers away yeah today we've got we've got a contracting crew which Luke Luke runs he's got a handful of Aboriginal follows pretty handy sort of fellas on the ground and he's in charge all those boys [Music] so he'll be out there today doing a good job keeping everyone in line and making sure things done done properly and then from n-terminus staff but Elliot he's been here three years and he sort of knows the run of things and and hearty into a second year and yeah they know know the deal and my role is head Stockman and mentor for indigenous boys we've always got to work in a team because if someone's not pulling their weight and something always goes wrong but generally you just try and keep them up together and if something goes away you communicate so everyone knows where everyone is the first job is to group by group locate the 3,000 cattle the Stockman can then take over [Music] we're constantly on the on the radio talking to each other so we we know where each other is it at all times sometimes if if one runs into trouble you know with the with the cattle one of us can go from your hand mastering pilots are a breed unto themselves the skills implemented here are unique basically you know I left school at 15 I never finish school and I went straight up into the Gulf and worked on places up there and you know pretty early on I could see that there was there was a better future or a better way to make money and but still wanting to be associated with with with the land we used to run one of the properties and now we fly a helicopter and get involved with the mastering both Kent and been a former Stockman with intimate knowledge of the mastering process from the ground and the air they'll have to retrieve red cattle camouflaged on red soil some are hiding in shadows of shrubs and trees when you're flowing around you're just constantly focused it's like looking in shadows for cattle pulled up in timber [Music] it's not a cloudy cloudy day there's not many shadows cattle are easier to see here we use a Robinson r22 they've made over there the US they're very light quick machine very reliable they're a small two-seater so they can get in some tight tight areas it's a the easiest helicopter to learn to fly it's the most common trained helicopter people trained in the operating costs of them is probably operating at $200 in here and they're the most economical to run that's so that's what he is 22 feeding the workers at the end of the day is a huge operation and mastering can build up a large appetite every Stockman on the muster can't wait for the end of the day for their evening meal but the kitchen has fallen silent we have a wonderful cook that's been with us for 11 years and she's just taken a month to go on a cruise so I had a an English chef come to replace her cook while she's away and unfortunately it didn't work out very well at all and I found out on Friday that he had disappeared off the face of the earth and the cook is the core of the station if the men are not happy so there's a lot of very unhappy people if they're not fed properly or enough [Music] [Music] well we bought Belanger in July 1985 and we were looking to expand a dad and my older brother grime and the younger brother Alan were in octal and the Cattle Company for the Acton brothers the importance of family underpins the entire business we moved here in 85 and I was three sometimes when there wasn't too much work on we'd get up to a bit of mischief and kept dad on his toes I suppose well hopefully I follow on in in my footsteps and my father's and then though they have shown a lot of interest in my rural industry the actives are very big on family because every day what they're working for is for their children and grandchildren but they really work very hard to make the parents proud of what they've done today - for you Tommy these ones Evans son Phillip and Graham's son Thomas are the fifth generation of Acton's to work in the family business I was never going to do anything else other than this I mean I probably had the opportunity to if I wanted but I know this is all I ever wanted to do dad said when I was going to school in Rakhi dad said don't let school in a fear with the education too much yeah I was only gonna do this year with your next-door neighbor around 100 kilometres away growing up in the Australian outback provides a special type of upbringing and the sixth generation is already immersed in farm life I don't know I just think it's everything you could ask for bring up a kid on the station it's hardly any boundaries for Thomas you know he can he's got a million acre backyard what else can you ask for people dream about a lifestyle like this and we've got it right you know we're so blessed to live here and yeah I love it so family involvement inspires you to keep going and keep achieving and expanding providing a livelihood for our children and our grandchildren to come it is very much a family business and we're very proud of the fact that that the next generation the fifth generation of Acton's and also the six generations not showing a great interest in the land and following on from their fathers and grandfathers and great-grandfather's footsteps [Music] helicopters have made mustering much more efficient greenholtz panic would have taken a week to master without them this is now achieved in just one day helicopters are in my experience have changed a lot in the last 30 years I can remember and recall very clearly the first day that we mastered the double swamp paddock here at milonga some 25 years ago I've never been in a helicopter before I was petrified and after that you gradually become a customer as you do and it's a great enjoyment to be out of fryer and in a helicopter and look at the cattle being mastered and they're all running in nicely the mobs and it gives us a great deal of satisfaction Isana naw been huntin flies helicopter and obviously it's a worry when they're flying around especially if the weather's bad but you know they've had very good training and we've made sure that he's been trained by a senior pilot Kent Hansen which has had a wealth of experience for 20 years and when people have been trained correctly and they've been given confidence to do the job it makes it a lot better while mastering has allowed for greater efficiencies for cattle farmers in Australia there are dangers pilots are well aware that helicopter crashes are a real possibility frequently they fly in what is known as the dead man zone the dead man's eye we're constantly in that in our game and it's the ratio over to it the height speed ratio so basically if you're if you're 50 foot hovering with zero airspeed you're right in the middle of the the dead man's curve it's called that the course if the engine fails oh he had a mechanical failure then he thought you're not going to get out of it sometimes you have to hold the line near trees which is not the best spot to be in to fly safely and you know airspeed and Heights and we're in a bad spot if you do have to be low and close to trees you try and keep moving so you've got an airspeed on your side the odd time you have to hover above a tree to chase a bull out of something but you just try not be there long when I went through flight school there was a bit 20 20 of us went through school and there's three or four of them out with us anymore it means pilots never get accustomed to the threat of danger I guess it's you know you dad you don't stop driving a car someone has an accident in the car so I guess you got to think of it like that and just deal with it under deal with it [Music] helicopters have now successfully started to bring the cattle together into a mob the Stockman in their horses go into formation and build a virtual war surrounding and then pushing the mob forward all the while the helicopters continue to add more and more cattle into the lane increasing the size of the mob being driven forward in the oppressive Outback Sun with the continuous buzzing of helicopters overhead there's a risk the mob could split the pilots need to be absolutely sure there are no cattle left behind the Stockman concentrating on ensuring not one beast breaks through the wall if one gets free others are bound to follow and the mob could scatter the choppers put them all together and we're on the ground crew puts them all in to us and then we sort of head off to the yard and as we've gone towards yards he keeps bringing into it means nothing break I can get away and keep it all together and making sure all the carbs come along [Music] I'm the leading hand here and living here just make sure that everyone knows what they're doing every morning Luke's in charge of all the boys but I'm in charge of how the master goes daddy Amir boys steady steady yeah I think Elliot's dreams to be here to talk Minh but he just needs a bit more putting on the right track suppose a few more years experience as the Sun runners is higher in the sky so does the friendly rivalry between the two leads Doc member Luke's only come here this year and Elliot's been here a lot longer so I think there's a bit of a bit of tension between the fella that's done it for longer and the fella it's done it on this property for longer so I think they'll work it out they just have to find some common ground there somewhere [Music] mallet when I got a guy back in the mob might even get out of the weii but he's been here longer than some longer and he come at mr. shafts divorces and that and I just been rubbing him up and giving him along and taking a lot of slack out of him Hey he's like the experienced staff man that knows everything and sort of always think I'm I'm better than him like it's just a silly old bugger and police all old ways are all just old-fashioned you know I look yeah [ __ ] the placement [ __ ] the places hey caught what they just we got a prop up here but no let a cowboy get it buddy [Music] [Music] some consider this part of Australia God's country perhaps they're right there are hundreds of kilometres of bore drains that snake their way across the million acre property water flows freely from the wells dug 30 meters from below the red surface we are very lucky we've got 23 artesian bore the monsoonal rains flood these Plains each year and each dry season the drains must be recurved to keep the water flowing through the trenches but they well-controlled it's a full-time job for a man to keep the Bourdain's in order [Music] I think there's about 600 kilometers of draenor leveling I remember rightly so that that'll keep me busy for the next couple of months I just got to keep them clean to keep the water running do it now well as cooler so when someone comes on the kettle right for water and there's no problems I'll be 68 this year at Christmas time and I can't see any center not I don't work when I enjoy doing what I'm doing and I'm not getting flogged to do it [Music] [Music] one of the least desirable jobs foremost on a million acre property is that of the lonely greater driver Kevin Nash and operate the greater like the roads and fence lines and fire breaks there is a network of roads across Mille andr that must be maintained the wet season rains flood the region making it impossible for heavy road trains to transport their cargo of prime beef cattle [Music] keeping the trucks moving is a big responsibility for nashi they'll run it up and trucks get ball go to do me in that's what's happened along here this has been done twice we had rain two weeks ago and just destroyed the roads Oh Kevin the grader driver Kevin why drop together Kevin doesn't say much you you're lucky to get any words out of him I suppose yeah it's lucky Kevin enjoys his own company he spends weeks at a time alone smoothing out the roads and without a day off yeah I haven't seen a TV for two months is this the radio this isn't the news me out of bed yeah [Music] he visits the homestead around every couple of weeks to refuel and restock and to wash his clothes you probably do for the 6kz later form without properly you know best to do that before the wet I'll probably move in a bit further and take the chair of in sat and mediator week was starting to move a bit further just move all over the place again like for grated rather pretty lonely and for me to be boring I'm other are doors but for nashi it's just the way he likes it traveling at five kilometres an hour he's got hundreds of kilometres of roads north to prepare for the next muster just nashi towing his youth and his fuel for the weeks ahead [Music] with the muster in full swing back at the farmhouse kim is growing increasingly anxious with the kitchen the fill-in cook is nowhere to be seen and nothing prepared for the evening meal with 25 hungry stock men and women to feed to make matters worse Kim has broken her collarbone in a horse fall and she can't help out as much as she hoped he never said a word he never told us but we knew he wasn't the right person for the position and I think he realized that and he he just disappeared yes I heard that he was on the bus and gone if the cooks happy everyone's happy and the cook is the core of the station to keep everything going but a quick 200 kilometer return trip into the nearest town has the problem solved a new cook an English backpacker is hired we have this young fella has come for the next three weeks to help us out he's very pleasant and he's so willing to listen and learn and to be helped there's a lot of different things to catch up on and find out where if it is a lot of stuff to learn to make this a bit different up here the black holes yeah that's just amazing just get a new swearing kiss and how much people want to hear about the chef's performance the sous chefs now just assistant chef in a seafood restaurant it's not just and lots of stuff about seafood which is not very great out here it's all meat based but yes yes alright it's been good I'm so grateful to have him he came at the last minute to help us out and he did tell us that he was a Muslim and he couldn't eat meat if it wasn't killed hell out when actually I meats not killed Hal al so he's more than happy to be a vegetarian while he's here so that's that's very nice of him everyone's so looking forward to the beautiful things he's going to produce for dessert and we are lovely changed for him to cooking lots of beef [Music] with the news reaching those out mustering that food is on the table that 10 kilometer cattle Trek continues with renewed vigour as Luke was really I'm trying to keep us in a line at the back today a lot of exhibitors sideline but luck [Music] bosses the slowest base cut [ __ ] pasta this large base my friend so yes I guess it makes Daisy Iran us as well as the cattle that they don't have to run back as much and our horses don't get as tired [Applause] you break away so you send the boys off and get around them put them back in [Applause] priority is to get out there and get them back as before they get any further away without disturbing the rest of the cutoff we have two-way contact or your time so they if we can't see something run away they call us and let us know or if they can't see something we spot it we and we think a horse is the best for the job we get him out there as quick as possible and you just work as one big team [Applause] it's better to be able to lock a cow from running out before it does rather than letting it run out you know like you should say it before it happened us a natural instinct that's really important but overall it just takes experience like and having someone that's patient enough to show you helps a lot which I've had so yeah it's been really good the afternoon lunch break is welcomed by everyone a time to relax and regroup ahead of the final push to the cattle yards [Music] there is a special bond that exists between the land and those who work in outback Australia but nothing compares to that of the bond between these Stockman and their horses there are hundreds of horses on the property there are a vital part of our back life horses are used for the master but also for recreation I've grown up with horses and um they're part of my life noise will be I love working with them and competing on them in that I've got my favorite horses here I've got one I didn't ride him today but I'm lucky enough I'm able to Campdraft on him him and he he's lovely we have a few moments where we don't get along but we're always friends and yeah he's brilliant horses have always been a part of life for Graeme heaven and we like our staff to be kind and treat our inner animals with kindness and respect as we do and we love our horses as you've seen and their cattle particularly the horses and I always say a horse is a man's best friend [Music] the final push has commenced the herd is in its tenth hour of being driven towards the yard the herd is slowing the curves are tiring and son cannot go on today when the Mustang there's a try to pour a try to pull it all up carbs that are knocking up but they're not gonna make it the yard is small and the young and there's getting tired so they put them in the pylon and bring them the odds are safe from walking in and your leash another planet Ian one just got tired and I guess I was just too lazy to carried I was just put on the front of yours and carried over to the trailer the mob stretches nearly a kilometer creating a plume of dust that can be seen for miles and restricts visibility for pilots the first of the cattle into the yard but senior pilot Kent Hansen has noticed not always gone to plan when we yarding up there I went up to the lead of the mob to to see if they were gone in the yards all right and someone had left the gate open here come through the other side of the yard say about 20 had got out of the yards the mob of escapees head for a nearby herd of horses where the Unruh and them up and bring them back in and stop the rest and go near the yards to one of the worst things to happen is for cattle to mix with horses when working with a helicopter are the horses usually take fright and run away from the choppers say yeah if they get in my you know most cattle like that they create all sorts of havoc at the end of a long day and let's see that happen at just one mistake has allowed cattle to escape and destroy a full day of hard work the job is not complete until every beast is in and the gate is locked the entrance to the yards is narrow it quickly becomes congested with the sheer size of the mob cattle can easily get confused and start to look for ways to escape agile Stockman mustered their own strength to restrain and return the runaway to the mob there's a sense of purpose knowing this is the final hurdle everyone is needed to stick to the game plan a team effort ensures every animal makes it through and is yarded [Music] with the gate closed the team feel a sense of satisfaction the day's master of three thousand head of cattle is finally over [Music] [Applause] the pilots are able to survey their day's work but just when you think the job is done all three thousand cattle are to be sorted and tested [Music] I pretty much I left him where there's Bulls out all the eerie animal anger than his carves born mostly from September 3 to about March and at about eight or ten months old they're weaned off their mothers the dangers for stopping anywhere from being thrown horse falling on you you know getting getting knocked out by beasts yeah the main reason we masters is obviously pull off yet you meet work cavalry South cattle pull winners off and process the calves Brandon you know I say you know you're gonna identify your calves seem random you tagged them [Music] wait up pregnant pregnant boy Joe pulled the least glamorous of the whole show on pregnancy testing pregnant pregnant pregnant by sadly is just putting you hanging up the Cavs back saw it and saying whether she's in California pregnant you just gotta have your finger on what you're doing what's your breeding a cattle nowadays you just don't put the bull's eye up and hope you have a good car putting the right balls with the right cows has meant that milonga breeds some of the world's best beef cattle testing for pregnant cows is vital in the process it's a management tool not very glamorous that very accurate and and it just gives you good outcomes for your dollar pretty well pregnant pregnant pregnant pregnant once the yarding is finally complete pregnant cows are put back out to pasture calves are reunited with their mothers and the adolescent cattle are weaned ready to play their part in the beef industry the road trains are filled [Music] the cattle are transported a thousand kilometers to fattening properties to be prepared for processing [Music] the mastering will continue at Mille andr with thousands more cattle still needed to be sorted before the wet season arrives but at least for today in the Queensland outback the job is done and dusted [Music] I think that's just such a good feeling when you finally shut the guy at the end of the day and you know all those cows are in the yards usually made it sir well if nothing gets away it's a good day and made at the end of the day and jelly pretty tired look forward to knocking off another cup of tea maybe is a good feeling when you shut the gates no matter what time it is whether it's midday or 6 o'clock at night it's always nice to know that they're in the yards it's just such a relief like all your muscles that are sore just stop it and it's just such a good drive on the way iron will dust all over face and yeah yeah there is about as a satisfaction if it's a good day you know some days it's not you know things going wrong it's not as good but it's good enough off when I have a beer at the end of the day the first one doesn't even touch the sides [Music] at the end of the day everyone comes together and the cook is a very much welcome part of the crew it's been a long day even by the standards of these top Australian cattle and horsemen we were fortunate to inherit the aspirations and heritage from our parents and our grandparents we are custodians of the land we look after to the best of our ability for the generations to come the great privilege to be all the hand is on to my sons and grandsons and granddaughters and I guess the rain is so it's very important to people that are back good under their fingernails so to speak and that the young ones sometimes go away but mostly they come back again because once you've got the land in the blood you can take the man from the land but not the the land from the man as the saying goes [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] Australian farmers are very unique in many many ways [Music]

Channel: Spark

Views: 333,455

Rating: 4.6500821 out of 5

Keywords: Spark, Science, Technology, Engineering, science documentary, science photography, science explained, science experiment, free farmer helicopter, helicopter farming australia, rc helicopter farming, australian farming, australian farming tractor, australian farming videos, australian farming technology, australian farming youtube, australian farming jobs, australian farming work

Id: 14YkfFt6bxY

Length: 49min 6sec (2946 seconds)

Published: Mon Feb 10 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/steve-girth]

The height velocity diagram is for performance planning, it is not an operating limitation set by the manufacturer such as airspeed limitations, rotor rpm limitations, etc. The information is published by the manufacturer for the specific aircraft you’re flying.

From a regulatory standpoint you are free to operate the helicopter at any speed and height combination you like, the only limitation is you’re not allowed to create a hazard to persons or property on the surface. (See 14 CFR 91.13, 91.119)

[u/tangowhiskeyyy]

Google height velocity diagram. Every aircraft has one (or something like it) and they're all similar but not exact. Put simply at an altitude like that you can't do anything in the event of complete power loss. At a lower altitude you can use remaining pitch to get you on the ground, at a higher altitude/airspeed you can retain some rpm and later pitch to get you on the ground. At that height you can't do either

[u/drowninginidiots]

The height velocity curve is just a performance chart. Not a limitation. In theory it’s where an average pilot should be able to make a successful autorotation to a firm, smooth surface.

In real world work, helicopters spend a lot of time in that curve. It’s what helicopters are for. Longline/external load work, power line work, search and rescue, all types of operations require being in the curve. Couldn’t tell you how many hours I’ve spent in that curve. The key is, avoid it when you can, and be ready for if something goes wrong if you can’t.

[u/Cropgun]

The dead man's curve is something for PPLs and straight and level guys to squawk about on the internet when they see a helicopter of any kind doing utility work. It gives them the appearance of knowing what they are talking about.

In reality it's an area of "enhanced difficulty" autorotation that should always be respected when operating there and that's about it. You can lose an engine at 50-200ft and zero airspeed and be just fine if you're not a complete fucking doufus.