ranch, large farm devoted chiefly to raising and breeding cattle, horses, sheep, and goats. The cattle ranch was introduced from Latin America to Texas and the plains of the W United States and Canada. The first ranchers owned cattle, ponies, and camp equipment but no land, grazing their stock on the free public range. When the fencing of land became compulsory, most ranges were broken up into smaller ranches. Cattle and sheep are often shipped from ranches to feed lots in the corn belt for fattening. The term ranch is applied in the W United States also to grain and fruit farms. The dude ranch offers horseback riding and other typically Western outdoor activities for the entertainment of paying guests. Some dude ranches are also "working" ranches, but most are devoted solely to vacationers.

King Ranch, c.1,000,000 acres (404,700 hectares), S Tex., SW of Corpus Christi with headquarters at Kingsville, Tex.; one of the largest ranches in the world. It has several divisions, of which the best known is Santa Gertrudis, the "home" ranch. The Santa Gertrudis, the only true cattle breed developed in North America, was developed there. Thoroughbred racehorses are also raised. The ranch was founded in 1853 by Richard King, a steamboat captain. After King's death, the giant holdings were managed by his son-in-law, Robert Kleberg; later, Kleberg's son succeeded to the management. The property was divided in 1935, but the central ranches are still large enough to resemble a semifeudal domain. Profits from oil and natural gas rights and farming have been added to income gained from the great beef herds.

Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site, Mont.: see National Parks and Monuments (table).

Big Bend Ranch State Park, Texas: see under Big Bend National Park.

Large farm for breeding and raising cattle, sheep, or horses. Ranching originated in South America and Mexico in early colonial times, when Spanish settlers introduced cattle and horses and tended them on the pampas. It was an itinerant form of livestock farming: herds were tended on open range, and biannual roundups were held for branding calves and driving mature animals to market. Itinerant ranching reached its peak in the 1880s. By the early 20th century, overstocking, quarantine laws, railroad competition, and barbed-wire fences had put an end to cattle drives and open-range farming. Ranching today is nearly all sedentary, but huge ranches still exist.

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