Station or Farm? That Is The Question!

Station life and farm life are very similar yet so vastly different that I thought I'd try and put it into a bit of perspective for you. 

Both properties ensure their animals always have water, on the farm this means checking dams in summer time and ensuring the dams don't have years of mud in the bottom of them. On the station it means checking troughs are clean and not contaminating the water, checking tanks to make sure there's enough water for the cattle, checking bores and generators are functioning. This is pretty much an all year round job, the bore runs happen every two days or so.

Both properties handle their animals to mark the young and ensure animal health. On the farm this means a week of lamb marking plus drenching, shearing and crutching throughout the year. On the station this means a bit more than a month of mustering and handling all the cattle in the yards. The farm handles sheep throughout the year. The station does it in one chunk. Many stations muster for a lot longer than this one as well. 

Fencing is a must on both kinds of property. The farm has small paddocks and high stocking rates. The station has very large paddocks in comparison and far lower stocking rates. When fencing on the farm you use wooden strainers and huge cocky gates. When fencing on the station you use steel strainers and small gates. The station fences can run for kilometres at a time and in some areas there are no fences at all. That's the difference between rangeland farming and intensive mixed farming. 

Machinery upkeep happens on both varieties of property. The farm upkeep is seasonal with the different cropping jobs over the year. The station upkeep is far more important, if your ute breaks down 80 kms from the homestead with no way to contact anyone, you're in trouble. All vehicles are kept in good condition and checked before each days work. The station has to employ mechanics as there's no option to get a mechanic out to fix something ASAP, the bigger jobs maybe, but generally sending something to town is just too expensive. 

Cooking for the workers. That doesn't happen so much on the farm as we don't employ many people. The station can have anywhere up to 30 people to cook for at any one time, a full time cook is a must and they're run off their feet keeping up with everyone's needs. They're also hugely appreciated by the workers, having a good feed while you're out in the sweltering humidity makes the day far more bearable. 

There are many similarities but the vast difference in property sizes means the way each of the tasks are completed are very, very different!