Rupert Murdoch takes on ranching

Jan 04, 2022

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch buys cattle ranch in Montana in the largest such deal in the state’s history.

From media mogul to farmer, billionaire continues his climb upwards.
In the largest ranch deal in Montana history. Rupert Murdoch, 90, and his wife, Jerry, purchased a 340,000 acre ranch in southwest Montana, near Yellowstone National Park.

The deal—which happened this past December—is for the property known as Beaverhead Ranch, and was purchased from Matador Cattle Co., a subsidiary of Koch Industries for about US$200-million (~CDN$255-million).

Koch Industries was founded by Fred Koch, who founded the crude-oil-gathering business that grew into Koch Industries. He purchased the ranch about seven decades previous.

Murdoch—owner of HarperCollins, the Wall Street Journal, and hundreds of other well-known media enterprises—said he had been looking for a ranch property for over a year.

He added that he was “privileged to assume ownership of this beautiful land” and that along with anticipating spending time at the ranch, will enhance the commercial cattle business and its conservation assets.

Video: Sow Welfare and Group Housing Systems - Dr. Laya Alves

In this episode of The Swine it Podcast Show Canada, Dr. Laya Alves from the University of São Paulo, in Brazil, discusses how animal welfare regulations are evolving globally and their impact on pig production systems. She explains challenges in group housing, pain management, and euthanasia decisions, while highlighting the role of training and management in improving outcomes and economic sustainability. Listen now on all major platforms!

"Translating welfare requirements into daily farm routines without compromising economic sustainability remains one of the biggest challenges faced by producers globally today."

Meet the guest: Dr. Laya Alves / laya-kannan is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of São Paulo, Brazil, focusing on animal welfare in pig production, including pain management, euthanasia, and economic decision making. Her work integrates welfare science with practical farm management and sustainability. She collaborates globally to develop applied tools for producers.