🇦🇷 The cattle breeds of Argentina

Cattle came to Argentina with Spanish arrivals in 1536 and multiplied on the Pampas until beef became the country's defining food and a major export. Argentines eat more beef per person than anyone else, and the country is still one of the world's biggest exporters, though export bans and disease outbreaks have shaken the trade.

• Cattle first reached Argentina with Spanish conquistadors in 1536
• By the early 1900s Argentina supplied more than half the world's beef exports
• Argentines eat about 55 kg of beef per person a year, the most of any country
• La Rural, the Buenos Aires farm show, has run every winter since 1886
• In 2019 Argentina produced 3 million tons of beef, fourth in the world

Cattle in Argentina

Argentine cattle keeping grew out of the grasslands of the Pampas, where a small herd brought from Spain in 1536 multiplied so quickly that some observers called the animals a menace. Beef became the centre of the national table and, for a time, of the export economy. Railways, refrigerated ships and salting works turned Buenos Aires into a processing centre, and British and American packing firms dominated the trade. The ranching culture of the gaucho and the estancia grew alongside it. Neighbouring Chile has been both a market and a flashpoint, with a tariff on Argentine cattle in 1905 setting off the Santiago meat riots.

The breeds

The Angus is the breed named most plainly. The Argentine Angus Association certifies meat as Angus under its Carne Angus Certificada label, and supports a second certificate for young Angus calves, Ternero Angus Certificado. As demand for higher-quality beef grew, farmers developed new breeds and crossed cattle selectively to improve the carcase.

Regions and communities

The Pampas holds most of the herd and most of the fertile pasture. Buenos Aires became the centre of cattle processing, with stockyards, warehouses and salting works, and it hosts the La Rural show. A foot-and-mouth outbreak in a northern province prompted Chile to stop taking Argentine meat. Chile has been an important nearby market, though a tax on Argentine cattle imports there in 1905 set off the meat riots in Santiago, which lasted from 22 to 27 October and left 200 to 250 people dead.

Milk, butter and beef

Beef is the main product, eaten at home and sold abroad, and in earlier centuries it was salted as tasajo for export. Live cattle were shipped out before the 1880s. Refrigeration let chilled meat reach Europe and North America, and the flip in seasons between the hemispheres meant Argentine beef arrived when northern supplies were short. Argentines eat about 55 kg of beef per person a year, the highest rate in the world.

Festivals, fairs and faith

The asado, the Argentine barbecue, sits at the heart of the national food culture, and the history of the gauchos of the Pampas is bound up with cattle. La Rural, the big agricultural show held each winter in Buenos Aires, has formed part of the social season since 1886. Wealth from beef paid for grand houses and public buildings, and estancia owners took part in politics and philanthropy. A national beef promotion body has staged events abroad, including a beef festival in Helsinki.

Today

Argentina produced about 3 million tons of beef in 2019, the fourth largest total in the world, and ranks third among exporters. Consumption at home is the highest anywhere. Government policy has swung between taxing exports at 15 per cent and banning them outright, as in 2006 and again in May 2021, to hold down domestic prices and curb inflation. Official quality labelling is thin: in 2003 only 35 slaughterhouses were approved for good manufacturing and food safety practice.