Yesterday I spent the day with brothers Herbert and Werner Bartel as they inspected part of their 8,000 hectare (20,000 acre) estancia in the middle of the Paraguayan Chaco.

Herbert and Werner (L-R). They live in Loma Plata.

Herbert Bartel

One of the ranch hands. He grew up with Werner and Herbert and spoke Low German fluently.

This cowboy appears to be getting conflicting instructions from the two brothers.

The US can no longer lay claim to “cowboy culture”. I’ve seen a countless horses and full-time cowboys in Central/South America, a lot more than you see driving through North America.

The cattle are a mix of Hereford (calm, gain weight fast) and Brahman (hardy, can handle the heat). The breeding is still a bit hit and miss, some of them appear to be almost pure Hereford or Brahman.

Werner is also a dentist and runs a clinic together with his son.

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