Argentina is world famous for its cattle industry and has been for over 400 years, when Spanish cattle began multiplying rapidly on the free ranges of the highly fertile Pampas around Buenos Aires. From the legendary King Ranch of Texas, to the infamous western outlaw duo of Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid, cattle ranchers have always found their way to Argentina over the centuries in search of good lands, hospitable climates and affordable prices. However, today it is not only the cattle industry that beckons foreigners to Argentina, but the general agricultural sector as well, demonstrating the continuing growth of the country’s agricultural economy into a world class player.

Argentina is about one third of the size of the continental United States, stretching about 2,300 miles from north to south and encompassing a dizzying array of climates that range from dense tropical jungles in the north, to sub arctic in the south. Between these extremes are found large areas of exceptional agricultural productivity, covering an incredible variety of crops, which has put Argentina on the map as one of the largest producers of food in the world today. The west of the country, bounded by the Andes mountains, is home to a thriving viticulture industry that produces fine wines recognized the world over for their quality and consistency year after year. Centered around Mendoza, in the arid region at the foot of the towering Andes Mountains, this industry traces its’ roots far back into Argentine history, to early European settlers who brought their wine making skills with them to the new world. This area is also a major center for growing a wide variety of fruits and citrus crops and is also known for its’ vast olive orchards, which support a substantial export market of olives and olive oil.

Farther south rests Patagonia, the vast arid land of the great Estancias, large sheep ranches that sometimes cover over a million acres. This region actually begins nestled up against the southern Andes in an area of much higher rainfall, where alpine forests and sapphire blue lakes give way to low mountains and snow melt rivers full of trout and salmon. Moving east from the mountains, the climate becomes drier, and the terrain quickly transforms into vast rolling lands well suited to sheep raising and limited livestock operations. The climate here has cold winters and little rain, and thus most commercial agriculture takes place north of this land in the more temperate climates. It was in the mountains of the far west of Patagonia that Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid established their cattle ranch, nestled in a deep valley and thus protected from the harsh winters. They actually pioneered the practice of sheltering cattle ranches in these deep alpine valleys in Argentina, a practice that is still successfully followed to this day in the spectacular scenery of Patagonia.

On the central eastern Atlantic coast of Argentina are found the phenomenally fertile Pampas, which extend some 300 miles in all directions from the capitol, Buenos Aires. Once known solely for the millions of cattle and horses that roamed freely across the vast grassy plains, the Pampas are now also home to a wide variety of crops, including many cereals, grains, vegetables and a rapidly expanding percentage of soy beans. Argentina is now one of the largest producers of soy beans in the world, and is increasing production each year. In very large areas of Argentina, wide varieties of crops will grow well, the magic blend of soils and climates that is so elusive in many parts of the world being the rule here rather than the exception. Many areas of Argentina not previously used much for farming are now coming into production, as modern farming methods and new seed varieties make lands once used primarily for cattle more profitable to farm. Many a cattle rancher has sold his herd and converted to farming, while many others have gladly sold their cattle lands to farmers at a handsome profit and purchased a bigger spread in areas still well suited to cattle than farming.

It is a rare time of opportunity in Argentina now, and many changes are taking place in the cattle and agricultural sectors, opening up a myriad of possibilities for cattle ranchers, farmers and land investors. The impact of technology and the global market place has been powerful these last few years here, and the dynamics of farming and ranching in Argentina are undergoing a profound and fundamental synthesis. As farming moves farther into traditional cattle areas, the price of cattle land, which plummeted with all other land prices in the Peso devaluation of 2001, is rising steadily as the land seeks a new value based upon its’ economic productivity as farmland. As the cattle ranchers either convert their lands to farms, or sell their lands to farmers and seek other suitable ranch land with their profits, they in turn are fueling a new land market in previously ignored lands once thought of as marginal. These lands, quite adequate for raising cattle, are seeing a steady rise in value as well, presenting opportunities for investors to buy large tracts of land at low prices and to resell them a short time later at solid profits.