TEXAS, USA, and Queensland are half a world apart, but their beef industries are strikingly similar.
Subscribe now for unlimited access to all our agricultural news
across the nation
or signup to continue reading
And not just because of the big hats.
Texas in early 2014 has been through the sort of industry-changing drought that is tearing the heart out of Queens-land's beef industry, and can offer a view from the other side.
Actually, not the other side, as Texas cattleman Bob McCan said: much of the US State is still in what has now been a five-year drought.
That applies to much of the western US, especially Cali-fornia, which is plunging into its worst drought on record.
What Mr McCan, the president-elect of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, can see is the other side of a cattle supply glut.
Mr McCan runs a 3500- head Braford herd at Victoria, in the centre of Texas.
He visited Australia last September and saw the saleyards jammed with cattle.
He'd seen similar scenes at home.
"I feel for your producers," he said.
In 2011, the US beef-producing heartland was in almost universal drought, and the interstate trading that keeps prices somewhat buoyant during regional droughts was absent.
During that time, Mr McCan offloaded some of his cull cows at 30 to 40 cents a pound (66 cents a kilogram to 88c/kg) - sums dismally familiar to Australian cattle producers today.
People were selling calves for less than US$1/lb ($2.20/kg), Mr McCan said.
During the run of drought-forced sales, the US cattle herd was depleted to levels not seen since 1952.
Now, the supply-demand equation has flipped, and cattle prices have soared.
Cows are selling for 80c/lb to 90c/lb ($1.75/kg to $2/kg), and calves from $1.75/lb ($3.85/kg) to more than $2/lb ($4.40/kg) for lighter animals.
It's excellent news for beef producers with cattle; less so for the many trying to restock.
In fact, Mr McCan said, many producers have abandoned the idea of restocking in the foreseeable future, and have turned their land over to other sources of income, like recreational hunting.
Mr McCan thinks this might apply to 15 to 20 per cent of Texas cattle producers.
His own operation is still 30pc to 35pc down on its full capacity.
He too offers recreational hunting.
"It's a challenge for financing and expansion," he said.
"If we didn't have our farm credit system, it would really be tough for producers in the US to buy back in at these kind of prices."
"It's an educational curve for some of our financiers to understand we might be paying $1700 to $1800, even above $2000, for a well-bred cow."
"On the other hand, if you're going to sell $1000 calves, it's kind of all relative. But it's taking time for the banks to acclimatise to that."
The US Farm Credit System is a nationwide network of lending institutions and services that are exempt from certain government taxes and fees so they can lend to rural businesses at competitive rates.
Developed in 1916, the system now provides more than $191 billion in loans, and services like insurance, to agriculture and other rural sectors.
It provides about a third of all loans to rural America.
"For those who are having equity problems, the Farm Credit System is turning into the best option."
But, Mr McCan said, even discounted lending hasn't been enough to help a percentage of producers.
A lot of older landholders have sold out.
It remains to be seen whether the same cycle occurs across the beef producing areas of eastern and northern Australia, where recovery from drought won't be helped by a farm credit system.
