To survive, Mr Hanson is slowly building up a herd of bison on his property, has put up tourist cabins made from his own pine trees, and hopes to attract visitors who can be taken on photo shoots through the scenic Badlands.
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Investors who follow the herd often end up buying near the market top, riding it down, and then selling near the bottom.
In the distance, a straggling herd of wildebeest arced up and back into the grass like dolphins leaping from the water.
Sponsorship on all 10 cows in the herd has been snapped up by businesses ranging from a car dealership to a sun tanning salon.
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On Thursday morning, Mr Richards announced he would be selling up his own dairy herd as he could no longer afford to continue in the industry, an example that underlines the seriousness of the situation.
Now, at 43, he and his wife, Julie , have bought two ranches in southwest Montana-the 1, 800-acre Beaverhead Ranch, with 5 miles of the Beaverhead River running through it, and the 2, 000-acre Big Hole Ranch, which rises 1, 500 feet from the Big Hole River up to grazing land for a herd of 400 elk that borders a national forest.
Growing up, she and her sister had to herd 200 head of cattle as part of their chores.
But bizarrely as the size of the herd has gone down, the size of individual steers has gone up.
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Many migrants use their South African earnings to acquire a herd of cows (the main store of wealth in rural areas) or to set up a small business back home.
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