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Home, Home on the…Steppes?

Russian herdsman Leonid Agibalov worked alongside a team of Montana cowboys to help build a cattle ranch. Photograph by Ryan Bell.

A great migration is underway in the world of ranching. Cowboys from the United States, Canada, and Australia are taking cattle by the thousands to Russia and Kazakhstan. Why? To help solve major food security problems.

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia and Kazakhstan's cattle populations dropped by 50 percent. These countries spend U.S. $4 billion a year importing red meat to feed their people. To reverse the trend, their governments loaned $10 billion for their farmers to import breeding cattle, equipment, and cowboy expertise.

" To date, some 150,000 cattle and 100s of cowboys have called the Eurasian steppes their new home on the range. In 2010, I was one of them, working on a cowboy crew that transplanted 1,450 Black Angus from Montana to Russia. Now, five years later, I'm going back to see what's become of the cattle industry I helped to create. @comradecowboys @natgeo @the_fulbright_program #FutureOfFood A photo posted by Ryan Bell (@comradecowboys) on Sep 18, 2015 at 7:56am PDT   "

For the next nine months I will journey through Russia and Kazakhstan researching their emergent beef industries. I’ll collect data to measure how well these countries are meeting their food security goals. I’ll visit grocery stores, restaurants, and kitchens to understand beef’s role in the local cuisines.

Along the way, I'll write about the adventure for National Geographic's Voices and The Plate blogs.

Here are more ways to follow along:

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The National Geographic Society is a global nonprofit organization that uses the power of science, exploration, education and storytelling to illuminate and protect the wonder of our world. Since 1888, National Geographic has pushed the boundaries of exploration, investing in bold people and transformative ideas, providing more than 15,000 grants for work across all seven continents, reaching 3 million students each year through education offerings, and engaging audiences around the globe through signature experiences, stories and content. To learn more, visit www.nationalgeographic.org or follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook.