A rude question ,a blowhard answer !

Often the urban visitor ask the cowman or the farmer "how many acres are in your place ? How many cows do you have ? " A good share of them don,t really care for this kind of questioning however some can't wait to blow about it if they have what they think is a big place .I used to run sheep and a neighbor of mine who delivered cake in the Jordan Mt area Said of a sheepman there "smith old Edwards has more sheepdogs than you have sheep ".Maybe it is not that way in other areas but in general this type of question is not well received ! I was antelope hunting with a city fellow north of Billings and he blurted out to this pig farmer "how many pigs do you have " With a sour look said " too dang many ". Talley Ho smith

I can see that. Like asking somebody how much they make year. I asked an egg man one time how many chickens he had. I guess maybe I was out of line. On the other hand I know him pretty well for a good number of years. Any way I think he said he had around 2 million chickens.

NEVER ask a man the size of his herd.

Totally inappropriate question to ask, and can get you invited to leave, or worse.



Charlie

Or someone who claims you are broke and only have 80 dollars in the bank like they know your personal finances!!! Right BC!!!

Me and a buddy kid about a statement an old farmer we knew years back when one guy mentioned a guys name and the old boy says, “He ain’t got no land”! To farmers the amount of land you have must set your worth, that was in MO 30 years ago.

When I was young, I was told askin how many acres or how many cattle was the same as askin someone in town how much money they had in the bank. If they thought it was any of your business they would tell you.

Instead, use the county appraisal website!

Being offended by someone asking how many cows you have must be a western thing.

That's still the rule. It's a rude question.

yep I don't know how many cows I have or acres. never added them up and hate the question.

Doesn't bother anyone I know here if you ask them he ow many acres you have.

I think those people are just trying to make small talk and start a conversation. They don't really know where to start is their issue.

If a guy has no cows and no land it seems like a respectable question really, it’s not tough to figure out here as most land is cut into square mile parcels.

When getting permission here they are quick to talk about quarters/acres/sections so it’s easy to piece together that way.

I think you know this becuse your to dang smart not to but just in case becuse you seem honestly hung up on it.

He was NOT REALLY saying you only had $80 in the bank and are broke close to being homeless or anything. He was saying a lot of mone to you or me is not much to a bank and won't have near the impact on them as you may think.

I know for me it's true. Heck it I took my entire land value investments and savings the total wouldn't hurt but maybe the smallest banks. And that's not all in cash in the bank but tied up in many other things.

Big no no. Don’t ask it. Rude to say the least. Heard it put this way when asking personal questions…no one wants to be the first liar. When asked what his beans made, one old boy said, “don’t know, haven’t been to the coffee shop yet”

The part the enquirer knows is the farmer is lucky. The part the farmer knows is, the harder he works the luckier he is. So ask away, lol.

I guess I would have to disagree with it being a rude question. Maybe in the past it was, but not so much now. I deal with a lot of cattle men and bring it up for small talk or out of curiosity. Just gives me an indication of how busy they are. A lot of times it's just a rounded figure not exact.

I don't keep up with cattle prices or land values, probably most who wonder don't either, so it's not like you're asking how much they make. They have a lot of expenses too, so it gives you no indication of their income.

Guilty! When looking on OnX about certain land in Montana there are quite a few BLM areas where the ranchers/owners allow hunting. I was asking one gentleman about the local turkey population on his land…I was wanting something like they’re looking good this year or we had bad hatch but there’s a few around. Instead I get “Well heck, I ain’t gone out and counted them” I realized right then I’d asked a question I probably shouldn’t have. But, he did tell me when I come out to give him a call and he’d let me know the most recent info on the birds.
And yeah, I did kill a turkey there and called him up afterwards and thanked him.

Interesting .I can see where eastern Montana ranchers would be offended because the number of acres of land and number of animals usually meets they have a pretty big spread to support the amount. It takes a lot of land to raise a good amount because the quality of the land is not the best in some places.
Now the other day I was visiting some city folks who just bought a 5 acre spread and we talked about their nice irrigated property and barns. I said it was a nice setup and they could raise a couple beef cattle for food. They said yea we just moved in a couple weeks ago and already someone wanted to lease our land for their cattle. I said well how many head did they want to put on there ? They said at least 8.Me being a nice guy I said no, do not let them lease it that's to many head. Some small time ranchers like to take advantage of city slicker types.

Almost weekly, customers ask me similar questions. I tell them them i have 10.347 acres of land. I tell them have 11,624 square feet of barn space, not counting lofts. I tell them that I don't know how many birds I have and that the numbers can change by well over 1000 in a day. When they ask how much I earn, I tell them I do alright.

Last week, I had someone text me that they wanted to buy all my chickens. I told them to bring at least $35,000.00 in cash. It turned out they really only wanted 6.

I frequently get people telling me to send them pictures of every bird I have for sale, so they can choose the one to few they want, not happening.

Keith

If only I had a dollar for every time some asked, can you make a living trapping, or how many coyotes or cats you catch and the price.

I prefer to ask the rancher if his wife has any single sisters.
That'll get your food in the door.

Never met a rancher or farmer who wouldn't tell you how many cows he had or ground he was working in normal conversation. No need to ask.

When someone asks me I just tell them I got enough to keep me out of trouble most of the time.

A WI retired dairy farmer and his wife were taking their first trip in 40 years and went to Texas. They met a rancher at the gas station and Frank begin the discussion. I am from WI we had 80 acres and we milked 30 cows and raised 5 children. How big is your farm he asked. Well it is not a farm it is a ranch and I can get up in the morning and drive west all day and still be on my land. Frank responded with yup I had a pickup truck like that once too.

Bryce

I’ll say it again, don’t ask these questions. You’re asking to see how much or less you should be impressed. Goes right along with “How much money you make?” Tell yourselves whatever you want but that’s what it is. I might be old fashioned and out of style but I’s born and raised on the farm and still at it.

Even if you did ask, I never knew it was a big deal. I know I've asked the question a few times and didn't seem to offend anyone. Guess I learned something here.

You win!

Or get the free app REGRID and see their boundary lines, how many acres, what they payed for it, amenities on the property .....etc

When asked my response is - too many most days and not enough on sale day

I had 2 cows and a calf out yesterday - that was 3 head more than I desired yesterday. 3 weeks ago, I wished I had 80 more calves to sell at the sale barn. This winter when I am fighting my tractor to start and feeding hay - I will wished I had none. This fall when my cows calve and I see the new "crop", I will sit back and be thankful for my small herd of 7 cows....
I have met very few ranchers or farmers who even on bad years wish they didn't own land. I believe God instills in us hope for a better harvest.......

You are correct. Take it from a guy who owns land and cows. It's rude.

And, I just answer: "enough."

Must be regional, not an issue in this region. Never had anyone get upset at the question, nor have I ever been upset when asked....