tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2632055767270986594.post6115581061978373423..comments2024-03-24T01:10:24.855-07:00Comments on The American Cowboy Chronicles: Size of Ranches In America TodayTom Correahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08433984644973794278noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2632055767270986594.post-12683697882589294862023-12-10T06:32:00.392-08:002023-12-10T06:32:00.392-08:00Hello Tom, Terry here. Being a working cowboy (ret...Hello Tom, Terry here. Being a working cowboy (retired now) I would as the Montana Rancher where he is from? Yes, having a large ranch is a benefit, no doubt but there are many people who have small ranches or what I would call small family ranches with less acres but these folks still work hard to survive. Sometimes the may only have to 650 acres (one section) or less and only run a small amount of cattle, maybe only 50 to 70 head or even a little less, in order to turn a small profit and feed their own family's. No different than a larger company that lets say makes furniture and a small family who makes the same product but makes far less money in sales. Montana today has been invaded by the far left ideology so my question is simple, Is this Montana rancher one of socialist views who came to Montana and looks down on others as the left does? And yes, Montana has been invaded by many of these type of individuals. I have seen it because I lived in Wyoming for about 20 years and we in Wyoming use to shake our heads about the way Montana has been overrun in many places within Montana. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2632055767270986594.post-89218208277852612272022-12-12T11:39:12.096-08:002022-12-12T11:39:12.096-08:00I think what many people do not realize is that th...I think what many people do not realize is that the number of cattle a ranch will sustain depends on where the property is located, the fertility of the soil, whether there is enough acreage to move the cattle from pasture to pasture to allow grass regrowth, the type of grass available and whether it is properly tested and fertilized to maintain the correct amount of nutrients, and whether the rancher uses part of the acreage to cut and bale hay for the winter. Obviously, ranches in the far north or in arid areas are going to require more acreage to sustain a herd than ranches in the more southern and wetter areas of the USA. Therefore, acres required to sustain “X” number of cattle can vary widely. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2632055767270986594.post-89307332529916505532022-02-16T13:51:10.061-08:002022-02-16T13:51:10.061-08:00Thank you Tom and God bless! I found your articl...Thank you Tom and God bless! I found your article very interesting and enlightening. A novelist (as well as a minister) I checked into your space to gather ideas for a 4th novel, I plan to locate in Nevada. The "dude" from Montana would be perfect for the antagonist. I have family who have been close to the earth with farming and the rodeo circuit. You reinforced a life style that I was trying to grasp (grew up in Los Angels) Mom was a farm girl, dad knew farming from working summers for his sister and brot her in law on their farm in Ohio. It kind of rubbed off, reason I'm out of big city into Oregon. Thank you for your service to our Country and saving those horses. I cringe when I hear of animal cruelty. God Bless. Chaplain Peg Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03344251648848619080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2632055767270986594.post-9756351892062908332022-01-13T17:28:30.705-08:002022-01-13T17:28:30.705-08:00Hello Cynthia,
Since the average farm/ranch size ...Hello Cynthia, <br />Since the average farm/ranch size in California is 328 acres as of 2017, I'd say 1,000 acres is not bad for a storyline. But you may want to increase that size to 3,000. That's true since you are growing almonds and grapes as well. I know two cattle producers who run about 400+ head of cattle each. One has close to 500 acres and he runs his 400+ cattle operation more like a feedlot where he supplements their feed simply because he really doesn't have the grass to support them. The other rancher has scaled back from his 600 to 800 head operation to run about 300 to 400 head these days simply because the cost of doing business is so high. He has about 4,000 acres. In his case, he leases part of his property (I believe about 800 acres) to a big winery. As for his cattle? He has the grass and rotates pastures to take care of 400 head. Each operation comes with it's own set of pluses and minuses. Just so you know, the average size of a vineyard in California is only about 80 acres. But they only account for about 2 percent of all wine made in California. According to a 2018 report, more than half the total vineyard area is on farms with 500 or more acres of vineyard. Here's something else, only 89 vineyards in California are larger than 1,500 acres. Those 89 vineyards produce about 30 to 40 percent of all wine in California. So now, to answer your question if 1,000 acres is enough acreage to accommodate 200 head, almond orchards, and a vineyard? Well yes, it could. It is very possible. But, if your fictional ranch/vineyard family is going to be one of the biggest vineyards in California, than you need to make that fictional ranch/vineyard/orchard property at least 3,000 acres. Just my suggestion. I hope I helped. Until later, good luck with your books, and please don't hesitate to contact me if you need more input. Best wishes, TomTom Correahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08433984644973794278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2632055767270986594.post-6270343838613247722022-01-13T08:49:25.923-08:002022-01-13T08:49:25.923-08:00Interesting, and I'll look for your book. I...Interesting, and I'll look for your book. I'm doing a little research for a fiction book I'm working on. Question: my hero's fictional ranch is in Ca foothills, raising cattle, an almond orchard, and of course a vineyard. Is 1,000 acres enough? 200 head of cattle? Possible? I know for fiction I can almost say anything, but I want to be in the ballpark. I grew up in El Dorado county (where I rode my horses-pretending I was a cowgirl), lived in Calaveras, now live in San Joaquin. I've written 3 books that will probably get lost on Amazon (self published), but I still write for the love of it. (screw the guy in Montana, lol). Thanx, Cynthia A. Ruth.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04846542413315307527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2632055767270986594.post-25504058468078400552018-11-30T19:25:45.271-08:002018-11-30T19:25:45.271-08:00I have seen it in combat, and combat wounded, vete...<br />I have seen it in combat, and combat wounded, veterans. Thinly veiled leers, open displays of disrespect, or contempt are proffered. All in the smug the name of who is, or should be, most worthy of recognition and respect. Exercises to grade and value others' worth and accomplishments through self serving metrics. Units of measure that are arbitrary, capricious and hollow at their moral and ethical cores. It is willfully chosen arrogance. Some wretched souls simply have to shore up their self worth and character by arbitrarily denigrating the same in others. <br /><br />America has always had her social and political elitists. But is has always been the every day citizens, shop keepers, small scale farms/ranches, and common soldiers that make possible and preserve the liberties for our economy and society to prosper. The little people came and succeeded first. We were mostly an agrarian economy. Many (perhaps most) cut, carved, hewed, sweated, bled, and died for tiny plots of land or small related businesses/shops.<br /><br />Laboring all day in a hot, humid, summer field, while mowing, raking, baling, hauling, and offloading hay is hard work be it in Montana or Virginia. Cold, painfully stiff hands from doing winter chores feel the same on a Pennsylvania homestead as they would be in a Nebraska winter. Hot is hot, cold is cold, pain is pain, sweat is sweat. honest labor is honest labor. Of course scale of size in an operation is a factor. Scale of sanctimony should not manifest itself at all.<br /><br />Ranching and farming are sub-cultures - chosen ways of life among very unique people of like mind and spirit. Like is claimed in other circles, size does not matter. There is no healthy reason for people to build artificial hierarchies to distinguish themselves from other people (in their own mind). The case in point here is who or what is a real rancher? Who is most worthy? What proves one rancher is inherently superior as measured pretty much on any scale. Children are introduced to this concept of a person's character by reading The Emperor's New Clothes.les, size does not really matter - except to those that need to create vain hierarchies. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06987743402284225731noreply@blogger.com