How many acres do you own?

[Citydude]

I really don't like this question. When you ask it of a real farmer, you might as well be asking them how much money they have saved or how much money they make.

I own 5 acres, my wife (farmers daughter) much more than 5 acres. But I don't know how many and there is a reason I don't know. I'm keeping it that way.

There are many farming and ranching operations in my area that are asset rich ( land) and cash poor.

 

[Mtsoxfan]

I really don't like this question. When you ask it of a real farmer, you might as well be asking them how much money they have saved or how much money they make.

I own 5 acres, my wife (farmers daughter) much more than 5 acres. But I don't know how many and there is a reason I don't know. I'm keeping it that way.

That's why I said if it bothers you, don't respond. People like talking about it, it seems...

 

[MossRoad]

Lol, they make more than you! Just a guess

YA! I'm pretty sure.

 

[Yander]

That's why I said if it bothers you, don't respond. People like talking about it, it seems...

Yep, most farmers don't.

 

[bigtiller]

33 acres and all of it is row cropped except a spot on a knoll for the house, tin shed and cell ph. tower.

And I bought and paid for it with my own money, no generational wealth here.

 

[Krazi]

YA! I'm pretty sure.

5 here. Yard,flowers,garden a little grove and a cabin with a wood burner. About 15 mile from my in town home

 

[3gunr]

5 at my house and 200 at my farm 10 acres of crp about 25 in old fields and the rest in woods.

 

[steve tym]

I really don't like this question. When you ask it of a real farmer, you might as well be asking them how much money they have saved or how much money they make.

I own 5 acres, my wife (farmers daughter) much more than 5 acres. But I don't know how many and there is a reason I don't know. I'm keeping it that way.

Huh. I never thought of it as a personal question.

 

[Yander]

Huh. I never thought of it as a personal question.

Which is why I posted what I did. But think about it for a second. You ask a farmer how much land he owns, what are you really asking? Your asking how rich he is. It is essentially the same thing. Now, I walk up to you in a first time meet and you tell me you are a CEO of a company and I ask you how much money you make. That is a pretty inappropriate thing to ask. But you meet a farmer for the first time and ask him how much land he owns and that is socially acceptable, except to some farmers.

Most of the people who have weighed in on this thread have posted they own less than 100 acres. Not really a measure of how wealthy you are at all. But someone who posts that they own 2,000 acres, now that is a different picture of that person's wealth isn't it?

 

[steve tym]

Which is why I posted what I did. But think about it for a second. You ask a farmer how much land he owns, what are you really asking? Your asking how rich he is. It is essentially the same thing. Now, I walk up to you in a first time meet and you tell me you are a CEO of a company and I ask you how much money you make. That is a pretty inappropriate thing to ask. But you meet a farmer for the first time and ask him how much land he owns and that is socially acceptable, except to some farmers.

Most of the people who have weighed in on this thread have posted they own less than 100 acres. Not really a measure of how wealthy you are at all. But someone who posts that they own 2,000 acres, now that is a different picture of that person's wealth isn't it?

I guess to some extent it's a picture of wealth. Where I'm from, a building lot is worth between 100 and 200 grand. Someone that owns 10 acres of prime building land could be worth quite a bit. I always assumed out west where people own large tracts of land, that the land itself wasn't that valuable or expensive. If I asked a farmer with thousands of acres of land, I wouldn't be calculating his wealth, but rather how much work / how hard he works, how many people he can feed, the logistics of managing the land ect. When I was in Nebraska, I was fasinated to learn how pivot sprinklers work (I'm in the well business, so that really worked for me).
Thanks for the education(?).