Am I a cattle rancher? A short quiz to help Matt Rosendale figure it out

Matt Rosendale says he is a rancher. He also says he is a straight shooter. I think, however, he might be a little confused as to what a rancher is and also the definition of a straight shooter. But do not fret folks. I have created this short quiz to help him, his staff and anyone else who is uncertain of their cattle ranching status. Floundering around in the confusing world of agricultural identities is a scary place to be.

Taking my own quiz I learned I am not a cattle rancher.

Let’s begin. Answer each question to the best of your abilities.

AM I A CATTLE RANCHER?

1. Do I own, or have I ever owned, cattle?

Yes or No

[If you said no, please skip to the end of the quiz.]

2. When I wake up at 3:00 a.m. during calving season I have to:

a. check the heifers

b. when is calving season?

[if you chose b, please skip to the end of the quiz]

3.The thing that keeps me up at night is:

a. cattle markets

b. drought

c. if my kids will want to take over the ranch

d. the future of family farms and ranches in Montana

e. other things/cattle are not a primary source of income for my family

[if you chose e, please skip to the end of the quiz]

4.When you are not serving the people of Montana in Helena you are:

a. traveling back to the ranch (the ranch where you keep the cattle you own) as often as possible to help your wife and kids manage the ranch.

b. traveling back to the ranch to bird hunt

[if you chose b, please skip to the end of the quiz]

5.When you need to prove to the media you really are a rancher you:

a. show them your sales tickets from the auction yard

b. you take them out to see the cattle that you own

c. challenge your political opponent to a fence fixing contest

[if you chose c, please skip to the end of the quiz]

6.A typical day on the ranch involves:

a. bird hunting

b. helping out the neighbors and/or the people (i.e. ranchers) that lease your land for their cattle

c. fixing fence, checking water and mineral, feeding, fixing equipment, moving cattle, branding, castrating, fixing water pipes, replacing pumps, driving to town for parts, swearing

[If you chose a, please skip to the end of the quiz. If you chose, b, good for you, that is a very nice gesture of community support and friendship but if that is a typical day you should probably still skip to the end of the quiz]

If you were sent to the end of the quiz at any point, you are not a cattle rancher.

Obviously, I’m not the final say on who is a rancher and who isn’t. Someone like Wally McRae might be though.

I’ll give Rosendale this. He seems to own some land.