Neighbors Cows coming onto my land (Georgia)

[Stonewall]

So I just planted my foodplots over the weekend. Just got this pic on my trail cam. My neighbors on both sides have cows (not sure whose these are), I do not have any livestock and do not want any on my land. Last fall and winter they were in my plots too. I called the neighbors then and the problem went away. Now here we are again, just in time for deer season. In addition to my foodplots, I just spent thousands in the off season planting loblolly, site prep, etc....so they are not only ruining my foodplots, they are potentially ruining my investment as well.

Is anyone familiar with the laws in GA in terms of whether or not the fences are my responsibility or theirs? The land I own has been in my family for generations, and the neighbors have been there for 30+ years as well so it isn't like me or one of them are some new hothead in town. But I'm starting to lose a little patience and am wanting to understand legally how this should be working before I start making phone calls. Any advice is welcome

 

[OkieKubota]

I would think that fencing in your livestock would be on the livestock owners...

Having said that I border 1 cow guy and he has a raggedy fence that we try to keep up pretty good along our north boundary but the problem is that his fence is horrible along his east and west so if cows get out that side there was no fence separating them from our land since most all of the land up there is unfenced. The very first thing we did when we closed was 1. Survey 2. Dozer clearing boundary. 3. Fence... Literally... Surveyor was marking. Dozer was chasing surveyor and we were chasing dozer with new fencing. Cows and dogs used to just live on our place all fall and all winter.

Got the cows off and thought dogs were under control until 3 of the yappers came running through while I was looking over my plots yesterday

 

[Needmorebrush82]

I had the same issue and plan to build a substantial fence this winter. I bought a chunk from a family and their cattle were all over the place. I quickly had a dozer come in and put up a large hotwire fence. I only had to do a mile of fence which I did in one day so it was not that big of a deal. This spring I will be building the real fence and they paid for it. When purchasing the property I told them I needed $4k for fencing and my time or they could build it to my like. They argued so I tacked on the cost of a 20ft tin horn and gravel and then they happily agreed to take my check and subtract the $4k from the amount owed. They knew if they didn't play along that I could basically make them fence it since it is their cattle and not mine. Stand strong and let the neighbors know you do not want cattle and you will be charging pasture rent to recover your lost investment on the property. My neighbor immediately offered me exclusive access to hunt his 240 in return for his cattle being on my place for a couple months. The trick is you have to do this when you are new to the area and unpredictable or they will call your bluff. I went to the guys house and by the end we had a simple understanding that if I had cows in front of my stand that's great steak is on the menu. I also pointed out that in the contract it stated any livestock left on my place by a certain date was considered my property. I didn't plan on taking his cattle but used it as leverage. Do not sit back and wait, you will be the only one out! I don't go looking for conflict but addressing a problem head on in immediate fashion is the only way.

 

[Kabic]

I looked, but didn't see any State fence laws for Georgia. In some states (Wisconsin, Iowa, etc.) each land owner is required to pay for half the the fence, even if one of the neighbors doesn't have livestock.

 

[Podad]

I don't think you would be required to supply a fence. A picture like you posted shared with the landowners in the area should get quick results. That is about $4000 to $5000 worth of property showing in just this image.

One of those getting into the path of an automobile will generate a lot of interest in the owner building better fences/gates.

Good luck on resolving this.

 

[Kujo]

As a rancher with cows in Missouri I know if my neighbor doesn't have livestock then I am responsible for the fence. If both parties have livestock then if you stand on your property and look at the fence you are responsible for the half on your right hand side. Most cattle men will understand your frustration be firm but polite who knows you may end up with more property to hunt when it's all said and done. Of course there are some who don't know how many cows they have let alone where they are. Good luck

 

[swat1018]

In Indiana you are responsible for the right half of the line, livestock or not. That's what I've always been told.

 

[OkieKubota]

Here if you want a fence you just build it. I built ours and never asked a dime of the neighbors because I am sure me approaching them to put them in a financial bind at my convenience would have went over like a poop sandwich...if they were the cattle owner I would think it is fully 100% their responsibility if you have no cattle.

I had to fence our place because the cattle would get out of the cow guys place onto another neighbor and then just walk right into our place. Now that doesn't happen and I have the advantage of a hard property line...

 

[buckdeer1]

You should be able to track them back to where they came in and may be able to fix fence there,if not let them know you don't want them there and will bill them per day to feed or call the sheriff

 

[MarkDarvin]

Depending on damage and frequency, find a friend that has a cattle trailer nearby. When they come over, keep one and send it to the butcher. Fence fixing gets damn serious when the herd starts vanishing. Before you go scorched earth, Buckdeer1 is right. It should be pretty easy to figure out which side they came from. Look for shitty fence, scalped pasture, empty feeders, crap growing into the hot wire etc.

 

[catscratch]

The cattle owner stands to loose a lot of money if his herd comes up missing. He also may be use to his cattle just returning sometime. I live in cattle country and I know a lot of ranchers. Many of them check their herd everyday, do head counts, and keep good records. Many of them check their herd once a week and if they are short assume that the neighbor they end up on will eventually call him to come get them.
It sounds like you might be dealing with the second one. I don't know the State laws where you are at, but I sure wouldn't wait to long to find out and to make contact with the owner.

 

[OkieKubota]

1 good thing came about the neighbors cows eating our food plots to the ground in 2014 was that the guy really felt bad about it and gave us permission to hunt his ground which increased our hunting area there to over 300 acres. I have hunted it a few times but every deer has come off of our own small property but I did shoot a hog across the fence once...We aren't the only folks with permission and the gun seasons tend to get pretty busy in there...

 

[Podad]

Looks like your camera is one that sends the pics. Have you seen the cows anymore?

 

[Buckly]

You will find it's their responsibility but, just to save yourself some headaches right now I would do some looking around. It's usually just one place they are getting through and you can patch it up to save your stuff. Then find out who's cows they are and work on getting the fence fixed more permanent with the owner.

 

[Stonewall]

Looks like your camera is one that sends the pics. Have you seen the cows anymore?

Not since the other day, but when I was there planting last saturday, I saw manure in the woods and near the plot, so they are definitely coming over periodically. I have been unable to reach either neighbor. Ring ring, no answer, no ability to leave vmail.

I called the county sherriff's dept, didnt give my name or address but just presented the situation and question, and they said fence up keep could go either way, but that generally speaking the owner should be responsible for his animals if they cause any damage to my property. Said I would need to take pictures of damage and then they could send a deputy out. I'm going to hold off on calling the law to come out at this point until I can get back up to the property and see what the situation is. If it is simply a hole, that is not something I want to start a feud over. If there is an open gate or a huge gap/something suggesting he might be intentionally letting them access my property, that will be another story.

I got a 1300 ft roll of barbed wire and a box of staples yesterday. The area where the property line is, is wooded with my mature timber, so I plan on using my trees as posts to close any gaps. The original fence was put up my the previous owner of my land, back in 1938. My family purchased in 1950. In the meantime the neighbors have become livestock farmers and have simply made repairs to our fence, so I am hoping it will be easy for me to find where they are coming through. Guessing there might even be a trail. I can't get back to the property until next weekend (10/29), so hopefully they don't do too much damage between now and then.

 

[blumsden]

I hate free grazing and free grazers. It's really hard for me to believe keeping the fences up would be anybody other than the landowner that has the cows and fence is on their property. Has anybody bought a damn steak lately? They can afford to keep up their fences and if they don't get sued because of it. Build you a corral and start putting his cows in the corral. When they come up missing, maybe he'll do something. My neighbors cows get out all the time. He has some of the worst fences i've ever seen. A long time ago we had a big problem on our club with cows getting onto the property. Nothing like going and checking on your plots, only to see them eaten to the ground with 5 cows standing in them. His cows mysteriously started coming up missing. He was not taking ownership of the cows, so they no longer belonged to him. Keep livestock and your dogs on your property. I don't want either on mine.

 

[Stonewall]

Today I am mailing neighbors a hand written letter with the words below, and am including an 8x11 of the picture:

"Hi ______,
This is your neighbor, ________ __________. __________ ________ was my grandfather and I purchased the property from his estate a couple of years ago. If you could please check the fence at your earliest convenience, I would greatly appreciate it. I have recently planted pine seedlings as well as other crops, and am concerned about damage from the cows.
If you ever need anything from me or have any concerns, I hope you will not hesitate to give me a call.
Thank you,
______ _______
(my number)"

Will update this thread once I get back from my next trip up to the property. Hopefully they will fix the issue before I get up there.....

 

[lakngolf]

I feel your pain. As documented on this and the old forum, I have issues with neighbors cows. We all know each other and are friendly, fix fences together, but it still sucks. My Dad raised cows for years, and if his cows got onto someone else, he got them back and he fixed the fence. Period. My neighbor cow owners have pretty much the same attitude but we have a lot of old fences between us, so it is quite a chore. Good luck with your letter. That is a good start

 

[T-Max]

Today I am mailing neighbors a hand written letter with the words below, and am including an 8x11 of the picture:

"Hi ______,
This is your neighbor, ________ __________. __________ ________ was my grandfather and I purchased the property from his estate a couple of years ago. If you could please check the fence at your earliest convenience, I would greatly appreciate it. I have recently planted pine seedlings as well as other crops, and am concerned about damage from the cows.
If you ever need anything from me or have any concerns, I hope you will not hesitate to give me a call.
Thank you,
______ _______
(my number)"

Will update this thread once I get back from my next trip up to the property. Hopefully they will fix the issue before I get up there.....

This shouldn't offend anybody. We have cattle and if we got a letter like this we would call immediately.

 

[Podad]

Today I am mailing neighbors a hand written letter with the words below, and am including an 8x11 of the picture:

"Hi ______,
This is your neighbor, ________ __________. __________ ________ was my grandfather and I purchased the property from his estate a couple of years ago. If you could please check the fence at your earliest convenience, I would greatly appreciate it. I have recently planted pine seedlings as well as other crops, and am concerned about damage from the cows.
If you ever need anything from me or have any concerns, I hope you will not hesitate to give me a call.
Thank you,
______ _______
(my number)"

Will update this thread once I get back from my next trip up to the property. Hopefully they will fix the issue before I get up there.....

I bet this will resolve the problem.

One thing that happens with cattle is that we stubborn men wont admit it when we get too old to handle farm chores. They want to keep the cattle operation so they have something to do. An uncle in law just recently quit the cattle business at the age of 90. He didn't sell the farm mind you, he leased it and still keeps an eye on the place.