COMPACT TRACTOR SUCCESS STORY
Country living W
ABOVE: Connie and Gary Becker of Billings, Mont., with their Bobcat CT230 compact tractor. TOP RIGHT: A Becker Ridge Pines sign. BOTTOM RIGHT: Gary Becker demonstrates the convenience of the Bobcat compact tractor’s front-end loader and bucket when cleaning his horse stalls.
“When we purchased a 1-acre alfalfa fi eld and built our house in 1973, we generally had the area to ourselves,” Becker says. “Over the years, more and more of the surrounding property has been annexed by the city and developers have built up the land around us. However, we still relish our country lifestyle.”
That’s possible because a decade ago the Beckers purchased an adjacent 16 acres, creating a ranch-like property they call Becker Ridge Pines. So while their house sits within an acre of a subdivision, they still have plenty of space for a barn and pasture for their horses.
10 WorkSaver Homeowner with Acreage | EARLY FALL 2011
still enjoyable for Montana couple
When Gary and Connie Becker moved to rural Yellowstone County in Montana, they accomplished their goal of getting away from the closed-in feeling of city life. And while they have immensely enjoyed living in the country, the city of Billings, Mont., has followed them.
“About 25 years ago, we offered to take care of the 16 acres next to our property,” Becker says. “It was owned by an elderly couple in town and they allowed us to rent the pasture to people with horses. They received the rent income and we kept our horses on the property. We took care of the land like it was our own and eventually purchased it.”
Today the Beckers put fi ve horses on the pasture — their own four quarter horses and one owned by a neighbor. The pasture is divided into four sections by a permanent fence made of railroad ties as posts and no-climb horse fencing, a grid pattern of sturdy wire.
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