By these standards I go from small to average several times a year. I more or less do a stocker OPERATION. I recon a cattle operation can be any number of head. It has never occured to me if I'm average. Most of the folks around me have cattle. I don't have any idea how many. They manage their herd as they see fit. As far as anyone being a large operation I would define it more along the lines as is this their only income. Someone with only 10 head, and they make their living on those 10 head would be a large operation. I guess someone on disability or social security could supplement their income with as few as 10 head. There are few here on this board that I would consider large operators. I have yet to find one of them that looks down on us small timers. Most of them have been in the business long enough to realize that us small timers have a big impact on the cattle market. One person with 1000 head is the same as 100 people with 10 head. At the feedstores that one person carries a lot of clout. Those 100 people also make a big impression just on the personal contact alone. Those 100 people have a lot to say about what the industry's demands are. If all the small operations were to sit out just one week, and not carry anything to market, it would have a dramatic impact on the cattle industry.
Right or wrong this is just my thoughts.