How do you ask?

[ranger 3]

How do you ask a farmer if you can cut a Hedge tree on his property?

[broketooth]

just ask him, whats the worst he's gonna say, no?

[Pat B]

Bring a few of your bows with you to show him. Be polite, tell him you will clean up after yourself and make firewood with whatever you don't use. The worse he can say is no.

[1oldbowguy]

Let him know why you wish to cut it and how you intend to use it.  He may be a bow hunter himself and think it is a great idea and give you a hand.  Like broketooth said, the worst he can say is no.

[hova]

depending on what he farms , he might be ecstatic to have you cut it down. some farmers/people just hate osage.

-hov

[Stiks-n-Strings]

Most all the farmers around these parts want it gone.    I'll take it!

[Walt Francis]

I have been lucky in all my searches for Osage.  Before my in-laws passed, they always had farms/ranches set up for me to cut some Osage whenever we visited them in Missouri.  Both times I went to MO for Osage after they were gone I drove the back roads around Mt. Vernon until I saw some trees that looked good and stopped and asked if I could cut a tree.  As Pat suggested, I took a couple of my bows to the door with me to show the landowners what the final product would be when I asked.  The first place I asked the landowner wanted a fee, which wasn't unreasonable, but his attitude prompted me to try elsewhere.  The next three places I went permission was granted as long as I cleaned up after my self.  On one of these places, I cut and stacked all the wood for use in the fireplace (I did warn them that Osage burns hot and may burn a hole in the stove) and on the other two places, I cut fence posts and made brush piles for rabbits and quail with the left over branches.  In addition, even though none of the owners expected it, I made each one of them a bow from a stave taken from their property.  Making them a bow was the least I could do even though they had already given me invitations to return in the future if I wanted to cut more Hedge.
 
If you think about it, I was extremely fortunate to have a 75% success rate when asking to cut these trees.  What would you do if somebody drove up in a truck with out of state plates (Montana) and wanted to cut down some of your trees?  Anyway, it doesn't hurt to try asking, especially if you are a local.  On all these places, asking worked for me as a total stranger because I mentioned my in-laws had lived in the area.  One other thing I noticed, which may or may not have any correlation, was that all three of the places I got permission on were well kept ranches/farms while the one who wanted a fee was, to put it nicely, a dump.

[Goose Gossett]

If it is a local place that you will be cutting down the tree offer to help in another area.  I know of a traditional bowhunter who found land to hunt on by helping redo a roof, I've offered to help cut down small pines on terraces to clean up an area, and if you are gifted in other areas you could offer your skills.  May sweeten up the deal and just my $.02.

[b.glass]

Kinda like asking permission to hunt.

[Dean Marlow]

Watch your local newspapers. Farmer cut hedge for fence posts then advertise them in the papers for sale. Watch real close in the next few months and you may be able to get some already cut. I have gotten several nice logs that way. We have a couple of little local newspapers that come and I have put in them wanted hedge posts and you will get some calls. Dean

[KellyG]

Heck I see the row after row get cut in Kansas pushed in a pile and burned. I never seem to see the doing it. I would stop and help if they let me have a log or two. One day a hedge row the next stumps, next pushed in a pile.

[Diamondback59]

like kelly says i was in kan last week goin down i  35  the state road crew was cuttin stackin it in piles  for a new frontrange road i stopped asked   they told me help ur self i brought home 3 nice log s brock