Crossed rangeland or pastures (such as fields with sheep or cows) in England. Have I been to a farm as far as U.S. Customs / Agriculture is concerned?

Question

When entering the United States of America and probably other countries, one of the questions asked is: “Have you been on a farm recently?”.

When hiking in England or neighbouring countries, the footpath or public right of way frequently crosses a field that is shared with sheep or cows.

I have recently hiked in England and in neighbouring countries. During those hikes, I have crossed fields with sheep or cows¹. Does that by itself mean I should answer “yes” to the question “Have you been on a farm recently”? I'm not sure if pastures or rangeland counts as a farm. Rangeland in some countries, such as in northern Scandinavia, is very extensive and lightly grazed, with the situation not very different from grazing by wild animals.

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¹I have since cleaned my boots.

Answer 1

Being on a farm is obviously not a crime. The customs controls simply want to make sure that you're not carrying any livestock parasites on your clothing or inside your luggage. In case of doubt mark that section with a "Yes" and have a short conversation with the customs officer about what you did in England. You are pretty much guaranteed to have no troubles or significant delays because of this.

Answer 2

The question is split nowadays. It is now totally unambiguous.

They used to ask something along the lines of "have you been on a farm", but last time I travelled (May 2018), there were two questions:

• I am bringing (...) (d) soil or have been on a farm/ranch/pasture
• I have (We have) been in close proximity of livestock (such as touching or handling)

Source: CBP (U.S. Federal Government, public domain)

I answered the first question with yes, the second question with no.

Then nothing happened any differently from other times I crossed the border.