Land prices outrun livestock profits across Wyoming’s ranch country.
LARAMIE, Wyoming — Wyoming’s cattle industry has entered an exciting new era in which the only people who can afford to own a ranch are people who do not need the cattle. For a century, the cowboy’s business plan was straightforward: raise calves, sell calves, pay bills, repeat until dead. The modern version has six additional steps: attract outside capital, secure a commercial loan, hire a tax specialist, negotiate with heirs, investigate conservation agreements and marry someone whose father owns an investment bank. A horse remains optional. A wealthy father-in-law does not.Wyoming Ranch Land Prices: Working Ranchers Versus Scenery Buyers
In Wyoming, the old arrangement relied on neighbors buying neighboring ranches when families retired. But the latest Cowboy State Daily examination describes a market where working ranchers increasingly compete with buyers seeking scenery, recreation and investment property. One purchaser sees winter grazing, irrigation rights and replacement heifers. The other sees a view that would look magnificent behind a $38 artisanal cocktail. Guess which one can pay cash.Who Can Afford to Buy a Wyoming Ranch? Not the Cowboy
According to the USDA, Wyoming had 10,544 farms and ranches in the latest census, down from 11,938 in the one before. Yet the state’s agricultural land declined by less than 1%. The ground did not vanish. It simply became harder to obtain for people planning to do agriculture on it. Average farm size grew to 2,729 acres, which sounds impressive until you consider how much money is required to buy 2,729 acres and then keep the grass from being eaten by 600 unemployed mouths. A young cowboy approaching a banker once needed a herd, a plan and an honest handshake. Today the banker wants an equity statement, audited projections and proof that the applicant is not actually expecting cattle to pay for the property. A transcript of one recent loan interview, shared by an applicant who kept the recording, runs as follows. “What’s your collateral?” the banker asked. “Forty cows and a truck.” “The truck counts. What are the cows?” “Also collateral.” “They eat. That makes them an expense.” “What about my work ethic?” the cowboy asked. “Can you deposit it?” replied the banker.Beginning Rancher Numbers: Wyoming Is Moving the Wrong Way
It gets better. Nationally, the number of beginning producers rose 11% between the last two censuses, according to federal figures cited in the Wyoming report. Wyoming’s beginning-producer count fell 13%. Apparently young Americans still want to farm. They merely prefer states where the admission requirements stop short of discovering oil. The USDA Farm Service Agency does run direct and guaranteed loans aimed at beginning farmers and ranchers in their first ten years of operation. Those programs exist. A cowboy can apply. The ranch next door can still price him out of the building.
How to Own a Ranch Without Raising Anything
The recreational ranch offers a brilliant solution to the industry’s oldest problem: cows consume money. Replace them with a private fishing pond, three guest cabins and a promotional photograph of a cowboy you hired for the afternoon. Suddenly every acre is contributing to the owner’s emotional wellness. An actual rancher knows a fence is something you fix in a snowstorm. A recreational owner regards a fence as rustic charm, preferably installed by someone with liability insurance. One has a calving season. The other has a booking season. One wakes up at 3 a.m. because a heifer needs assistance. The other wakes up at 10 because the espresso machine is making a strange noise. A tab from a ranch lodge bar, reviewed for this report, lists two artisanal cocktails at $38 each, a $15 “pasture view surcharge” and an $11 cheese board, for a total of $102 before gratuity. The bartender confirmed the cheese board is the only dairy item on the property not produced by a cow the guest has personally met. Listings for recreational ranches have also begun carrying a line in the fine print. One reads: “Cattle operations may be conducted on the property at buyer’s discretion and at buyer’s loss.” To be fair, wealthy owners can preserve open space, and many large ranches remain family operated. The economic threat is not every newcomer with a checkbook. It is a market price that working cattle cannot justify.Ranch Succession Planning: Grandpa’s New Estate Plan
The family meeting now resembles a corporate merger. Grandpa wants the place preserved. Grandma wants retirement income. One child wants to ranch; another wants a distribution. The youngest has suggested selling branded hats online. Agricultural advisers, including the University of Wyoming’s succession planning team, recommend planning early, calculating actual operating income and discussing succession before the will becomes a combat sport. Families who want to keep the land working can also look at conservation easements through the Wyoming Stock Growers Land Trust. Those are sound precautions. They are also a remarkable development for a profession that once counted its assets by the number of cows standing in a pasture. Grandpa built the ranch so his grandson could inherit a livelihood. The grandson can inherit the mortgage, lease the grass or sell the view. The winning lottery ticket remains the most traditional option.Five Observations From the Feed Store
- Ranch listings now say “cattle optional.” That’s like a steakhouse advertising “food optional.”
- Thirty-eight dollars for a cocktail. Your grandfather bought a calf for that. The calf was more useful, and it didn’t come with a little umbrella.
- Your grandfather got up at 3 a.m. for a heifer. You’ll get up at 3 a.m. for the bank’s overdraft alert. Same energy, different livestock.
- The fastest-growing group in Wyoming agriculture is people who call themselves “land stewards” and have never held a post hole digger. It’s the only job where the main qualification is a Venmo account.
- The lottery ticket is the most traditional option. That’s how you know agriculture’s retirement plan has been drinking.