Antelope Creek Ranch - SOLD!

Eastern Montana Grazing Ranch

Sprawling Autumn Grassland

“The sprawling viewshed at ACR has not changed much since the last American Bison were taken from this land many years ago. With exception of a few abandoned homesteads and developed water, it remains mostly undisturbed and unchanged. The wild, independent and natural character of this land is what defines the American west, and it’s good to know that land like it is still available.”

Executive Summary

The Antelope Creek Ranch (ACR) is an enormous, ±41,993 acre mostly deeded, eastern Montana grass ranch. It is all blocked up and blessed with a sea of high-quality Montana grass and good water. Currently running 800 AUs, the ranch has the potential to increase carrying capacity over time with proper management. Historically, ACR has operated as a year-round grazing operation with minimal winter feed and labor requirements, so it is truly a low overhead ranch. Since the late 1800s, this area has produced great gains for cattle, which is why the trail herds came north and why it still remains one of the great places to raise cows. The ranch boasts abundant pronghorn antelope and mule deer populations, along with excellent upland bird habitat, all for sporting and recreational enjoyment. Since then minimal improvements have been made to the ranch, but it does have extensive roads and livestock watering opportunities throughout the ranch. Those improvements coupled with excellent land and range conditions make this the perfect ranch for the production minded stockman.

Property Description

Years ago, Antelope Creek Ranch was run as a sheep operation, but over time transitioned to a cow/calf and yearling ranch, like it is today. Whatever the species, this ranch has the grass and water to support a large-scale livestock operation with minimal labor and equipment requirements. As-is, the ranch can comfortably support 800 AUs on a year-round basis with minimal feed supplementation. With good management, along with additional water development and fencing, the ranch has a lot of potential for increasing the current carrying capacity.

ACR is about 15 miles from its northern most point to its southern boundary and about 9.5 miles from east to west at its widest point. Though spread out and covering almost 66 square miles, the ranch has a good network of roads for convenient access and ease of management. The terrain consists mainly of wide-open prairie, rolling hills and gentle draws and coulees.

When on the ranch, one cannot help but notice the diversity of native grasses and the good condition of the range. ACR has a long history of responsible grazing and stewardship practices.

• The nutrient-dense native grasses consist mainly of green needlegrass, needle and thread, blue bunch and western wheatgrass, little bluestem, prairie junegrass and Kentucky bluegrass.
• Natural and developed sources of water can be found throughout the ranch including two separate stock water pipelines, seasonal creeks and springs, and reservoirs. The ranch has 72 Water rights filed with the Montana Department of Natural Resources consisting of:
  • 43 reservoirs
  • 18 stock water rights from spring and creeks on the ranch
  • 11 filed well or groundwater rights

Hunting and Recreation

Nov ’20 Mule Deer

Whether you like to hunt, fly your falcon or just watch wildlife, this ranch supports healthy populations of pronghorn antelope and mule deer. Experienced big game hunters will appreciate the quality of the wildlife and the large land area in which it can be managed.

The primary upland bird species are Greater sage-grouse, sharp-tailed grouse, and some Ring-necked Pheasant. Many species of waterfowl use the reservoirs and wetland areas of the ranch at various times of the year for seasonal nesting needs or for migration.

Other than one section of State land, the public does not have access to any of the other State leases nor is there any other publicly accessible land on the ranch. ACR is located in Hunt Area 701 for deer, antelope and elk.

Improvements

ACR Improvements

Living improvements and ag buildings on the ranch are minimal but adequate. The Headquarters has a lived-in main house – a 1,056 sf, 3-bedroom 2-bath modular home. It also has a full-size basement with 2 bedrooms and 1 bath making it a 5-bedroom, 3-bath home. There are several other older barns, sheds, corrals and one older home (not lived in) located where the main house is. The ranch has two other sets of corrals and livestock facilities. One is centrally located in the middle of the ranch, which includes a larger, older loafing shed and attached pens. The other, is a large, old set of shipping corrals with a scale located right off HWY 12 next to Sumatra. The neighbor has a 50% working interest in these corrals.

Location and Locale

Antelope Creek Ranch is located right at the town of Sumatra in east central Montana in an area of the State that is well known for its rich soils and nutritious native grasses. It has no pine trees, some cedar/juniper and few deciduous trees. It has excellent access from both State Highway 12 and the Sumatra County Rd.

Distances to Nearby Towns:

• Forsyth, MT – 51 miles
• Melstone, MT – 16 miles
• Billings, MT – 100 miles
• Roundup, MT – 52 miles

Taxes

• 2020 Taxes: $11,250

Price and Conditions of Sale

$14,000,000 U.S. Dollars (Fourteen Million Dollars)
Seller shall require an all cash sale and Seller reserves the right to effectuate a tax-deferred real estate exchange for all or part of the sales price, pursuant to Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code and the Treasury Regulations promulgated there under with no liability or expense to be incurred by the Buyer with respect to the Seller’s tax-deferred exchange. All offers shall be in writing and accompanied by an earnest money deposit of at least two and one-half percent (2.5%) of the purchase offer, which will be deposited into the Closing Company’s Trust Account. Additionally, offers shall be accompanied with the contact information of Buyer’s banker or financial institute to determine financial capability to complete a purchase.

TITLE AND ESCROW

First American Title Company, Billings, MT

NOTICE TO PROSPECTIVE BUYERS

Seller is selling property in “AS IS, WHERE IS” condition. The Seller and Chase Brothers, LLC make it known that all potential buyers must conduct due diligence on any information presented herein. The accuracy of this information is deemed reliable; however, it is not guaranteed or warranted by Chase Brothers Properties, LLC or the Seller. There may be discrepancies between deeded property lines and actual fence boundaries, actual acreage, water rights, etc. There are no warranties either expressed or implied.

This offering is subject to prior sale, price change, correction or withdrawal without notice.

All prospective Buyers will be required to sign a liability waiver prior to looking at and touring the Property. Please contact broker for a copy.

REAL ESTATE BROKERAGE DISCLOSURE

Chase Brothers, LLC is acting as an agent for the Seller.

BROKER’S COMMENTS

The sprawling viewshed at ACR haven’t changed much since the last American Bison were taken from this land many years ago. With exception of a few abandoned homesteads and developed water, it remains mostly undisturbed and unchanged. The wild, independent and natural character of this land is what defines the American west and it good to know that land like it, is still available. Chase Brothers believes that the sale of Antelope Creek Ranch presents a rare opportunity to own a very large and contiguous grass ranch. The ranch is very competitively priced and is in excellent condition. If you are looking for a ranch that can run enough animals to generate an acceptable return on investment, ACR should be considered.