Have you ever considered that a riparian zone starts at the top of the hills? “How can that be? That’s contrary to what we’ve been told”, you say.
Well, consider that rain and snow falls everywhere; right? So if the moisture that falls on the hilltops runs off to the bottom of the drainage, is that as good as the moisture that’s absorbed at the top and flows to the stream at the bottom in underground springs?
We think a riparian zone starts at the top of a watershed and the health of the “riparian” area in the bottom is directly affected by how the soil surface of the entire watershed is managed. This will help filter the water in a number of ways so that the "riparian habitat" in the creek bottom or reservoir bottom will have more wildlife. Managers who manage for maximum absorption of precipitation in the whole watershed will likely have healthier land and more grass production than managers without a management program and grazing plans.
A healthy dryland watershed should look like The Fence Creek Ranch (see image below) at the top of the basin for it to become sponge-like:
So why is this relevant to real estate? Good question. Consider that a large portion of the country is affected by drought this year as it was last year, plus drought is prevalent more years than not everywhere anyway. Does drought affect your bottom line and your attitude? Absolutely. If your land is not affected as much as your neighbor’s, is it worth more to your agri-business, or worth more to the market if you want to sell it? The answer seems pretty obvious to us. We are already getting calls from people who have no grass and need pasture for their herds this grazing season. Last year, we sold a good ranch that was well managed, so despite the drought, it had good grass and flowing springs. Consequently, it brought a premium price.
I guess you can feed hay and further degrade your land, but hay prices will be through the roof this year, which will make places like The Beaver Creek Ranch (below) even more valuable with its well-managed land and excellent irrigated hay meadows that should yield $225/ton + hay this summer.
We see the “whole picture”. Ranches are not just places for views, or just for wildlife, or just for livestock production. Ranches can and should be places for multiple use, including multiple enterprises and multiple uses for enjoyment. To us, part of the intrigue in land and ranches is imagining what the ranch can be. We also enjoy the study of what the ranch was. Finding artifacts has always been a fun pastime, as each new discovery reminds us that the land was once used much differently.
We are trained and well-versed in managing the “big picture” on ranches and we can help sellers find the opportunities that new buyers might want and market the ranches accordingly. Similarly, we can help buyers locate ranches for sale that will meet their needs and desires.
We bring a lot of expertise to the table when it comes to ranch real estate. We’ve lived it. This is our passion.
For more thoughts and insights into your property and its current market value, please contact John and Galen Chase at Chase Brothers Properties.
Chase Brothers Properties is owned and operated by John and Galen Chase, real estate brokers and ranch managers. They bring to their ranch real estate success, a background in ranch management. They truly understand the dynamic relationship and balance between economics and ecology; between emotion and business. Having been raised on a working cattle ranch and then managing other large operations that were purchased by more or less “absentee owners”, they have seen the difference in perspectives in ranch ownership. Each ranch has so much to offer, and usually more than meets the eye initially.
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In each of the years since we opened our own real estate business, Chase Brothers Properties has been tasked with selling some very good ranches at the very top end of the market. In each case, we have succeeded.
Buffalo Creek Ranch brought a new market high in 2010, The C Bar B Ranch in 2011 also brought a new high in record time, and so did the
Fence Creek Ranch in 2012.We strongly believe in the value of these special places.
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Cabin fever seems epidemic during March and April as winter lingers. Early Spring fly fishing is an effective cure for severe Cabin Fever. One benefit of living in Sheridan Country is the many great outdoor opportunities very close to where we live making the treatments for cabin fever close at hand and easily reached. Although the weather of early spring in Northern Wyoming is frequently winter-like, the warm bright days offer excellent opportunities to get out of the house and wet a fly. The foothill streams around the Big Horns can be very productive once the ice comes off. Be careful early in the season because the stream edges can be tricky with ice in the shaded areas.
When the water opens up after the first warm days of early Spring, the fishing can be very good. It's important to remember the water temperatures are still cold so the trout will move very little for food. This means you will want small nymphs that will get down to the bottom quickly. The fish will be lying in the bottom of the deep and slow moving holes, and they are easily spooked. The sunny days will warm the water slightly in the early afternoon hours. I have found to this to be the most effective time of day for the foothill streams in our area. I like to plan on hitting the water about 1:00 to 3:00 in the afternoon. Good days will carry until about 4:00 but generally once you loose the higher angle of the sun the water begins to cool again and the fish will slow down and conserve energy.
I like to find a good hole and approach from down stream moving very slowly looking for the last fish or two at the tail of the hole. These are frequently wary fish and are easily spooked, but if I can locate these fish, then I have a starting point for casting through the hole. This helps avoid casting to the top of the hole and risk spooking all the fish at the same time. I then slowly cast my way through the heart of the hole, moving forward slowly and drifting small sections. This technique allows for more strikes in each hole. I have found few fish at the head of holes in early spring.
Strikes are generally quite subtle during early season because the fish will not move far to take food. This means you need to watch your indicator closely. It will be unlikely that you will feel a strike therefore you will have to see it.
Last year the warm weather came early and was quite consistent so water levels rose a little but settled into a nice flow and the spring fishing was more consistent than normal.
If you are lucky enough to find an afternoon with fish rising they will most likely be feeding on small midges or small caddis flies. The rises will be slow and wonderful to watch so have fun.
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Ashlea Bassett, Sales Associate with Chase Brothers Properties, recently completed an outstanding program through the Wyoming Business Council. Here's more on the program:
Wyoming ag leadership program graduates 12th class
CASPER, Wyo. - Fourteen Wyoming producers and agribusiness men and women from around the state graduated from the Wyoming Leadership Education and Development (L.E.A.D.) program’s Class 12 at a ceremony in Saratoga, Wyo., in January.
The 14-month training program, sponsored in part by the Wyoming Business Council’s Agribusiness Division, began in November 2011.
Throughout the program, fellows participate in educational seminars in an effort to enhance their leadership skills and understanding of all aspects of agriculture and policy making. Eight seminars were held in Wyoming, one in Washington, D.C., and an international study seminar was held in Ukraine.
Class 12 graduates include:
· Ashlea Bassett, of Buffalo, is a service specialist with Sheridan College in Johnson County and a sales associate for Chase Brothers Properties. Bassett has been involved in production agriculture her entire life, including working on her family’s ranch.
· Barry “Slim” Cook, of Cody, owns Cook Land and Livestock Brokerage in Park County. In addition to being self-employed in the cattle brokerage and real estate business, Cook is an active member of the Cody Volunteer Fire Department.
· Deanna Crofts, of Riverton, is a case manager for the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services. She and her husband also operate a cow/calf operation in Fremont County. Crofts was named Fremont County Ag Woman of the Year in 2011 by the Riverton Chamber of Commerce.
· Juliet Daniels, of Cheyenne, is a community development educator with the University of Wyoming Extension, where she works with local governments and nonprofits to increase their capacity to address community issues.
· Sherri Foust, of Worland, is the county executive director for the United States Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency. Foust grew up on her family’s farm in Oklahoma raising grass hay, oats and beef cattle; she continued this tradition for the next 20 years raising cattle of her own.
· Brendon Grant, of Glenrock, is a ranch hand and working partner on his family’s ranch, Grant Ranch, in Converse County. As a lifelong rancher, Grant has worked in agriculture in a variety of capacities including overseeing 400 head of Black Angus.
· J.W. Hendry, of Lysite, along with his wife, brother, and parents owns and operates Clear Creek Cattle Company in Natrona County. The ranch consists of 2,700 head of Black Angus cattle and more than 500 acres of grass hay. He serves on the board of directors for the Wyoming Stock Growers Association.
· Alex Malcolm, of Kinnear, is a 4-H educator with the University of Wyoming Extension providing programming for livestock producers and 4-H youth. Malcolm is a member of the Wyoming and National Association of Extension 4-H Agents.
· Mary McAleenan, of Kinnear, is an ag producer operating a 275-acre farm and ranch in Fremont County for hay and alfalfa, as well as a 10-lamb herd for wool production. The wool from her operation is woven into rugs and throws which she markets at craft shows.
· Eámon O’Toole, of Savery, is a fifth generation owner/manager on his family’s ranch, the Ladder Livestock Company in southcentral Carbon County. O’Toole is developing an AI program to improve his family’s cow/calf operation by changing the herd into a Black Baldy program. He also helps with the family sheep operation when needed.
· Scott Priebe, of Riverton, along with his wife is the owner and operator of Wyoming Ag Marketing, LLC. He grew up farming and ranching on his family’s operation in Indiana and purchased his own farm in the late 2000s. He received an honorary membership degree from the Shoshone FFA chapter in 2011 for coaching the state’s youth FFA winning marketing team.
· Cheri Steinmetz, of Lingle, is a self-employed insurance agent, farmer and livestock producer for Rawhide Quarter Horses and Cattle and Ameritas Financial Services. She is involved in her family’s farm near Lingle where they raise corn, hay, cattle and Quarter horses.
· Jenny Walker, of Lusk, is a ranch hand for DeGering Livestock Inc., in Niobrara County where she is working with her uncle and grandfather on their cow/calf operation. She’s also involved with her parents’ operation in South Dakota.
· Brenda Younkin, of Jackson, is the director of the Conservation Research Center for the Teton Science Schools, Inc. Her position includes consulting on public lands grazing and monitoring, as well as coordination of research programs.
“This was a great group of individuals, with diverse backgrounds,” said Cindy Garretson-Weibel, Agribusiness director for the Wyoming Business Council, who oversees the L.E.A.D. program. “With the skills, knowledge and personal growth they gained through the L.E.A.D. program, they will be a great asset to Wyoming agriculture.”
Recruitment for Class 13, which will start in the fall, is underway. For more information on the program, contact Cindy Garretson-Weibel at cindy.weibel@wyo.gov or 307.777.6589.
Wyoming L.E.A.D. (http://www.wylead.org/) was established in 1984 with a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to establish a rural leadership program. L.E.A.D. is sponsored by the Wyoming Business Council’s Agribusiness Division and the Wyoming Agricultural Leadership Council (WALC).
The mission of the Business Council is to facilitate the economic growth of Wyoming. The Business Council, a state government agency, concentrates its efforts on providing assistance for existing Wyoming companies and start-ups, helping communities meet their development and diversification needs, and recruiting new firms and industries targeted to complement the state’s assets. For more information, please visit www.wyomingbusiness.org.
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Imagine this being your driveway. A winding ranch road through fields rich in wildlife and by ponds filled with fish and waterfowl. The fields are green from the abundant irrigation water and elaborate irrigation systems. You drive up to the main residence, a grand work of architecture that artfully fits into its surroundings
while offering the most unspoiled mountain views you'll ever see. 
This is truly as good as it gets.
Did we mention the fields?
How about the wildlife? Whether you're an avid sportsman and hunter, or just enjoy wildlife viewing, this ranch has something for you.
Well, it has a place for cows too.
And your equestrian activities.
Oh, and it has great views from your western patio.
The Beaver Creek Ranch for sale near Sheridan and Big Horn, Wyoming is simply as good as it gets. If you want privacy, there is none more private and secure. In fact, even though it's not remote, this ranch feels like the rest of the world doesn't exist. You won't see anyone else's lights and you won't see another home. What you see is what you get, which is unspoiled beauty of natural habitat and the beautiful Big Horn Mountains.
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