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As skyrocketing land prices and the “Yellowstone effect” lead to historic sales of ranch land to billionaire outsiders, one Montana family is charting a different path to preserve the Old West.
Dale and Janet Veseth, owners of Veseth Cattle Co., have donated their 38,000-acre ranch to the Ranchers Stewardship Alliance, according to the New York Post. Valued at $21.6 million, the gift is the largest land donation in Montana history and offers a potential blueprint for aging landowners facing the pressures of a hot real estate market.
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The donation comes at a volatile time for Western real estate. Massive ranch listings are up 250% over the past year, according to the Post, citing Living Water Properties. Wealthy buyers are bypassing traditional agricultural interests, often converting working ranches into private game preserves or luxury estates.
Recent benchmarks that highlight the trend include a 110,000-acre ranch in New Mexico listed in March for $68.5 million; a Wyoming ranch larger than Rhode Island listed for $79.5 million in August; and a 100,000-acre Wyoming ranch that the Marlboro Man rode around listed in October for $52.8 million, The Post reported.
For the Vesets, whose family has managed their land for three generations, selling to the highest bidder meant risking the end of the property’s agricultural productivity.
“Any time that land goes out of agriculture, it’s just a fight to get it back,” RSA Communications Director Haylie Shipp told the Post.
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The average age of ranchers in the United States has climbed to 60, creating a succession crisis for the $113 billion cattle industry. Many aging owners don’t have heirs interested in ranching, making a multimillion-dollar outlay to a developer or tech giant tempting, The Post reported.
The Veseths, who have no direct heirs to take over their operation, donated the land to RSA to ensure it would remain a working ranch in perpetuity, according to the Post.
Under RSA management, the acreage will likely be leased to smaller farmers who are priced out of land ownership. The incubator model allows new farmers to build herds without paying the high cost of land required to enter the industry.
The donation is causing ripples in the agricultural sector. The RSA told the Post it has received inquiries from landowners as far away as Kansas who are interested in similar conservation-based succession plans.
The Veseths will continue to reside and operate the ranch until their retirement, at which point the RSA will take full management control, the Post reported.
Image: Shutterstock
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