WATER - GRASS - CATTLE

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ABUNDANT WATER

 

During one of the worst droughts the western US has seen in over 100 years, the abundance of water controlled by the Cato Ranch allows it to continue operating as a highly productive ranch, further demonstrating its immeasurable value.

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100% of the Sellers' water rights attached to the land, and 1,102.5 shares of highly valuable and privately merchantable Park Reservoir Water are included in the offering.

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WATER RIGHTS & RESERVOIR SHARES

 

Big Goose Direct Flow:

• PK Priority 1887:      26.50 cfs

• Bob Berry:                 - 1.50 cfs

• Cato Ranch (Net):    25.00 cfs*

 

Supplemental Private Water:

• Park Reservoir: 1102.5 shares**

* Wyoming State statute allocates 70 acres per cfs of adjudicated water right.

**1,102.5 shares is about 14% of the total shares, and about 1,323-acre feet when the reservoir is full.

 

1,235 IRRIGATED ACRES (±):

• 8 Pivots - 800

• 7 Side rolls - 261

• Flood - 174

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More on Cato Ranch

 

Irrigated land, hay production and land maintenance:

 

The ranch owns and maintains significant water rights and additionally enjoys the use of privately owned Park Reservoir shares.

 

• The ranch irrigates over 1,200 acres for hay and grazing.

• The irrigated land is used for both hay production and grazing.

• Under current management, the ranch can grow enough hay to feed its cows in winter and often has hay to sell. Plus, there is ample standing forage for late grazing.

• Cato’s prolific water, nutrient-dense soils, and skilled management allow it to operate at increased capacity and scale and can graze cattle into late winter regardless of drought conditions.

•  All fieldwork, irrigation, and hay harvesting are done by a small, full-time ranch crew, with minimal seasonal help.

• Cover crops are used to improve soil conditions, support wildlife, and ultimately enhance cattle nutrition. Cato plants about 150 acres per year in early summer and uses the cover-crop forage for the post weaned calves. Fields are replanted as needed with a perennial crop, and the crop is rotated to a new area. All farming is done using a no-till seed drill.

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A historic Wyoming ranch masterpiece at the foot of the Bighorn Mountains, established in 1876 as PK Ranch, this ranch played a significant role in the development of rodeo and American polo. The era of this ranch and the legacy of its entrepreneurial stewards, the Cato family, are legendary.

 

Cato is a legacy ranch that continues to operate as a professionally managed working cattle ranch, utilizing regenerative-focused, intensively managed grazing and irrigation systems to enhance wildlife populations, increase land productivity, optimize livestock production, and improve ranch profitability.

 

Nestled amid the rolling foothills and sun-drenched prairies of the American West, the Cato Ranch stands as a symbol of enduring tradition, ingenuity, and the evolving story of the nation’s heartland. Like so many storied spreads, it occupies a special place in the history of the West. Tales of legendary rodeos, midnight cattle drives, and encounters with wildlife, wild cowboys, and Indians have become part of local lore, passed down from one generation to the next.

 

Listed exclusively by Icon Global.