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As rising land values and the “Yellowstone Effect” drive historic sell-offs of farmland to billionaire outsiders, one Montana family is charting a different course to preserve the Old West.
Dale and Janet Veseth, owners of Veseth Cattle Company, donated their 38,000-acre ranch to the Ranchers Stewardship Coalition, according to the New York Post. Valued at $21.6 million, the gift is the largest land donation in Montana history and provides 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. According to the Post, citing Live Water Properties, giant ranch listings have increased 250% in the past year. Wealthy buyers are pushing aside traditional agricultural interests, often converting working farms into private hunting preserves or luxury estates.
A recent benchmark that highlights the trend is a 110,000-acre ranch in New Mexico listed for $68.5 million in March; A Wyoming ranch larger than Rhode Island listed for $79.5 million in August; And a 100,000-acre Wyoming ranch that a Marlboro man listed for $52.8 million in October, the Post reported.
For the Veseths, whose family has managed their land for three generations, selling to the highest bidder means risking the end of the property’s agricultural productivity.
“Every time land comes out of agriculture, it’s just a struggle to get it back,” RSA communications director Haley Shipp told the Post.
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The average age of U.S. ranchers has reached 60, creating a succession crisis for the $113 billion cattle industry. Many aging owners have no heirs to the labor of cattle ranching, which siphons off millions of dollars enticing developers or tech moguls, the Post reported.
The Veseths, who have no direct heirs to their operation, donated the land to the RSA to ensure it would remain a working farm in perpetuity, according to the Post.
Under the management of the RSA, land will be leased to young ranchers who have value beyond land ownership. The incubator model allows new ranchers to build herds without paying the high cost of land required to enter the industry.
Donations are making waves in the agriculture sector. RSA told the Post that 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 live and operate the farm until their retirement, at which point RSA will take full management control, the Post reported.
Image: Shutterstock
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The article Rancher Donates $21.6M Montana Ranch to Block Billionaire Buyers originally appeared on Benzinga.com
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