LIFE BEYOND FIRST CLASS
WEALTH
LAND WITH A
BALANCE SHEET
At Strategy Farm & Ranch in western Nebraska, more than 1,100 acres of irrigated farmland offer a compelling argument for productive land as a long-term asset.
MICHAEL SPEED
Drive far enough into western Nebraska and the language of value begins to change. Here, it is measured in acres, water, grass and what the ground is capable of producing. There are no marble lobbies or quarterly earnings calls, but there is another kind of arithmetic at work: irrigation capacity, productive acreage, lease income and land that can continue generating value season after season. That is the proposition behind Strategy Farm & Ranch, a 1,163.32±-acre property in eastern Sheridan County, approximately 15 miles from Gordon, where irrigated farmland and native grass come together in an operation currently offered at $4.15 million. Four center-pivot systems cover approximately 625 acres, while the balance of the property includes native grass and acreage suited to grazing and other agricultural uses.
For an investor accustomed to reading real estate through rents, square footage and cap rates, farmland demands a slightly different set of metrics. At Strategy Farm & Ranch, one of the most important lies beneath the surface. The property sits over the Ogallala Aquifer within the Upper Niobrara White Natural Resources District, with irrigation wells reported to pump approximately 800 to 1,200 gallons per minute. NRD records identify 730.35± acres of adjudicated water rights, while Sheridan County records list 723.91± irrigated acres. Water access changes the conversation considerably. Acreage alone may be finite, but acreage with established irrigation infrastructure and substantial water rights has an entirely different economic profile.
The four irrigated pivots are currently leased to a Nebraska agricultural producer through the end of the 2027 crop year, meaning a buyer acquires the farm subject to the tenant’s rights under that agreement. The grass and pasture acreage, along with the dry corners, are not included in the lease and are available for the owner’s use upon closing. That structure gives the property several layers at once: established agricultural use on one portion of the land, additional acreage available to the buyer and the longer-term freedom to determine how the operation develops after the current lease concludes.
The mix of irrigated ground and native grass gives Strategy Farm & Ranch flexibility for row crops, specialty crops or livestock operations. That versatility is part of what separates productive land from more passive forms of real estate. A farm can serve as an operating business, a leased asset, a long-term landholding or some combination of all three, and the value of the acreage is tied not simply to what it is today, but to the options it preserves for the next owner.
There is also a recreational component to the property, although it should not overshadow the agricultural story. Strategy Farm & Ranch lies less than a mile south of the Niobrara River, placing it within a wildlife corridor where elk, mule deer and antelope are regularly seen moving between the native grass and irrigated fields. Sharptail grouse and other upland birds are also found in the area. For a buyer interested in land that works during the growing season and still offers something beyond production, that dimension adds another layer without changing the property’s fundamental character.
Its location reinforces that balance. The farm sits approximately 62 miles from the regional airport in Chadron and about 140 miles from regional airports in Scottsbluff and Rapid City, while remaining surrounded predominantly by irrigated agricultural ground and native Sandhills range. There is access, but there is also scale, privacy and the particular sense of permanence that comes with more than 1,100 acres under one ownership.
For buyers looking at land through a wealth lens, that may ultimately be the more interesting point. Strategy Farm & Ranch is not dependent on a grand residence or elaborate improvements to make its case. Its principal asset is the land itself: irrigated, partially leased, supported by established water resources and capable of serving agriculture, livestock and recreation within the same boundaries. In a portfolio increasingly filled with assets that exist only on screens, there remains something unusually direct about productive land. You can walk it, see what it produces and understand, quite literally, what you own.
Strategy Farm & Ranch is offered at $4,150,000.
For additional information, contact Jeff Garrett at Ranch & Recreation Properties, 308.672.6334, or visit ranchandrecreation.com.
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