Prairie City, OR (Grant County)

The land lying north of the highway goes in elevation from about 3000 to upwards of 5000. It is composed of early spring feed at the lower elevation running to bunchgrass and perennials at the higher elevations. There are good stands of timber throughout the upper reaches. It borders the USFS on the north side. An amazing amount of junipers have been cleared with pine trees seeded in their place. This has been an ongoing project for many years to replace the juniper with pine and reforest these areas. It is quite impressive. This is fenced and cross-fenced according to sections and water. Castle Creek and Cottonwood Creek along with Grub Creek run through the land. There are numerous springs with dirt tanks along with seeps that have started to run especially after the junipers have been taken out. Elk, deer, turkeys and the usual grouse are common here. There is a particular ridge where the owner and his family have harvested over 30 elk. That is just one area whereas they have gotten them all over the ranch. The family has also harvested numerous bucks with a few in the 30 range. He showed us one area that is famous in their family for getting the very large mule deer bucks.

Cattle grazing in this area is handled by putting the cows in the bottom areas first as they are the ones that green up quickly in the spring. They then move up the mountain as the gates are opened and the salt moved. The amount of cattle put on the ranch on the north side depends on management objectives. It would depend on the weather, the length of stay you are anticipating, the grass left over from the previous year, and what type of cattle will be running on it.

Grazing the south side is different because of the flexibility of having irrigated meadows. If you dont need all of the hay then some of the meadow can be used to summer cows. Historically in this area 1.5 to 2 tons per animal for the winter is about normal although that will depend on how soon spring feed can be utilized. So, if you were running 300 head then about 600 tons would be needed with the rest of the meadow used for grazing. These are management decisions resulting from the flexibility of the productive land and water.

There are three rental homes on the property plus a spacious home with a great view of the ranch. Also there is a ½ mile of the John Day River running through the ranch.

The John Day Valley is somewhat secluded with a population of just over 7,000 in Grant County. The weather is the best in Eastern Oregon with mild winters and warm summers. It is resourced based with cattle and to a lesser degree timber. The county has one permanent stoplight with that located in the city of John Day. It is a full service city with all of the benefits of a larger population but without the people. A new hospital has just been built and a new airport is in the construction stage. In this area you dont wait in lines nor are you in an adversarial position with the county government. Amazing!!

The views on this ranch are absolutely stunning. Water is good. Wildlife is very numerous. Standing timber is well spaced and healthy with a tremendous amount of new growth coming on. Fences are very good and cattle come off of it in very good condition. It is an excellent ranch with an excellent hay base. There are not many ranches available today that have a complete year round program for the grazing of cattle. Also, very few old time ranches come up for sale in this area. This is a good one.

This ranch can be purchased as a whole or as a part depending on the need of the buyer. You can contact us to get an idea for cattle numbers on a smaller scale or for smaller areas you would wish to purchase.

Price: $7.9m

Smaller pieces will be priced accordingly

All information is deemed reliable and correct from the owners and representatives. No guarantees are made or implied. A prospective purchaser is expected to carefully investigate and verify the above information as well as all matters affecting the property.

ley Ranch