Miles City, MT 59301(Custer County)

The Tongue River Ranch is located in Custer, Rosebud and Powder River Counties of southeast Montana. The main trade center for this area is Miles City which is located just over 55 miles to the northeast of the ranch at the intersection of Highway 59 and Interstate Highway 94. Miles City is the county seat of Custer County and has commercial air service along with many of the conveniences of a large city. Billings, the largest city in Montana with a population of more than 100,000 is a two hour drive from the ranch and has many fine restaurants, excellent shopping, livestock auctions, colleges and a very fine medical center.

General Operation:

The present owners of the Tongue River Ranch have operated it as a purebred Angus operation and have established a nationwide reputation for the quality, performance and soundness of their cattle. They traditionally calve about 500 cows, 350 in the spring and 150 in the fall, as well as summer 100 yearling replacement heifers and 170 yearling bulls which are developed on grass to be sold in the ranchs annual production sale as coming two year old bulls. In recent years, the ranch has sold bred heifers for export to both Russia and Kazakhstan. The ranchs extensive irrigation system produces more than enough feed to winter the cowherd and develop the bulls and heifers that are sold in the ranch production sale.

Water Resources:

The Tongue River Ranch has about twelve miles of river frontage and a large number of filed water rights for stock water, irrigation and domestic use. The ranch owns 925 shares of Tongue River Water User Shares, which is stored water and released from the Tongue River Dam at the time of use. The ranchs most senior water right on the Tongue River for irrigation purposes was filed in January of 1892. The owners have constantly striven to improve the stock water on the ranch and have installed numerous tanks and many miles of pipeline. Water is the lifeblood of any ranch, and the Tongue River Ranchs extensive water

rights and resources will continue to build in value over time.

Production:

There is approximately 515 acres of irrigated land along the Tongue River that produces the ranchs hay and feed. While much of the irrigated land is in alfalfa and hay production, some is normally planted to corn or small grains as well. The ranchs center pivots irrigate 380 acres while the remaining 135 acres is flood irrigated. The present owners have always been careful not to overgraze their pastures so the native range has been in very good condition. Due to the Ash Creek fire which burned through a portion of the ranch in June of 2012, the sellers have elected to defer grazing on that portion of the ranch so it can fully recover. As fall and winter approach, the ranchs river bottom pasture and hay meadows provide a tremendous amount of grazing and protection from the weather.

Other:

Property Tax: $9,844

Mineral Rights:

All mineral rights owned by the seller will transfer at closing.