Lavina, MT 59046(Golden Valley County)

There are two building sites, each with a house and corrals, located at opposite ends of the ranch. They are six miles apart via S. Barber Rd, one at the northern boundary, and one at the southern boundary. There is also an older set of corrals located in the middle of the ranch with easy access from S. Barber Rd. The northernmost site is located at 866 S. Barber Rd (referred to as the "Eplace"). This location was originally homesteaded by the Erickson family, and incorporated into the C/N ranch in 2004. It contains multiple agricultural outbuildings, a 6 bedroom home, and a very nice, practical, set up of corrals and sheds for calving and working with the cowherd. The corrals at this site were completely redesigned and replaced in 2013 with Two-W Livestock Equipment from Western Ranch Supply in Billings at a cost of over $60,000. There are 10 sorting pens (4 of which share 2 Hoskins waterers), 3 larger sorting pens on either end with 2 large Hoskins waterers, a 12' center alley and a 20' outer alley. Underground water lines feed the 4 heated waterers which are on concrete pads. The corrals are made with 6 rail, 20' continuous fence and the gates have Sure-Latch Two-Way Livestock gate latches. The alley leading to the crowding tub is divided into 4 pens with piston gate latches and 2 walk-in gates. The crowding tub can be directed to a width-adjustable alley way leading to a scale/ chute/ calf table or to two different loading alleys (semi-trailer height or ground-height). Incorporated into the corrals is a lean-to and loafing barn. This thoughtful, well-designed set-up makes handling the cowherd less stressful for both cattle and crew, and also workable by one person, if needed. Other outbuildings at the "Eplace" include: a 24x26 tack/feed barn with attached 36x64 loafing barn, which has 3 inside pens and a head-catch / chute, making it the ideal place for shelter during calving; a lean-to, a concrete shop with wood stove; a 88x64 pole machine shed; a concrete fuel shed; a 26x72 wooden shed, three-car detached garage, several metal grain bins and older wooden granaries, and other sheds

General Operation

The C/N Ranch consists of 5,071 total acres, which is comprised of 4,431 deeded acres, a 640 acre, land-locked, state lease. There are over 1000 tillable acres (currently in hay/grass) with the remainder being pastureland. Approximately 450-500 acres are hayed annually. The ranch is fenced and cross-fenced into 19 different pastures, with a water source for each. Every improvement that has been made on this ranch had cattle in mind, from easily working with them to being able to have single-sire pastures for quality herd development and optimal pasture utilization. The perimeter of the ranch is completely fenced; the interior has been cross-fenced into nineteen separate pastures, all with water access. The ranch has over 25 miles of fences, much of which has been built or rebuilt within the past ten years. Most of the gates have also been rebuilt with steel pipe and have gate closers attached. Currently, the entire ranch is in grass and hay, although more than 1000 acres have been farmed in the past and could be farmed again. Per the FSA, historic grain yields for this ranch are average for the area, and are 27-31 Bu/Acre for wheat, 35-42 Bu/Acre for barley and 35-42 Bu/ Acre for Oats. The official FSA maps with these data are available upon request. The hay land is alfalfa/grass and grass; the pastures are a mix of native and tame grasses. The 640 acre State section is entirely native grass. Annual hay yield is approximately one ton per acre, but varies according to annual precipitation. The hay land has been periodically renovated and typically, during renovation, one or two crops of hay barley or grain have been taken. The ranch easily supports ~200 Red Angus and Red Angus-cross mother cows, plus replacement heifers and herd bulls. Weaning weights have historically been over 625 lbs. when the steer calves are weaned and shipped at approximately six and a half months old.

Water Resources

There are six wells: 4 are electrically operated, 2 are run by propane-powered generators. There are 4 miles of underground water line that service eleven water tanks and 6 waterers. The automatic, heated waterers are located within the corrals at either end of the ranch. There are two seasonal water reservoirs in the State section. The north-eastern-most pasture has Rock Creek flowing through it. Rock Creek is a year-round creek which rises on the ranch, and runs for 1.5 miles. This creek is another source of stock water and provides open water all winter long, making this an ideal pasture in which to winter the cowherd.

Taxes

$5,476