Duck Bar Ranch

Land Description

Location/Background The historic Duck Bar Ranch is located in the central heart of the Nebraska Sandhills approximately 35 miles southwest from Valentine, Nebraska, which is the county seat and principle town in Cherry County. The Nebraska Sandhills have not only a national but also an international long standing reputation as an established, consistent resource for raising reputation cattle. Cherry County shares top honors as being one of the most reputed counties in the Sandhills for raising fine beef cattle. It is larger in square miles than the state of Connecticut. The Duck Bar Ranch was established in 1907 by a man by the name of L.C. Beel. During his tenure of ownership Mr. Beel amassed nearly 90,000 acres of Sandhills rangeland in central Cherry County, Nebraska for the exclusive purpose of raising grass fed beef cattle. The ranch was owned through three generations of Beel family before it was sold by John Beel, grandson of L.C. Beel, to the Willert Family in 2014. The Willert Family continues to own the ranch today. Legal Description The entire ranch is located in Cherry County, Nebraska See Exhibit A for full legal description Acres 6,365.64 Deeded acres 640 Belf lease Total 7,005.64 Acres Taxes - Estimated $29,453.92 Description The Willert Duck Bar Ranch contains approximately 7,005.64 acres comprised of 6,365.64 deeded acres by county record and 640 acres by Belf record. The ranch has direct access to paved county road 16B Kennedy Route, is all contiguous, and contains several sites of excellent sub irrigated meadow which is supported by Gordon Creek. Gordon Creek is a live Sandhills spring fed creek that runs through the heart of the ranch from the southwest to the northeast. Because of Gordon Creek the meadow hay production is very good and consistent as are static and pumping levels for stock water wells on the ranch. The ranch has livestock water in the form of 22 windmills and 3 solar wells with 500 watt panels. The static water levels on the ranch are considered quite shallow and make for easy pumping for all the stock wells. There are 18 pastures for grazing and 8 fenced meadow pastures for haying/fall grazing. There is also one mile of newly installed underground pipeline that serves five stock tanks on the ranch. There has also been 13 new stock tanks installed, 5 new wells drilled, and 6 new, high efficiency automatic waters at the corral headquarters, all installed in the last four years on the ranch. The ranch is a combination sub irrigated and rangeland resource with three homes with several recent improvements made to the outbuildings/corrals at the headquarters. Main Home- Story and One Half - 1972 SQ FT Guest Home - One Story - 779 SQ FT Labor Home - One Story - 1236 SQ FT Machine Shed - 40'X64'x15' - Built New in 2015 - $45,000 Cattle Load Out and Corrals Sucker Rod/Continuous Fencing - Built New from 2 - $62,000 Car Port - 24'X24' - Built New in 2017 - $8,000 Calving Pens and Vet Room Insulated, water, heat 16'X32' - Built New 2 - $18,000 New Automatic Waterers- 6, Water Lines, Hydrants-4, Tire Tanks in Calving Lots - 2016 -2017 - $9,000 New Electrical Lines -Building Site, Shop, Calving Lots - 2 - $30,000 New Sewer Lines - Building Site - 2 - $2,000 Driveway Upgrade and Creek Crossing Upgrade - 2 - $10,000 This building site was main headquarters for the ranch when it was a 90,000 acre operation. Other Ranch Improvements throughout the Ranch - 2 Three New Solar Wells - $30,000 New Underground Pipelines - high density black poly - 4,100', 3 tire tanks, and 6 hydrants - $25,000 New Vehicle/Cattle Crossing on Gordon Creek - 2015 - $10,000 New Four Wire Fences and Box Corners throughout the Ranch - 2015- to Present - $100,000 This ranch is very well blocked with direct access to a maintained, paved county road and mail route. It has excellent access and location to schools and markets in Valentine coupled with rarely equaled ease of management amenities. History Cherry County was named for Lt. Samuel A. Cherry, an Army officer in the U. S. Fifth Cavalry, who was stationed at Fort Niobrara and had been killed north of Fort Niobrara in 1881. Cherry County ranks as one of the largest counties the United States. The first settlement in this area can be traced back to 1878 when the U.S. government relocated approximately 5,000 Sioux Indians to the Rosebud Reservation to South Dakota. The government agreed to provide beef for the reservation and, as a result, large cattle herds developed in the northern Sandhills in what was then open range country at the time. The Army built Fort Niobrara just east of present day Valentine along the Niobrara River to provide protection for settlers and ranchers. Cherry County's boundaries were established by the state's Legislature in 1883. The county's first courthouse was an abandoned military building brought to Valentine from Wisconsin. Nebraska has the top three beef cow producing counties in the United States. Cherry County tops the list and is home for nearly 166,000 mother cows. Next in line is Custer County with over 100,000 mother cows, and third in line is Holt County at 99,000 cows. A fourth Nebraska County, Lincoln County supports over 69,000 cows. Nebraska Sandhills The Willert Duck Bar Ranch is located in the central heart of the famed Nebraska Sandhills, known for one of the finest cattle producing regions in the United States. The Sandhills of Nebraska is the Nation's largest undisturbed native grassland area. If covers approximately 13 million acres in 20 counties located in the north central part of the state. The grasses are vigorous and nutritious and have proven themselves as drought tolerant species centuries ago by supporting vast herds of Buffalo prior to the arrival of the white man. Ogallala Aquifer The Sandhills of Nebraska also sits on top of the largest fresh water aquifer in the continental U.S. Known as the Ogallala or High Plains Aquifer, it supports fresh water bearing material where this ranch is located in the range of 400'-600' in depth. Stock wells are generally considered shallow and abundant by comparison to other cattle producing regions in other states. Most of the stock wells on this ranch are 1-2 rods deep and can be pulled by hand to change leathers. Irrigation Water Right There is a small irrigation, very old, water right of approximately 80 acres located on the Gordon Creek not currently utilized by the current ownership, but has been utilized in past years. Recreation Located just a few minutes away from this ranch is one of Nebraska's best fishing holes in the state. Merritt Reservoir supports some excellent fishing for Walleye, Crappie, and White Bass. It is located in the picturesque Snake River Valley 26 miles southwest from Valentine via Highway 97. Merritt not only offers some of Nebraska's best fishing, but is also known for great boating and camping in the summer seasons. Merritt is a deep lake supported by excellent Sandhill spring fed waters from the Snake River and Boardman Creek. Hunting is also permitted in season at the Merritt Reservoir beginning the day after Labor Day. Sharp-tail and Prairie grouse are prime upland species in the area. Both Whitetail and Mule deer can be hunted along with wild turkey. There is also some excellent waterfowl hunting on the lake and on the Sandhills lakes in the area. The nearby Valentine National Wildlife Refuge encompasses 72,000 acres in the heart of the Nebraska Sandhills. The Refuge provides excellent habitat for all kinds of wildlife along with excellent fishing opportunities. Additional Ranch Income The ranch also provides an excellent opportunity for private hunting in season over the 6,000 acres and could be outfitted. The Guest Home on the ranch provides additional income from both hunters, fish