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LINCOLN—Oneofthemosthistoric andlargestmultigenerationalranchesin theNebraskaSandhills—ownedbyonly two families since the Cherry County land was settled in the late 1800s — is poised to find new owners.
TheranchownedfirstbytheMetzger family and then the Abbotts sits on the vast and famed Ogallala Aquifer, which creates lakes and tributaries that feed miles of rivers that provide water for cattle and ranching.
With an asking price of $50 million, the 55,136 acres could rake in the biggest sum ever for a Nebraska ranch.
Located in the nation’s No. 1 cow county — and including nine miles of the Snake River, eight miles of Gordon Creek, 26 solar wells, 79 windmills, 20-plus artesian flowing wells and an airplane hangar — the property has grabbedtheattentionofpotentialbuyers from numerous states.
But not all are happy with the idea of the sale.
Not all want to sell
Some members of the Abbott family, which bought the property from the Metzgers over a half-century ago, object to letting go of the ranch where whitetail and mule deer run, walleye and trout fishing is common, and the Ogallala Aquifer nourishes grassy meadows for acres.
Chris,whohasbeentheranch’smain steward, wants to hold onto the operation, but the majority of the five brothers and sisters who are major shareholders have voted to sell and focus on other areas of their lives.
It’s an emotional struggle that, without discussing specifics of the ranch, Nebraska State Sen. Tanya Storer said many Sandhills natives can relate to.
StateSen.TanyaStorergrewupinthe Nebraska Sandhills, which she says has distinct culture, tradition and camaraderie. (Courtesy of Unicameral Update) “Being part of a multigenerational ranch family myself, sometimes even selling a specific pasture can be emotional,” said Storer, who lives in Cherry County.
She says the ranch is a cornerstone of the north-central Nebraska region, with the Abbott family legacy entrenched not only in the cattle but banking industries. While new owners are always welcome, Storer said, the bond is “really never the same” as with families that have grown up together, branded together and have runtoeachother’saidwhenfiresorother ranch tragedies hit.
“It’s the interwovenness of the experience, the culture of what we do,” said the lawmaker from Whitman.
Mike Abbott, who at age 67 is the youngestofthesiblingsandamongthose ready to sell, said he wouldn’t change any of his ranch experiences, including 4-H and riding horseback to a one-room schoolhouse.
He recalls his mom and dad, Art and Patricia, buying the ranch from Woodrow Metzger in 1969. Mike was about 10 yearsoldthen,thoughgenerationsofthe Abbotts have lived in the area since the turn of the 20th Century.
“Yep, that was my childhood,” said Mike, president of the corporation that owns the property. “Then, ranching provided well for my family. But it was different for my three kids.”
The ranch has historically operated as a year-round cow/calf operation, brokers said. (Courtesy of Hall and Hall) He called ranching “a changing industry,” and said his own three children have ventured into other work. The sale of the ranch should allow Abbott family members to support younger generations in their endeavors, he said.
‘Mama cow’ country
Marketing the ranch for sale is Hall and Hall, a brokerage firm based in the county seat of Valentine, in partnership with Marshall Land Brokers & Auctioneers of Kearney.
AgentMarkJohnsonofHallandHall said torn feelings are commonplace in his business and can be magnified with multigenerational ranch land. He also worked on the recent sale of the Dumbbell Ranch, which was mostly situated in Cherry County and attracted national attentionforitsquirkyname,richhistory and size of 15,500 acres.
In that case, the two siblings who controlled the Dumbbell, despite sentimental attachment, agreed on selling. Onesiblingwasimmersedinacomputer career in Colorado, and his sister was about to get married again.
Her daughters had more pressing interests than to oversee the operation and,asAnneAndersonBennetsaidatthe time: “We love the Sandhills. Our family loves ranching. It’s time to move on.”
Even larger, the Metzger Ranch, also known as the Abbott Ranch, is a “rock” in the county known for having the most cows in the United States, Johnson said, calling Cherry County the best place for a “mama cow.”
AgricultureistheNo.1industryinNebraska, andcattleproductionrepresents thelargestsegmentoftheindustry,notes the Nebraska Beef Council.
“Just the sheer size of it is extremely notable,” Johnson said of the Abbott property. His team, whose expertise is in ranches, believes the asking price surpasses all other Nebraska ranches to date.
Since hitting the market earlier this month, Johnson said, he’s fielded interest from people in Texas, Missouri, Kansas,WyomingandMontana.Hesaid they include land investors and ranchers, some attracted to the subirrigated land where drought is not as common and others who feel pushed out of their current regions by non-agricultural development.
He suspects potential buyers will see anopportunitytoinvestina“hardasset” versus the stock market.
The cows aren’t included in the price tag, but the real estate listing shows the ranch as a 2,500-head cow/calf yearround operation. Included in the sale are five homes, a bunkhouse. There’s a horse barn, cattle working facilities and other outbuildings.
“Rarely do ranches of such large acreage and quality come to market,” says the Hall and Hall web site. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for anyone who dreams of a future in land ownership and cattle production.”
Land with long ties
After News Channel Nebraska reported the real estate listing, the family sent a statement from the children of Chris Abbott, who described their dad as the decades-long main steward of the ranch.
A.J. and Carver Abbott and Alicia Abbott Clark said in the statement that their dad, who they said grew the cow herd and land mass, would never vote to sell the ranch. They said his four siblings did vote to sell, and one has since “retracted.”
“Thecattle,hills,meadows,trees,river ground,summerpastures,windmills, fence lines, etc., run deep in our Dad’s soul.Asaworkingranchersincehewasa child,Chrishasdevelopedpride,respect and callouses,” they wrote.
The three said many have reached out to them, and they wanted people to know that all was done to try and convince the “on-paper majority owners” not to sell.
Their hope, they said, is that “someone with a whole hell of a lot of money and vision will hear about what is going on and will partner in the ranch, or that Dad’ssiblingswillacceptourleaseoffer.”
