SOLD: Ox Yoke Ranch | Fay Ranches

OX YOKE RANCH

Holbrook, Navajo, Arizona

$3,500,000 | 119± Sections (822± Deeded Acres)

Ox Yoke Ranch | Holbrook, Arizona

INTRODUCTION

Ever dream of owning your own “Cattle Empire?” Spanning approximately 119± sections (76,109± acres), the Ox Yoke Ranch encompasses vast horizons of northeast of Arizona’s famed Mogollon Rim, a territory reminiscent of the Old West of a Louis L ’Amour novel! Blessed with typically mild winters, cattle range out year-round, with minimal supplementation, enabling a comparatively low-cost cattle operation. Strategically located wells, pipelines, and stock water reservoirs provide good grazing distribution. Two sets of cattle working facilities aid in ease of operation and management. This ranch works well for those that prefer not to spend half the year putting up hay and the other half feeding it!

Immerse yourself in the beauty as you gaze off at the Chevelon Canyon or the arroyos. To the south of Heber lies the Mogollon Rim escarpment, offering scenic views. Aside from the thousands of acres of the ranch to enjoy, Sitgreaves National Forest is adjacent for even more territory to explore or hunt. Your “neighbors” include Rocky Mountain elk, pronghorn antelope, mule and whitetail deer, black bear, turkeys, and mountain lions that can be found roaming the area. For the avid fisherman, Chevelon Canyon Lake is just 10 miles southwest of the ranch’s border, offering fishing for brown and rainbow trout. With walk-in-only access, trout tend to run larger than is typically found in easily accessible lakes. Just on the outskirts of Show Low, Fool Hollow Lake offers rainbow, brook, cutthroat, and brown trout fishing. For more recreational and adventuring opportunities, visit the Grand Canyon, just 3± hours away, or the Petrified Forest, just 1± hours away! For fine dining, entertainment, and international air connection, Phoenix is just 3± hours away!

If you are looking for a big-country cattle outfit that spans thousands of acres and is a comparatively low-cost operation that “makes sense,” here is your opportunity!

QUICK FACTS

• 76,109± Acres: 822± deeded, 3,233± Bureau of Land Management (BLM), 16,096± State, 55,958± private-open range

• Operated as a cow/calf ranch that has supported 465± mother cows, 100± replacement heifers and 25± bulls

• 12 wells, storage tanks, 12± miles pipeline, 25 dirt stock tanks, seasonal live water

• 4 pastures, 7 holding traps, excellent shipping corrals near State Route 377

• Equipment/feed Storage, livestock hay barn with 140’ X 290’ horse corrals, shop, storage

• Good mix of short grass and browse

• Comparatively low-cost operation-owner supplements with protein tubs December through midApril

• 2021 weaning weights: 668 pounds straight through

• Borders Sitgreaves National Forest

• Dove, Rocky Mountain elk and pronghorn antelope herds - Arizona Hunting Unit 4B

• Conveniently located to Heber, Holbrook, Snowflake; 3± hours to Phoenix

LOCATION

Ox Yoke Ranch, in Northeast Arizona, is 18± miles north of Heber, 21± miles southwest of Holbrook (the Navajo County Seat), 45± miles from Snowflake, 54± miles northwest of Show Low, 70± miles southeast of Winslow, and 163± miles northeast of Phoenix.

GETTING THERE

From Phoenix-Sky Harbor International Airport, take Loop 202 east to State Route 87 North toward Payson. In Payson, take State Route 260 east toward Heber-Overgaard. Turn left onto AZ State Route 277 for 7± miles, taking another left on AZ State Route 377 for approximately 10± miles. Turn left onto Duck Lake Road for 7± miles, right onto Prairie Dog Way for 2± miles, left onto Hutch Road, and proceed 13± miles to the ranch headquarters.

AIRPORT SERVICES

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (https://www.skyharbor.com/) is 165± miles, or 3± hours southwest of the ranch, and provides domestic and international flights to multiple locations, assuring that you stay well connected with the region and the world.

For the private pilot, there are nearby area dirt strips, privately owned, that require permission to use and most likely do not accommodate a significant number of different types of aircraft. A prospective purchaser that has an interest should investigate these opportunities. While there are other available resources, AirNav https://www.airnav.com/ is a good resource.

Winslow-Lindbergh Regional Airport (KINW) is located 67± miles northwest of the ranch. Runway 4/22 is at 4,881.1 feet elevation, has an asphalt surface, and measures 7,499’ X 150’. For more information, go to https://www.airnav.com/airport/KINW.

AREA HISTORY

On the Mogollon Rim and bordering the Sitgreaves National Forest, Heber and other nearby area settlements were first established in 1883 by Mormon settlers from Utah. The enterprising pioneers established cattle ranches and farms in the fertile Black Canyon area producing corn, milk, eggs, and potatoes. During this time, they were fearful of the Apache Native Americans and careful to feed them any time they passed through in the hope of maintaining peace with the tribe. Area travel was often perilous due to outlaws, horse thieves, and quicksand! In 1898, following a period of severe drought, the rains came in July and prompted a more-than-usual Independence Day celebration in Heber, which persisted for years thereafter. By the 1930s, Heber became a logging town.

Nearby Holbrook is the headquarters for the historic Aztec Land and Cattle Company, also known as the Hashknife outfit, which has been in continuous existence since 1884. Aztec, at one time the owner

Photo not taken on property

of a vast cattle empire consisting of 1,000,000± acres, is yet today the second largest landowner in the State of Arizona with 240,000± deeded acres and 320,000± acres of mineral rights, some without surface ownership.

Today most of the Aztec land is leased to area cattlemen, many descendants of the original lessees. Logging and ranching were the predominant industries until the mid-90s when the Mexican spotted owl injunction was placed on the Sitgreaves National Forest. The forest remained closed for eight years. In 2002 mills were opened in nearby Clay Springs and Snowflake.

The local economy is largely supported by some timber harvest for area mills, such as New Life Forest Products, tourism, government, and schools, with retail trade increasing, as well as construction. The proximity to the Sitgreaves National Forest offers significant recreational opportunities, which has attracted many trying to beat the heat of Phoenix and retirees. As of 2010, nearly 66% of the homes in Heber were second homes, with the summer-time population growing approximately four-fold!

Sitgreaves National Forest photo courtesy of Wikimedia

ACREAGE

• 822± Deeded

• 3,233± BLM

• 16,096± State

• 55,958± Private-Open Range

• 76,109± Total Acres

Encompassing 119± sections, or 76,109± acres, Ox Yoke Ranch is comprised of 822± deeded acres, 3,233± BLM acres, 16,096± acres Arizona State Lease, and 55,958± acres private open range grazing. The ranch is bounded on the east by Chevelon Canyon and on the south by the Sitgreaves National Forest. The headquarters tract measures 640± deeded acres with additional deeded lands locating strategic stock water, livestock holding, and working facility locations. The elevation ranges from 5,600± feet in the northwest corner of the ranch to 6,300± feet in the southeast corner of the ranch, with the headquarters located at 5,900± feet. Scattered to moderate stands of juniper dot the topography, which varies from gently undulating to hilly, with some canyons traversing the ranch. Cattle graze the predominate vegetation of the short-grass varieties of blue gamma, black gamma, galleta, muhly, needle grass, and browse consisting primarily of chamiso, winterfat, and fourwing saltbrush and some cliffrose which can be found along the canyon edges and in arroyos.

AGRICULTURE

Ox Yoke Ranch is operated as a year-round cow-calf ranch. The current operator has owned the ranch since 2007, running a maximum number of 465 cows, 100 replacement heifers, and 25-26 bulls. From a predominately Angus herd, calf weaning weights have historically been about 600 pounds for the steers and 560 pounds for the heifers. In 2021 weaning weights averaged 668 pounds, straight-through. Due to area drought conditions, since 2018, the cow herd was reduced to its current level of 137 cows, but with the return of monsoon rains in 2021 and 2022, the herd is being rebuilt through replacement heifer retention, with the owner building the herd by 40 in 2022, to 176 cows and first calf heifers. Nevertheless, the owner has been able to maintain healthy revenues through utilizing Drought Insurance, which has produced revenues, net of premiums, averaging $238,904.50 for the years 2017 through 2022. Additional Federal drought assistance revenues have been available through the USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA).

Ox Yoke Ranch holds State of Arizona Grazing Lease No. 005-002173 for 2,106 Animal Units Months (AUMs) on 16,095.92 acres. For 2022 the State lease grazing fee was $4,885.92, or $2.32/AUM. Ox Yoke Ranch also holds Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Grazing Lease AZ070087 in the Potato Wash Allotment, allowing for 36 Cows for 12 months, or 432 AUMs. The 2022 grazing fee was $583.20, or $1.35/AUM. In addition to these grazing leases, Ox Yoke Ranch owns the Grazing Easements and Rights to the Chevelon Canyon Ranch Subdivisions, which largely consist of 40-acre “ranchettes” with 30± foot “grazing strips” between lots. The lots are all off-grid, and most are not inhabited, not fenced, and do not have utilities or domestic water. The Grazing Easements and Rights are entirely within the ranch grazing boundaries.

To accommodate summer and winter grazing, the ranch is fenced into two main pastures. Ease of management is further aided by seven holding traps and two additional pastures. There is an excellent set of shipping pens that are conveniently located to State Route 377.

Ox Yoke Ranch is a well-improved, well-watered ranch with diverse grazing that offers the opportunity to support a sizeable, comparatively low-cost cattle operation.

SCENIC VISTAS

Several scenic vistas are available right on the ranch as you gaze off into Chevelon Canyon or the arroyos and washes that transverse the ranch. Immediately south of Heber lies the Mogollon Rim’s steep escarpment that marks the lower and central parts of the State from the northern plateau, climbing 1,000± to 2,000± feet above its base, and offers scenic vista views. The ranch is just a 3± hour drive from the Grand Canyon and its many scenic vistas!

Grand Canyon photo courtesy of Jennifer Rogalla Unsplash

NEARBY ATTRACTIONS & ACTIVITIES

Locally, goods, services, groceries, restaurants, and supplies are available in the nearby towns of Show Low, Snowflake-Taylor, and Heber-Overgaard. Valley Livestock Auction is in Sun Valley, about 10 miles northeast of Holbrook. Both Heber-Overgaard Unified School District and Snowflake Unified School District offer grades K-12. Northland Pioneer College, with four campuses and five centers throughout Navajo and Apache Counties, provides area residents with several specialty programs and university transfer degrees. For more information, visit their website at https://www.npc.edu/.

To enjoy living in the area and keep active in the local communities, there are many nearby attractions and events to visit or attend. For the horse enthusiast, the Linden Valley Arena in Show Low has regular roping events during the spring and summer. The PRCA 4th of July Rodeo in Taylor, popular with area residences, attracts the Nation’s top rodeo cowboys. Each September, the Navajo County Fair & Rodeo is held in Holbrook and offers fun for everyone! Other Area attractions and activities to be sure and visit or partake in include cruising the Mogollon Rim Road, visiting the Grand Canyon National Park or the Petrified Forest National Park. Or just spend time exploring the many campgrounds and the lakes of the nearby Sitgreaves National Forest.

Photo not taken on property

16 Ox Yoke Ranch | Holbrook, Arizona

INCOME OPPORTUNITY

Ox Yoke Ranch, primarily operated as a cow/calf operation, has a long history of producing income from cattle ranching. The availability and use of Drought Insurance has been a significant contributor to Ox Yoke Ranch’s income. Other income opportunities? Get a look at the ranch, and then use your imagination!

CLIMATE

Climate data courtesy of http://www.city-data.com/city/Heber-Overgaard-Arizona.html

The Heber area has an atypical version of a Mediterranean climate with an early summer dry period which is followed by monsoonal thunderstorms and frontal cloud-band rains in the cooler months. Summer temperatures can reach a high of 100 degrees in July, averaging 83 degrees, and reach a low of 30 degrees, averaging 55 degrees. Spring and fall temperatures can reach highs of 87 to 91 degrees, averaging 56 to 71 degrees, and reach lows of 3 degrees, averaging 26 to 39 degrees. Winter temperatures can reach highs of 70 to 78 degrees, averaging 45 to 56 degrees, and reach lows of -25 degrees, averaging 19 to 28 degrees. Average annual precipitation is 18.37 inches, with July and August being the peak months and April through June experiencing the least precipitation. Average snowfall at Heber is 39.8 inches, predominately occurring in the months of December through March.

IMPROVEMENTS

Ox Yoke Ranch’s improvements are functional, designed to augment operations and facilitate ease of management. The ranch does not have residences; the owner prefers to live in nearby Snowflake. The opportunity may exist for a purchaser of the ranch to also purchase the owner’s Snowflake residence, or a purchaser can explore constructing a residence on the ranch. The ranch is off grid: telephone and electricity services are unavailable. Improvements at the headquarters include a 22’ X 50’ equipment/feed storage barn constructed of C-block, with a concrete floor and metal roof. The ranch also has a 40’ X 40’ livestock/ hay barn with attached 140’ X 290’ pipe-constructed horse pens, a 12’ X 26’ shop, a 16’ X 50’ storage barn, and an 8’ X 40’ storage container. An excellent set of pipe-constructed shipping corrals with an improved alley, tub system, and holding pens has been handily constructed near State Route 377.

RECREATION

In addition to thousands of acres of the ranch to enjoy, the ranch adjoins the Sitgreaves National Forest, for even more territory to explore by driving, hiking, horseback riding, or off-road vehicle! Doves, Rocky Mountain elk, and pronghorn antelope are plentiful and frequently found on the ranch. For avian enthusiasts, many birds of prey winter in the area. Several man-made lakes in the National Forest are within easy driving distance of the ranch, offering fishing, paddle boarding, swimming, and boating opportunities. There are plenty of National Forest campgrounds for your camping adventures. For the golfer, the area has several courses in nearby communities: Winslow, Holbrook, Snowflake, Show Low, Pinetop, and Payson.

Photo not taken on property

Photo not taken on property

Photo not taken on property

unting & W ildlife

Ox Yoke Ranch is in Arizona’s Game Management Unit 4B, an area known for populations of Rocky Mountain elk, pronghorn antelope, mule deer, the occasional white-tailed deer, black bear, Merriam’s turkey, and mountain lion. For mule deer and white-tail deer, Unit 4B has both general firearms and early fall non-permitted archery hunting opportunities. The best habitat in the unit tends to be areas that have browse along the limestone edges of canyons, such as Chelevon, Wildcat, Brookbank, and along Potato Wash and Open Draw. Unit 4B is generally a draw unit for elk, but there are areas north of Hutch Road that include a limited elk zone where the department does not want elk. In this area, comprised of State Trust and private lands, there are three types of hunts: Limited Opportunity and Population Management Hunts and Over the Counter non-permitted hunts (OTC). Found throughout Unit 4B, elk prefer the higher forested areas during the summer months and the open juniper or grasslands in the fall, winter, and spring. There is a fall archery and general bear season in unit 4B. Almost all the black bear habitat is found in the major canyons, such as Chevelon and Wildcat Canyons, and their tributaries.

Unit 4B Merriam’s turkey hunts include a fall limited weapon-shotgun shoot season only. A fall archeryonly, over-the-counter non-permitted hunt, and a spring non-permitted juniors-only hunt, as well as a permitted hunt. For detailed information for all Unit 4B hunts, visit the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) website at https://www.azgfd.com/, or call the AZGFD at (602)-942-3000.

Chevelon Canyon Lake, just 10 miles southwest of the ranch’s southern border, offers fishing for brown and rainbow trout. The lake allows walk-in-only access resulting in limited pressure, so the trout tend to run larger than in lakes with easy access. Fool Hollow Lake, just northeast of Show Low, offers fishing for largemouth bass, black crappie, walleye, and rainbow trout. Big Lake, the largest and most productive lake in the area, just 2.5± hours southeast of Heber (10 miles south of Greer, Arizona), is a 450± acre lake that offers fishing for rainbow, brook, cutthroat, and brown trout. For the creek fisherman, Workman Creek is located 71± miles south of Heber and offers fishing for rainbow trout. The creek supports a small, naturally reproducing rainbow trout population, while the creek below the falls is stocked with rainbow trout twice yearly, during the early part of the summer. For detailed information for all fishing regulations, visit the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) website at https://www.azgfd.com/, or call the AZGFD at (602)-942-3000.

Brown trout not caught on property

Rainbow trout not caught on property

Walleye not caught on property

Crappie not caught on property

O t H er r ecreati O n

Other area recreation opportunities include camping, hiking, mountain biking, bird watching, and offroad vehicle trails. The area is just a 3± hour drive to the Grand Canyon and a 1± hour drive to the Petrified Forest National Park.

The Grand Canyon photo courtesy of Robert Anthony Carbone

WATER SOURCES | WATER RIGHTS

Ox Yoke Ranch has good stock water distribution with 12 wells equipped with submersible pumps and powered by diesel generators. Two of the wells are operated under a shared well agreement, plus one well is a 0.25 interest ownership. Well depths range from 700± to 1,050± feet, with most producing at 20± GPM; one well produces at 10± GPM. Storage tanks aid in meeting livestock requirements, while 12 miles of poly pipe, installed over the past twelve years, and tire drinkers aid in stock water distribution. The headquarters well services corral drinkers. Additional stock water distribution is provided by 25 dirt tanks and, seasonally, live water in the canyons and arroyos.

MINERAL RIGHTS

Ox Yoke Ranch does not own the mineral rights.

CONSERVATION | STEWARDSHIP

Each of us at Fay Ranches loves the land and wants to see it remain a productive agricultural ground and a quality fish and wildlife habitat. Through promoting thoughtful land stewardship, Fay Ranches has guided owners toward a legacy of conserving wide-open spaces, enhancing and creating fisheries and wildlife habitats, and implementing sustainable agricultural operations. Fay Ranches is proud to say that since our company began in 1992, our clients’ conservation ethics and land-use practices have significantly enhanced our work landscape.

SUMMARY

If you are a discerning cattle operator looking for a ranch that “makes sense,” you should pay attention to this offering. Ox Yoke Ranch is a well-improved ranch that presents an opportunity to acquire a “BigCountry” outfit with significant capacity that is a comparatively low-cost operation with good income potential. Don’t miss this opportunity!

$3,500,000 Cash, Conventional Financing, 1031 Tax Exchange

This is an exclusive co-marketing with Fay Ranches, Inc and the Listing Broker at SEI Real Estate Professionals, LLC . Please contact Scott Hawes at (541) 419-0770 | shawes@fayranches.com, Alex Robertson at (541) 420-2394 | arobertson@fayranches.com , or Listing Broker Tisha Carlisle at (928) 386-0751 | tishaseirep@yahoo.com to schedule a showing. To view other properties, fly fishing properties, and sporting ranches that we have listed, please visit our web page at www.fayranches.com .

PRICE TERMS CONTACT NOTICE

Offer is subject to errors, omissions, prior sale, change or withdrawal without notice, and approval of purchase by owner. Information regarding land classification, carrying capacities, maps, etc., is intended only as a general guideline and has been provided by the owners and other sources deemed reliable, but the accuracy cannot be guaranteed. Prospective purchasers are encouraged to research the information to their own satisfaction.