SOLD: Uncle Bill's Farm and Ranch | Fay Ranches

Uncle Bill’s Farm & Ranch | Socorro, New Mexico

INTRODUCTION

Uncle Bill’s Farm and Ranch in Socorro County, New Mexico, includes 37,941± acres of farming and grazing lands, along with 533.73 annual consumptive acre-feet of pre-1907 water rights. The 297± acres of farm, mostly cultivated ground (Mountain View Farm), are located in Las Nutrias off the Rio Grande River, and irrigation water is delivered via Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District (MRGCD) ditches. The grazing range (Chupadera Ranch) lies 40 minutes to the southeast and is 54% deeded, 36% state lease, and 10% Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lease. Not including farm production, the ranch is rated to carry 580 cow-calf pairs, and it also boasts the extra attraction of quality hunting (Game Management Unit 18) for elk, mule deer, pronghorn, and oryx. The farm is leased by a dairy for $5,000 a month, and the ranch grazing is leased for $10,000 a month. Further, there is a $35,665 annual lease with White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) for fly-over and evacuation with additional payments if evacuation is requested.

The farm is planted in sorghum-sudangrass that is utilized for silage by a dairy milking four-thousand cows. The dairy farmer mentioned that the farm’s water right is interesting to him because he believes it could be extracted from wells if desired, not just delivered from the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District (MRGCD) ditches, which could be advantageous. Dove, quail, pheasant, and turkey call the farm home. Waterfowl use the irrigation ditches and flyway heavily – including ducks, geese, and magnificent sandhill cranes. There is also an annual depredatio n elk hunt in the Rio Grande Bosque, and the farm is awarded tags.

Currently, the ranch is stocked with 400 pairs, and the rangeland is healthy. Five wells are on the property, and water is distributed to drinkers. The drinkers attract wildlife, are thick with dove, hold quail coveys, and anchor big-game-animal movement across the ranch. The owners have kept hunting to a minimum but can issue Landowner Tags for elk, deer, and or yx at their discretion. Oryx are visually stunning, and finding a good, reproducing population like this is rare. Free-ranging African oryx in the United States are unique to New Mexico and can be hunted year-round. Additionally, the ranch annually receives four pronghorn tags.

QUICK FACTS

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The farm is 297± acres with 533.73 annual consumptive acre-feet of pre-1907 water rights

• The ranch is 37,644± acres that is 54% deeded, 36% state, and 10% Bureau Land Mangement

• The farm is leased at $5,000 a month and is planted in sorghum-sudangrass

• The ranch grazing is leased at $10,000 a month plus a $35,665 annual payment from White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) for fly-over and occasional evacuation

• Hunting opportunities on the ranch include oryx, elk, mule deer, and pronghorn (GMU 18)

• Farm hunting includes duck, geese, sandhill crane, turkey, pheasant, and elk (GMU 14)

• Both the farm and ranch have populations of quail and dove

• Both the farm and ranch are located 100% in Socorro County

• Ranch livestock and wildlife are watered by a series of wells and drinkers

• The elevation of the farm is 4,750± feet above sea level

• Ranch elevations vary from 5,900± feet down to 5,400± feet, and the land contour is charming

• Pretty mountain views compliment both the farm and ranch

Bill’s Farm & Ranch | Socorro, New Mexico

Mountain View Farm at Las Nutrias is 50± miles south of Albuquerque via Interstate 25, with Chupadera Ranch located 40± miles southeast of the farm. Thirty miles south of the farm, down the Rio Grande River Valley, you have the charming town of Socorro, New Mexico, a population of 8,400±, with its respected college - New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, and its 18-hole public golf course. Thirty-six miles northeast of the ranch, you will find the friendly town of Mountainair, a population of 903±, home to the headquarters of the National Park Service’s Salinas Pueblo Missions. Also interesting to note, Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge takes in 360± square miles (230,000± acres) of northern Socorro County, almost connecting the farm to the ranch.

Uncle Bill’s Farm & Ranch | Socorro, New Mexico

AREA HISTORY

Farming flourished long ago in the Rio Grande River Valley with early Pueblo cultures’ primitive irrigation. Then the Spanish arrived around 1600 and expanded it further. Farming continued through the centuries, with modern times (1925) bringing the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy. Known as the MRGCD, this water management authority has a vast array of levees and irrigation canals that deliver water to farms from Albuquerque down to Elephant Butte Lake. The legacy of Mountain View Farm’s long-standing water rights mixes with the interesting history of the MRGCD.

Climbing out of the river valley to the east, one finds grama-grass plains spread among desert mountains. Chupadera Mesa forms the southern edge of the Estancia Basin, and Chupadera Ranch lies to the south of this high-plains region dotted with dry salt lakes. Clovis Man and Folsom people lived here first; then, these roving, gathering hunters were replaced by a culture cultivating corn and living in pit-housevillages. These tribes and their culture were influenced by the Anasazi, spreading across the southwest from the Four Corners region. Over 700 years, from about 600 AD to 1300 AD, their pithouses evolved to include above-ground stacked-stone structures. In 1492, Christopher Columbus came to America,

Uncle Bill’s Farm & Ranch | Socorro, New Mexico

and by 1598, Spanish explorers were in the Estancia Basin attempting to govern these pueblos. Their governing didn’t work, but the missionaries took over as the conquerors let go.

Called the “Salinas Province” because the Indians collected salt from the dry lakes to trade, the Spaniards didn’t leave the region or its people alone. Under the Franciscan Order of the Holy Catholic Church, New Mexico essentially became a missionary colony, and the Salinas Pueblos became a grand, isolated Franciscan experiment. Determined to convert the natives, for 50 years the priests remained in these villages, causing beautiful churches to be built at three different pueblos in the province. Not surprisingly, while religious tensions never subsided, drought and hunger had the last word, driving both the Spaniards and the Indians away by 1677.

Preserved architecture and identified pottery styles give the most information to this 900-year-long story. The native people were good builders and master potters. Today broken pieces of pottery are scattered from the Rio Grande River to the Salinas Pueblos, and examples of many different pottery styles can be found on the farm and ranch.

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SCENIC VISTAS

Gentle mountains surround the farm and the ranch making for very pretty landscapes. New Mexico sunrises and sunsets are some of the best, and those here are no exception. Called The Land of Enchantment, natural light in New Mexico’s dry air does something magical, thus the reason so many great painters and photographers call New Mexico home. www.fayranches.com

(800) 238.8616

CLIMATE

Climate data courtesy of http://www.city-data.com/city/Socorro-New-Mexico.html

Socorro County’s climate is mild and sunny; not too hot, with less than 25-days a year where temperatures exceed 95 degrees. The area is not too cold either, with less than 30-days a year when temperatures drop below freezing. An average of 10 inches of rain is complimented by 6 inches of snow, with an average of 47 days having some precipitation each year. This is a very comfortable, high elevation, low humidity climate.

Bill’s Farm & Ranch | Socorro, New Mexico

Boasting the largest wildlife refuge in New Mexico (Sevilleta), and one of the top birding destinations in the country (Bosque Del Apache), outdoor recreation options are spectacular in Socorro County. You can hike, bike, climb and/or take your vehicles off-road. Golfing and fishing options are abundant too.

H unting & W ildlife

Located in Game Management Units 18 and 14, Uncle Bill’s Farm and Ranch offers spectacular hunting opportunities. Maybe most unique is the oryx population on the ranch and the fact that they can be hunted year-round. Oryx meat is said to be delicious, and the ranch can issue Landowner oryx tags. Big game hunting for elk, mule deer, and pronghorn is also outstanding with Landowner-issued ranch tags for deer and elk, and an annual allocation of pronghorn tags (currently 4) by New Mexico Department of Game and Fish (NMDGF).

Dove and quail make themselves known at both the farm and ranch, and ring-neck pheasant constantly show themselves at the farm. Moreover, with all the wet habitat, as one might expect, the farm is a magnet for migrating waterfowl including ducks, geese, snow geese, and sandhill crane. Lastly, the farm receives elk tags from annual bosque depredation hunts.

Bill’s Farm & Ranch

Socorro, New Mexico

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The Very Large Array (VLA) is a radio astronomy observatory on the remarkable Plains of San Agustin, 50 miles west of Socorro. The site is a great tourist draw and very much worth the visit. The VLA is a location featured in numerous Hollywood sci-fi movies, including Armageddon, Contact, 2010, and Independence Day.

Very Large Array

INCOME OPPORTUNITY

Income and income potential are diverse and unique. The farm is leased for $5,000 a month to a dairy. Ranch grazing is leased at roughly $10,000 a month to a cattleman. There is an agreement with the U.S. Army White Sands Missile Range providing a $35,665 annual payment for fly-over above ground right-of-way and evacuation - which provides additional payments if and when evacuation is called for. Hunting opportunities abound at both the farm and the ranch. Big game tags for elk, mule deer, pronghorn and oryx all have a market value. Hunting of ducks, geese, sandhill crane, dove and quail is also all very popular and could be monetized.

Uncle Bill’s Farm & Ranch | Socorro, New Mexico

WATER SOURCES | WATER RIGHTS

The farm is complemented by a large block of water rights. The State Engineer’s Office issued a declaration on September 24, 2020 recognizing pre-1907 rights in the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District of 533.73 consumptive acre-feet (Declaration SD – 03575 – Amended). The dairyman leasing the farm suggested the water may be extractable via wells rather than delivered by ditches. Moreover, the water rights could possibly be sold to a municipality, for example the City of Rio Rancho or the Village of Los Lunas.

The ranch has five active wells with pipelines and drinkers that water cattle and wildlife. Several are on solar panels and several benefit from overhead electric power. Two additional wells with old windmills may also prove viable with some investment – at least to the benefit of wildlife.

MINERAL RIGHTS

The seller will convey what mineral rights they have. They do not know of any mineral right severances but make no representations. A buyer must do their due diligence and satisfy themselves on this issue.

CONSERVATION | STEWARDSHIP

Each of us at Fay Ranches loves the land and wants to see it remain productive agricultural ground and 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 ethic and land-use practices have significantly enhanced our work landscape.

SUMMARY

Nowhere in the Southwestern United States will one find a more productive combination of farm and ranch at this kind of price, and with New Mexico’s low property taxes! An incredible amount of water/water right is attached to this 297± acre farm (Mountain View Farm). An abundance of grazing with large-herd-carrying capacity makes up the range lands - 37,644± acres with the priceper-animal-unit being lower thanks to State and Bureau Land Management (BLM) leased lands (Chupadera Ranch). Both properties are wildlife strongholds with biodiversity that lends itself to activities ranging from trophy big game hunting to some of the finest birdwatching in New Mexico.

Income sources and potential income sources are diverse, including under-developed hunting opportunities, a farm lease, a grazing lease, and a fly-over lease from White Sands Missile Range! Excellent elk, mule deer and pronghorn hunting is complimented by the unique addition of a large reproducing herd of free-ranging African oryx. Moreover, the setting is lovely with gentle mountains rising-up in all directions - making for gorgeous views and sunsets of purple, blue, pink, and orange.

Uncle Bill’s Farm & Ranch | Socorro, New Mexico

$23,527,000

The farm and water rights are offered separately at $13,680,000

The ranch is offered separately at $9,847,000

TAXES

2021 Taxes paid - Farm: $2,932.66, Ranch: $2,242.36, MRGCD water service: $11,840

PRICE TERMS

Cash, Conventional Financing, 1031 Tax Exchange

CONTACT

Please contact Greg Walker at (720) 441-3131 | gwalker@fayranches.com or Robert Martin at (505) 603-9140 | rmartin@fayranches.com to schedule a showing. This is an exclusive listing. An agent from Fay Ranches must be present at all showings, unless otherwise noted or other arrangements are made. To view other properties, fly fishing properties, and sporting ranches that we have listed, please visit our web page at www.fayranches.com .

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.

Uncle Bill’s Farm & Ranch | Socorro, New Mexico