Shawnee River Ranch

Description

Shawnee River Ranch is a phenomenal cattle operation with 615 acres of lush bottomland forage of Johnson, Bermuda, Vetch, Clover, and Rye grass. In fact, the ranch is almost completely open and productive with 95% of the soils being Class 3 or better. It has nice improvements including two center pivots irrigating 230 acres, almost 3/4 mile of North Canadian River frontage, a six-acre oxbow lake, two dwellings, two large barns, pipe working pens, trophy deer, waterfowl, and fishing. In addition, if you are looking for a property that is close to the metro and only a short drive from I-40, this ranch certainly checks those boxes as it is just a three-mile drive south of I-40, 10 minutes from Shawnee, 30 minutes from Oklahoma City, 1 1/2 hours from Tulsa and less than 3 hours from DFW.  

Although close to the metro and I-40, the ranch features a level of peace and quiet not often seen in this area. One of the main reasons is that the county road terminates at your entry gate. With just a handful of homes between your gate and the next intersection, the traffic is minimal.

There is a large metal equipment barn that is ideal for storing your tractors, mowers, rakes and bailers. In addition, there is a large wood framed barn with concrete floor that has a ceiling height that you rarely see these days. In fact, it reminded us of the design and craftmanship we've seen in Amish barns, with tack rooms, feed stalls and plenty of room for hay storage. The working pens adjoin this barn so if you wanted to cross fence the property and run cattle on part of it, you would have a good start on being able to efficiently work cattle. Alternatively, the red metal skin of this structure fits the stereotypical barn image and could be repurposed into a barndominium or rustic setting for a special event center to create an agrotourism revenue stream.

Two homes sit on a small hill near the river on the east side of the property. One is a modern ranch style brick home that has three bedrooms and two bathrooms. In addition, a wood frame homestead style home complete with shiplap and hardwood floors offers a nice view from the back porch up the river. Both are being sold as is and will need require some repairs and likely remodeling to suit the needs of the next owner. As always, the construction arm of the Land Doctors will be ready to provide cost estimates for whatever vision you have for the property.

Although this part of Oklahoma gets about 40 inches of rain per year, the coarse, well-drained soil of the ranch limits drainage issues to only a few low spots. In dry years, hay production can be sustained at normal levels by irrigating with either the 200-acre center pivot or the 30-acre wiper pivot. This ranch needs very little irrigation, but you can feel secure in knowing that when a drought occurs and it is needed, the water rights that transfer with the property are some of the most senior on the river. New pumps and maintenance will be required on both pivots before they can be used. Even without irrigation, the current Lessee has been able to cut up to a total of 4600 bales weighing 1100 pounds by cutting the entire property twice and a small part of it a third time in one year. The neighbors are growing some nice alfalfa and we think that a rotation of this high-quality legume hay would boost both farm income and nitrogen levels. Some of our other clients have planted winter cover crops on these types of soils recently with great results. Radishes and turnips might be just the thing to boost organic carbon content in some of the sandier soil on the property. Historically, corn, wheat, and sod have been produced on the property giving you even more crop rotation options. If you would like to run a cattle operation, a very conservative stocking rate would be 200 pairs and we think that with cross fencing, winter cover crops and good weed management, 300 pairs could be consistently run on the ranch.

Of course, life isn't all about work. The natural beauty of the ranch is top notch. With a growth of ancient pecans and oaks on all the drainages, the property has an old world look to it. In addition, the river and oxbow will provide lots of fun fishing and waterfowl opportunities. Lastly, river bottoms are the last great wildlife corridors and the influx of mature whitetail bucks during the rut will ensure that you get lots of opportunities to see and hunt deer. If you are looking for a beautiful, peaceful, and productive ranch close to the OKC metro please call Steve Owen at 580 231 2386.