Thunder Ranch - Utah, Uintah County, Jensen

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Thunder Ranch is blessed with a great quantity of deeded water, exceptionally high yielding fertile farm ground, and an abundance of hard grass grazing land combining for a highly productive year-round farm and ranch operation.

There are approximately 2,145 acres of sprinkler pivot irrigated farmland at Thunder Ranch. The primary crop is high-protein alfalfa hay with some corn and small grain rotated through. During the May-September growing season, the ranch produces four cuttings with annual yields of 6-7 tons per acre.

Thunder Ranch produces extraordinarily high-quality hay. The hay is sold primarily to dairy and thoroughbred horse operations, and averages 22% protein and Relative Feed Values (RFV) of 170, with some tested as high as 240.

The ranch irrigates with over 40 cfs of water pumped directly out of the Green River at 3 stations with a total of 12 electric pumps. The ranch utilizes 6 pump houses to distribute the water through 12 miles of pipeline to 17 pivots and 142 towers. The irrigated fields range from 25 acres to an astonishing 350 acres.

Ranching in the 21st Century requires cutting edge technology, and the investments in technology at Thunder Ranch are second to none. In addition to owning state-of-the-art farm equipment and implementing the latest science in agriculture, Thunder Ranch has installed wireless technology and real time remote control surveillance cameras to further streamline its operations, reduce demands on its manpower, and provide a high level of comfort and assurance to the off-site owner.

An industrial strength wireless network (Wi-Fi) blankets the entire 3,450 acre Headquarters Unit. The Wi-Fi network provides access to a high speed DSL internet connection, the ranch’s local area network (LAN) and surveillance cameras located across the ranch. Additionally, the Wi-Fi network has been designed to accommodate future automation of all irrigation pumps and pivots. Both the high speed internet and the surveillance system are accessible via secure wireless hotspots and hardwired connections located throughout the Ranch.

Seventeen high-tech surveillance cameras, manufactured by Panasonic, are located throughout the Headquarters Unit. These cameras provide real-time monitoring of wildlife, crops, weather conditions, equipment, personnel and visitors for both ranch management and security. Each camera is controlled via an internet browser which allows pan, tilt and zoom controls for the user to see virtually every portion of the ranch property. The camera’s powerful 220x zoom capability allows users to view objects thousands of feet away with great detail. Each camera is recorded on a centrally located network digital video recorder which allows playback and review of archived video footage should the need arise. Remote access to each camera and the recorder is available 24/7 anywhere in the world with an internet connection.


Thunder Ranch runs a year-round cow/calf operation with a current annual capacity of approximately 500 head. Cattle graze and are fed through the winter at the Jensen Headquarters Unit and the Walker Hollow (UT) BLM allotments. From May 1st through November 15th, the cattle are summer pasturing at the Blue Mountain Tract, with combined deeded and contiguous BLM allotments in Colorado and Utah consisting of over 11,000 acres.


455 acres of the Headquarters Unit along the Green River has a conservation easement on it. This easement with the U.S. Department of Interior Bureau of Reclamation was established in order to provide breeding grounds for two endangered fish species, the Razorback Sucker and the Colorado Pike minnow. This provides for diversions from the Green River to accentuate the area as breeding grounds for the fish. The area has also become a natural reserve for the elk that migrate to and reside on the ranch.