Today, owning cattle ranches involves business decisions requiring an evaluation of a number of factors with the overriding goal to find a ranch that is economically viable and ecologically sustainable.
Southern Colorado is home to several cattle ranches that provide for solid infrastructure, sustainable agriculture, water resources, quality grasses and soils, as well as access to available public land.
Read on to learn about the top cattle ranches available on the market today in southern Colorado.
Top Cattle Ranches for Sale in Southern Colorado
Ute Ranch
La Veta, Colorado
(Huerfano County)
$2,795,000
295 +/- Deeded Acres
While on the smaller side for this list, Ute Ranch packs a big punch. Seasonally managed for decades as part of a larger cow-calf operation on a neighboring ranch, the possibilities are endless for a new owner.
The property includes hay production on ~ 125 acres of irrigated and sub-irrigated hay ground, and 195 acres of high quality upland pasture. In addition to the main ranch manager’s house, the ranch has all the working improvements you need including two barns, a work-shop, working pens, and perimeter and interior fencing.
Sweetwater Ranch
Trinchera, Colorado
(Las Animas County)
$7,600,000
7,600 +/- Deeded Acres
Sweetwater Ranch is a solid southeastern Colorado grazing ranch. The northern half of the ranch is mostly open buffalo and blue grama grassland. The southern half is mostly rolling hillsides with pinon, cedar and oak brush providing nice cover for cattle and wildlife. A general rule of thumb for this area is a stocking rate of 40 acres per cow in normal moisture years. Stock water is sourced through dirt tanks along with ephemeral springs and ponds.
BX Ranch
Avondale, Colorado
(Pueblo County)
$8,900,000
24,778 +/- Deeded Acres
The current owners made the significant investment in the operational infrastructure on the ranch which allowed a change from conventional management to a more intensive and healthy short-rotation grazing practice. The enhanced working infrastructure has made the ranch much more productive with a healthy and resilient range condition and improved year-round carrying capacity now rated for more than 800 pairs.
4-Way Ranch
Colorado Springs, Colorado
(El Paso County)
$15,082,500
6,033 +/- Deeded Acres
4-Way Ranch is 6,033 acres of unencumbered grassland located in the middle of the Colorado Springs MSA between Falcon and Peyton. This is one of the last remaining undeveloped and unencumbered properties of its size along Colorado’s rapidly growing Front Range.
The ranch will accommodate 200 pair in normal moisture years. The ranch is well watered with a mix of windmills, natural spring fed ponds, and dirt tanks.
Red Top Ranch
Pueblo, Colorado
(Pueblo County)
$16,500,000
69,126 +/- Deeded Acres
Red Top Ranch is the largest and best known ranch in Pueblo County. The ranch is home to a year-round cattle operation, including breeding and calving, and it is conservatively rated for 1,200 cow/calf pairs.
The property is well suited for cattle grazing and recreation with several streams and drainages crossing the ranch, a nice mixture of grasses and cover, and a canyon system on the southwest portion of the property. Forested vegetation consists primarily of pinion junipers. In addition, there are several miles of underground water pipelines with wells, windmills, and tanks.
Singing River Ranch
Gardener, Colorado
(Huerfano County)
$16,500,000
6,100 +/- Deeded Acres
The ranch currently grazes cattle on the deeded ground as well as the adjoining state and federal lands. The Forest Service permit allows for 200 cow/calf pairs to graze for 2.5 months during the summer months and there is plenty of forage and access to water for a small cattle operation.