The Marty Ranch Harding, Perkins, Butte Counties, SD The legendary Marty Ranch is situated along the south slope of the Slim Buttes of northwestern South Dakota. In 1907, the ranch was homesteaded by William Marty Sr., Grandfather of the current owners and assembled over time early in the twentieth century by acquiring smaller ranches and homesteads. In the early days the operation consisted primarily of sheep production which was predominant in the area. The Marty ranch grew to nearly 30,000 acres by the 1930 s and around 1937 the ranch was converted mostly to cattle production and has remained so to the present day, over the years the Marty family has added to the ranch through deeded and leased property acquisition to its present day 47,625+/- acre size. The ranch is located approximately 55 miles northeast of Newell, SD or 100 miles north of Rapid City, South Dakota s second largest city. Access to the ranch is obtained from the west via US Hwy 79 and the Marty Rd., a well maintained County gravel road. Access from the south and east is available from US Hwy 212 at Mud Butte, SD north approx. 25 miles on Zeona Rd. and then 4 miles west on the Marty Rd. to the Headquarters. The size, scale and natural resource of the Marty Ranch lends itself very well to a variety of recreational opportunities such as, camping, fishing, hunting, trail riding, ATV s, fossil hunting, and photography with some of the most scenic surroundings in the country. The Custer National Forest boarder the property to the north and the Black Hills National Forest is also an easy commute from the ranch offering a host of recreational and vacation opportunities.
Some of the timbered draws and buttes that complement the ranch s character. The ranch consists of a total of 47,625 acres more or less, (comprised of 34,481ac. deeded, 8,914ac. SD State lease, 640ac. private lease, 80ac. BLM lease, 3190ac. Custer Nat l Forest Grazing Permit, 320ac. private land fenced in w/out lease.
The topography on the ranch ranges from the steep slopes and pine covered ridges of the Slim Buttes (elevation 3400 ft.) to the rolling hills with timbered draws and creeks and the gentle valley of the Moreau River (elevation 2700 ft.). The soils on the ranch are comprised of mostly silty, silty-loam and silty clay loams. The ranch is easy to travel with the county roads providing the main arteries and the ranch roads running to each of the pastures. The numerous wooded creeks and draws on the property provide winter protection for livestock and wildlife. The ranch is well fenced into 18 separate pastures ranging in size from 110 to 5,762 acres. The fences may not always follow property boundaries, some areas are fenced for convenience of operation and may have trade use arrangements with neighboring ranches. The ranch sells by legal description only, as-is where-is. Water on the ranch is exceptional, both in quality and quantity. There are approximately ten electric wells, six windmills, thirty-five dams, a dugout, one artesian well and numerous springs located on the property. The water distribution throughout the ranch is well designed and well placed with over 38 miles of pipeline and more than 40 well placed tanks. The artesian well located near the Moreau River is partially capped and currently runs at about 12-15 gpm. It is believed that the well is capable of over 100 gpm flows. It is not cased at this time. Additionally, the Moreau River traverses through the ranch for approx. 8 to 9 miles providing live water to the entire south west portion of the ranch. The river is in a wide valley and is easily accessed by livestock and has been depended upon for summer grazing since the ranch was established. The owners recount that even during the dust-bowl of the 1930 s, the river never stopped flowing.
Wildlife on the ranch is, as you might expect on a property of this size, abundant and varied. From big game species such as mule deer, whitetail deer, antelope and in the higher elevations and occasional elk, to the upland game-birds such as grouse, pheasants, and sage hens. There are also the ever present coyote, bobcat, badgers and an occasional mountain lion. The ranch would work very well for a commercial hunting operation.
The ranch improvements are very functional and well cared for. There are four homes, numerous barns, livestock sheds, a machine storage shed, quonset shop, windbreak structures and other out-buildings. The ranch has three complete sets of corral systems and another with pens and a loading chute. Hay production has been primarily from smaller hay meadows along the main creek running through the headquarters and consists of a grass/alfalfa mix. More feed production could be facilitated in a number of areas on the property.
The mixture of natives grasses on the ranch are impressive ranging cool season plants such as the wheat grasses to the warm season grama grasses and little bluestem. The variety of grass species throughout the ranch speaks to the fact that the ranch has received exceptional stewardship on a continual basis. The Marty Ranch has been operated as a lowcost operation and has relied primarily on grazing along with protein supplement through the winter and feed hay only as needed, normally 2-3 months. There has not been a search done to determine the exact oil, gas and mineral interests the owners currently hold but they will convey up to 50% of their interests (whatever they may be) upon completing the sale of the property. The real estate taxes paid on the ranch in 2012 were $17,351 on the Harding County property, $15,692 on the Perkins County property and $9,186 on the Butte County property. The taxes on the SD School and Public Lands leases were $9,053. For a total of $51,282 in real estate taxes. The annual lease costs are approximately; $27,106 for the SD School Land leases, $1,340 for the Custer National Forest grazing permit, $855 for the private leases and $12 for the BLM lease for a total of $29,313. The Marty Ranch is being offered for sale in its entirety at $20,690,000 (a very reasonable $600/acre) The principals may consider the sale of parcels of the ranch provided the sale of all the parcels occur simultaneously.
Broker Comments: There are few ranch properties large enough to be an efficient operation and even fewer that are on the market. After over a century of operating as the Marty Ranch this truly unique ranch property is being offered for sale by private treaty. The Marty ranch is held completely debt free and has been the beneficiary of impeccable stewardship by the Marty Family. Everything essential to a high end ranch property is combined here in this Ranch. Come and examine for yourself, if you re in the market for either a summer grass operation or year around ranch enclave, you will be thoroughly impressed with the Marty Ranch.
For more information or to schedule a viewing contact JD Hewitt 605.347.1100 or Tyson Hewitt 605.206.0034