Ranch Investor Podcast

With over 16 years as the principal of his DL Resource Management LLC and having penned articles for likes of Beef Magazine, Land.com, and Faye Ranches, Dan drove over 15 hours through a western blizzard to join us in Montana and share his experience of what it takes to be a professional ranch manager. When you have that much success, it should be shared which is why we are also excited to hear how Dan is donating his time and contributing his efforts to a non-profit that seeks to protect western heritage while inclusively educating today’s new era of landowners, cowboys, and residents in the Wild Wild West.

2021 was a record year for ranch real estate…Actually, it was THE RECORD YEAR. No other time in history had seen the amount of sales volume, rapidly appreciating and inflating land values, size of transactions, number of transactions, and average value or sales price.Like the 2021 ranch real estate market, we’re back stronger and bigger than ever!Your hosts kick off this Season III opener with a year-end summary of “WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED IN 2021?!?) No sponsor this year, so the gloves have come off. We cannot be shut-down or canceled!

In this episode, our guest is John Hansen, former Director of Ranch Operations at Turner Enterprises.After over 20 years of working for Ted Turner, John is starting a new position as  Head of Landowner Profitability Programs at LandTrust.

Jim Toth of Western Ranch Brokers joins us to share how his team of only 3 have completed some of the biggest deals in Montana these past two years, how they are leading sales, and expanding to other states.Of particular interest is Jim’s 30 years of experience in Montana ranch sales and how he compares today’s boom to 2006 as well as why it might be different today.Hear his predictions on where this market is going, and be sure to take notes for what he believes the best purchases are for today’s buyers. 

Putting it all together; over the past year and a half we have discussed community relationships, absentee owners, holistic management, regenerative agriculture, new technologies, education, making it fun, cash flow, managing change, and carbon markets to name a few.It is difficult to put the Indrelands in a “box” and give them a label as they do it all, but for brevity’s sake, we’ll call them ranchers.Ranchers who are applying all areas of our Ranch Investor podcast series to their many businesses, or as we keep referring to them in this episode as “enterprises.”We enjoyed our discussion with them so much that this may even be a two-part episode. Indreland Angus originated in 1977. Production philosophy is that cows must consistently excel at converting basic grass resource to beef. Practicing this philosophy has refined the cowherd into trouble free and productive cattle. They do not select for any extremes in performance but demand functionality in our cattle and practice line breeding and strive to produce as many ½ and ¾ blood calves as possible. Learn more about Indreland Angus here: https://www.indrelandranch.com/

Putting it all together; over the past year and a half we have discussed community relationships, absentee owners, holistic management, regenerative agriculture, new technologies, education, making it fun, cash flow, managing change, and carbon markets to name a few.It is difficult to put the Indrelands in a “box” and give them a label as they do it all, but for brevity’s sake, we’ll call them ranchers.Ranchers who are applying all areas of our Ranch Investor podcast series to their many businesses, or as we keep referring to them in this episode as “enterprises.”We enjoyed our discussion with them so much that this may even be a two-part episode.Indreland Angus originated in 1977. Production philosophy is that cows must consistently excel at converting basic grass resource to beef. Practicing this philosophy has refined the cowherd into trouble free and productive cattle. They do not select for any extremes in performance but demand functionality in our cattle and practice line breeding and strive to produce as many ½ and ¾ blood calves as possible. Learn more about Indreland Angus here: https://www.indrelandranch.com/

“When we started, we were hoping to do $15,000,000 per year in ranch sales.We are doing several deals a year of that size alone now.”Roger “Jake” Jacobs gives us his 30+ years of experience in auctioneering and ranch brokering.As a buyer, seller, investor, or aspiring ranch broker, would you like to know what went into that level of success and how you can apply his experience to your own objectives?This is the closest you will come to Insider Knowledge about the ranch brokerage business.Roger Jacobs has been a licensed auctioneer since 1975 and a licensed real estate professional since 1985, when he joined Pat Pat Land Company which was later named Premier Intermountain Properties, and now is known as Premier Land Company.Roger was born and raised on a farm/ranch in Southwest North Dakota and graduated from North Dakota State University with a B.S. Degree in Animal Science. Roger worked as a regional manager for the American Angus Association and Angus Journal from 1977 to 1983 at which time he and his wife Sandy started Jacobs Livestock Sales inc., a purebred livestock auction company that sells 100 plus sales a year in ten to twenty states. Roger’s agricultural background, extensive travels and large network of clients in the auction business have been a great asset in the real estate business.Roger and Sandy have three grown children and seven grandchildren. Roger enjoys spending time with family, cooking, gardening and the outdoors. His outdoor pursuits include bird hunting with his English Setter & Black lab, big game hunting and fishing.

Is the best ranch investment you can make the time and expense of educating yourself and your people?Ranches and ranch-lands are an investment, at this point in our series we know that this asset is not one that should be considered an operating asset or a means of production; the cash flow just isn’t there and the variables for value, appreciation, and correlation to other markets are too diverse to simplify ranchlands as just a means for livestock and lifestyle. So how do you protect and optimize the return of your investment? Dr. Rachel Frost believes the answer is through good people, education, and competent management.In this episode, we discuss why it is vital that today’s ranch owners allocate the time and direct costs associated with education.There are too many cowboys out there who think they have all the answers and do not need guidance or assistance from professional resources. There are too many billionaire vanity-ranchers who are not treating this investment as a fragile and holistic asset that deserves the respect of competent, insightful, and educated management.Let's dig in!

Carbon markets are currently one of the hottest, most talked about topics in ranch investing.  And why not?  As one of the most promising solutions for combating climate change, there is the potential for landowners to get rewarded for their sustainable practices via this emerging new market.In this episode, we hear from Chris Mehus, Ranch Programs Director for Western Sustainability Exchange, out of Livingston Montana.  Chris shares his wealth of information and experience in regenerative ranching, agricultural economics, and the emerging carbon market.