Haymaker Ranch

The Haymaker Ranch begins approximately two miles north of the town of Two Dot, Montana. It is paved to within one mile of the ranch’s southern boundary. The ranch is served by excellent graveled county roads which run through it from south to north after leaving U.S. Highway 12. It lies about 13 miles west of Harlowton which in turn is about 44 miles north of Big Timber and about 90 miles northwest of Billings. Billings provides the closest and best air service just over 100 miles from the ranch, although Bozeman is only slightly further. Billings boasts extensive commercial air service options as well as facilities for private aircraft. Major carriers such as Horizon, Frontier, United and Delta combine to offer multiple flights each day to virtually any destination in the U.S. through their hubs in Denver, Salt Lake City, Minneapolis and Seattle. Most services and schools are available nearby in Harlowton.

The Haymaker Ranch lies in an area of large reputation ranches that rarely come on the market and have historically been passed down through the generations. While there are some smaller holdings in the area – especially along the river and near the towns – the Haymaker would not be considered a particularly large ranch for this part of Montana. Some of the famous families that put together the early ranching empires headquartered or operated in this area. Charles Bair – an early day sheep rancher - operated on hundreds of thousands of acres. That ranch, recently donated to a charitable foundation by Charles’ philanthropist daughter Alberta, is still intact with its headquarters just west at Martinsdale. Other ranches in the area have histories that go back into the mid to late 1800s when people moved into the area because of the gold mines in the Castle Mountains and over in the Helena area. The name “Two Dot” has an interesting history. George R. Wilson came to what was to become Montana in 1864 and had a successful career trailing cattle to the miners in Virginia City. To identify his cattle, he adopted a practice of heating up the king pin of one of his wagons and branding two dots placed horizontally on both hips. He used this mark throughout his life and at one time had over 8,000 horses branded with it. He was known as Two Dot Wilson and the town of Two Dot was founded in 1900 and named after him. The Two Dot brand was acquired by John H. Freeser in 1907 after Wilson’s death when he bought the remnants of his herds. It remained in the Freeser family until 1978 when their cattle were sold. The Freeser Ranch lies a few miles to the east of the Haymaker.The Haymaker Ranch was reputedly owned by a sea captain from Maine in the 1880s but he gave up on sheep ranching and much of the ranch was homesteaded unsuccessfully in the early 1900s. It was pieced together again by a cowman named Cleve Vannoy and changed hands a number of times before it was purchased by its current owners in 1963. The “big house” that was built by the Maine sea captain was converted to a stage stop and unfortunately burned down in 1975. The word is that Charlie Russell, the famous painter, stayed there from time to time.The Haymaker Ranch lies in the Musselshell Valley. In fact, the south end of the ranch is only about a mile north of the river. This is a valley well regarded by livestock people as an excellent year-round home for cattle. Pride of ownership and a sense of history is almost palpable everywhere one goes. The small communities of Two Dot and Martinsdale are comfortable gathering places for the local ranchers and Harlowton offers most services. This is an area that is somewhat off the main tourist track and has kept to itself to a large degree. Outsiders who have moved in have tended to respect the traditions and have maintained the ranching culture. The nearby Crazy, Little Belt, and Castle Mountains offer grand vistas and a dramatic backdrop to the open grasslands that dominate this part of Montana. This is an area where one can still buy a good operating ranch in a true ranching community with great mountain views and reasonable access to Montana’s more sought after towns and cities.

This is a relatively dry area with annual precipitation estimated to be in the area of 12 inches. Winters tend to be fairly open with limited snow accumulations. The area is subject to Chinook winds and it is not unusual to see cattle grazing throughout the winter months. Summers are comfortable with cool nights and daytime temperatures that can occasionally reach into the 90s.

The Haymaker Ranch is a huge block of pure rangeland with nearly 1,000 acres of meadows along Haymaker Creek which runs through the center of the ranch. It is reminiscent of the Serengeti plains of East Africa and this comparison seems even more appropriate when one sees herds of cattle and antelope dotting the plains. What sets Haymaker apart, is that it enjoys dramatic views of the Crazy Mountain peaks to the south and the Castle, Little Belt and Snowy Mountains to the north and west.

Deeded Acres: 27,708±

State Leased Acres: 0±

Private Leased Acres: 0±

BLM Leased Acres: 0±

Indian Leased Acres: 0±

Other Leased Acres: 0±

Total Leased Acres: 0±

Total Acres: 27,708±

The ranch boasts a comfortable but modest set of buildings at the headquarters. There are two mobile homes that are nicely landscaped and sited some distance apart to provide visual privacy. They currently house the long-time ranch manager and the owner when he is in residence. There is also a barn with a small set of corrals and shop in the main building complex. The buildings are set in a protected area overlooking the meadows more or less in the center of the ranch and about 1.5 miles off the county road. The shipping corrals were originally designed for use when the ranch ran yearlings and includes a set of certified scales. They are located about one mile off the county road a short distance to the east of the headquarters.The ranch is fenced into over ten 2,000 to 4,000-acre pastures with good exterior and interior fencing. Wells, springs and reservoirs are in good condition and well distributed for good utilization of pastures.

With regard to stock water, the ranch is well watered. A cow would have to work very hard to find a place on the ranch where water is more than a mile away. There are 13 operating windmills, one generator powered submersible pump, 12 springs, and 15 undeveloped springs or reservoirs that are used for stock water.With regard to irrigation there are five small dams that are used to store water for irrigation. The ranch is dependent on good winter snow pack and spring rains to assure a good soaking of the fields in the spring and to store water for later use in the ranch reservoirs. The ranch owns the major water rights from Haymaker Creek and has filed on the other springs and wells on the ranch. Springs provide water for the improvements.

Property taxes are estimated at $15,000 based on past history.

The nearby Musselshell River is an excellent fishery and one can get to the Yellowstone River at Big Timber and the Smith River at White Sulphur Springs in less than an hour’s drive. There is certainly potential to develop fishing in the ranch’s numerous reservoirs.

The Haymaker Ranch has good mule deer and antelope populations. There are also populations of Hungarian Partridge and Sharptail Grouse. The rotation of grain crops on the meadows would enhance the potential for improving this resource.

For many years the owners of the Haymaker Ranch ran a yearling operation whereby they purchased calves in the late winter and early spring and ran them through the fall. The ranch is well-suited for this type of operation because it allows one to adjust numbers based upon grazing conditions which can vary dramatically. In recent years they have chosen to lease the ranch out to a nearby rancher. The lease calls for an annual rental of $125,000. It carries a cancellation provision upon change of ownership and calls for the landlord to provide maintenance of the property and oversight of the livestock. It limits the carrying capacity to 1,000 pairs or 2,000 yearlings. Considering the current dry conditions, the ranch is in good condition and this type of lease is considered by our management people to be the best. It provides for the landowner to stay in the land owning business and control the grazing practices on, and maintenance of, the ranch without actually becoming involved in the livestock business.In summary the Haymaker Ranch is a well-balanced operating ranch of enough scope to support a ranch manager or a family. It is a ranch that needs to be operated utilizing a conservative stocking rate to retain flexibility to adjust for drier conditions or limited snow pack.

Included in the offering are all deeded lands, one-half of the mineral rights owned by Sellers, the two mobile homes, and all surface water rights. Sellers will also assign the State and BLM leases to Buyer. Cash at closing.