Raised on a ranch south of Buffalo, Mike became passionate about agriculture and the outdoors at an early age. He worked in many facets of the operation, including farming and irrigation, commercial hay production, and cattle raising. Today, he enjoys sharing his heritage with his family. Mike graduated from Texas Tech University in 1994. Soon after graduation, the call of the Rocky Mountains brought Mike back to Wyoming as an agriculture instructor in Meeteetse, Wyoming. His entrepreneurial nature soon led Mike to own and run a commercial weed spraying and range management business. Returning to Buffalo in 1999, he bought a Farm Bureau Financial Services office. After a successful ten years in the insurance business, Mike’s love of the land caused him to turn his attention to the ranch brokerage business. It was a natural fit for Mike, and he quickly established himself as one of the top ranch brokers in Wyoming.
Click HERE to read a story about Mike and one of many successful buyer and seller transitions.
The Tracy Ranch is a classic Wyoming working cattle ranch located 25 miles southeast of Wright, totaling 18,154± acres, of which 7,260± is deeded. It is rated to run 250 mother cows, plus bulls, replacement heifers, and ranch horses. The headquarters are centrally located on the ranch between the grass plains to the east and the pine ridge breaks and canyons of the Rochelle Hills to the west. The ranch has a natural transition from lower 4,400 feet open grass plains that ease up into the beaks of the Rochelle Hills topping out at nearly 5,200 feet of elevation. The comfortable and practical improvements include a remodeled ranch house, a classic red barn that has been improved and well maintained, a newer Quonset barn with calving stalls, and plenty of room for equipment. Additionally, there is an open-faced loafing shed, solid working corrals, and an outdoor riding arena. The ranch is broken up into 12 pastures that are well watered with wells on power, solar wells, springs, and reservoirs. Wildlife flourish in this diverse landscape and the ranch offers excellent hunting for elk, mule deer, and antelope.
The Tracy Ranch is a good example of a typical Wyoming ranch consisting of open native range, timbered range, and a commingling of both. The topography includes timbered ridges and breaks that provide a contrast to the surrounding grass plains, and shelter for many species of wildlife. The ranch is in excellent condition fostered by responsible grazing practices. Water on the ranch is provided by eight solar wells, three wells on power with two pipelines, and over 20 dams. The county road traverses through the ranch and there are several two-track roads throughout the ranch providing good access to all the pastures, dams, and wells. The entire property is boundary fenced and crossed-fenced, creating 12 pastures for grazing rotation that include the state and US Grasslands leased acres. The improvements are located at the end of a short driveway off the county road. Aside from the primary residence, there are several ancillary buildings such as a large red barn, a Quonset, a loafing shed, and a cake bin.
The Tracy Ranch is well-balanced, adequately improved, and a solid operation. The range is in exceptional condition and the ranch has more water than one would expect. The Sellers have taken very good care of the ranch and have been good stewards of the land. As the broker for the Tracy Family and deciding the key features, I keep coming back to the water and specifically the solar wells on the ranch. They are impressive and their volume and quality speak for themselves. The ranch is well kept and has everything you need. Not to mention the ranch is in a reputation grass area of eastern Wyoming and within an hour of a commercial airport.
The Tracy Ranch is located 25 road miles southeast of Wright. The ranch is accessed by taking State Highway 450 from Wright towards Newcastle. From 450, the ranch is south on School Creek Road and eventually continuing on Mackey Road. The western portion of the ranch is on the top plateau of the Rochelle Hills, in Campbell County, and then flows off and east onto the grassy plains of Weston County. The ranch boundary encompasses both counties with the headquarters in Weston County.
This area of Campbell and Weston Counties is well-regarded cattle country and the neighboring ranches to the Tracy Ranch are all large operations. The ranch sprawls across a diverse landscape with mountainous terrain to the west and grass plains to the east. The area is a part of a unique federal land system known as the Thunder Basin National Grasslands (TBNG). The National Grasslands is managed by and functions as a division of the United States Forest Service. The ranches that hold TBNG leases have a grazing lease with set AUM’s that function similar to BLM and US Forest Service grazing allotments. The area economy is driven by agriculture and coal mining. Campbell County is home to the largest surface coal mines in the world.
As mentioned before, the headquarters sit in Weston County and has a Newcastle address. The elementary, middle and high schools are located in Newcastle. In addition to Newcastle, the town of Wright is closer to the ranch and has a good school system and all the basic services, including a local bank, churches, gas stations, grocery store, bars, and a hardware store.
Newcastle – the reporting station east of the ranch – gets average annual precipitation of over 17 inches. Most comes through the growing season, with peak months of April, May, and June. Snow total averages near 50 inches annually. When the ranch gets measurable snow, it typically warms up and takes most off after a few days. The average high temperatures in December and January, the coldest months, are 36 to 40 degrees and the lows around 13 degrees. The hottest months of the summer have average highs of 89 and an average low of around 57 degrees. The area typically does not get a lot of winter snow and gets good precipitation throughout the critical months of the growing season. The summary is that this is great country in which to live and ranch.
Deeded acres: 7,260±
TBNG Lease: 8,840± (1,812 aum's; $3,515 for 2021)
State Lease: 1,360± ($1,542 in 2020)
Private Lease: 694±
Total acres: 18,154±
The Tracy Ranch is modestly and adequately improved.
Ranch Home
Anchoring the headquarters is the ranch home that was built in 1964 and more recently updated. It is estimated at 1,200 square feet on the main floor and has a basement for utilities and storage. The home is heated with forced air and a stove. The comfortable residence is complete with mudroom, kitchen/dining area, living room, three bedrooms, and one bathroom.
Quonset
The newest building on the ranch is a 2,560± square foot Quonset building. It has a calving/maternity pen and “jugs” used when there are calving problems or poor calving weather. Primarily, the Tracy Ranch calves the cows “out,” so the Quonset is used mostly for vehicle and equipment storage.
Red Barn
A Wyoming ranch just is not a ranch without an old “red barn.” This barn, built in 1951, is in good condition and works for saddling and stalling horses, and for storing tack and veterinary supplies. The loft can be used for storage of hay or whatever one wants to put away. On the north side, there is also an attached but separate room with dirt floor perfect for storage.
Miscellaneous Outbuildings
Between the residence and Quonset are several smaller buildings. The cinderblock building closest to the house is used for storage of salt, mineral, a four-wheeler, and general storage. The building to the north is more of a shop, equipped with tools and the like. Between the shop and the Quonset is a chicken house, currently used for general storage.
One of the key components to a quality Wyoming grass ranch is water. The Tracy Ranch is well equipped with a variety of reliable water resources. The ranch is fenced into 12 pastures with consistent water sources throughout. There are approximately six miles of Piney Creek (seasonal), six springs, eight solar wells, three electric wells supplying water to 30 tire tanks, and four fiberglass tanks. Scattered throughout the ranch are approximately 22 dams with about half being reliable and consistent water sources.
The solar wells on the ranch are particularly impressive. They are relatively shallow putting, out a high volume of high-quality water. Most of the wells on the ranch are around 100 feet deep. A full water rights summary has been completed and is available upon request.
Sellers will convey 100% of the mineral rights that they own, although they believe they do not own any mineral rights. The majority of the mineral rights are owned by the Federal Government. There is no coalbed methane development nor active oil exploration on the ranch. The Sellers do not know of any active leases on the ranch and do not know of any planned activity on the property or in the immediate area.
Based upon past years, the real estate taxes are estimated to be $4,000 per year. Due to the property coming out of a family trust, the parcels have been slightly adjusted and an exact tax bill is not available at this time.
Showcasing the ranch is the opportunity of seeing trophy-quality elk. Elk frequent and inhabit the property and the general area on a fairly consistent basis. The “local herd” tends to move around throughout the neighboring ranches. Timbered ridges, spring-fed draws, and grass parks are key habitat supporting the area elk and mule deer. Besides elk, the ranch does hold a modest population of mule deer. The brush-covered ridges and deep canyons provide excellent habitat and allow them to be present but often never seen. The grassy plains on the east side of the ranch hold large numbers of trophy-quality pronghorn antelope. Hungarian partridge and sage grouse are scattered throughout and often seen on the ranch as well. Wild turkeys also seasonally occupy the ranch. Whether it is big game or a variety of bird life, the Tracy Ranch has plenty to see and enjoy.
As described, the ranch holds elk, mule deer, antelope, and upland birds. Good hunting for all is available on the ranch. As noted on the maps, there are portions of the ranch that are National Grasslands and State of WY lease. These areas are available to the public if they are legally accessible. These areas of the ranch get some limited hunting pressure, but most people seem to obey the deeded boundaries and these pockets of deeded lands give refuge to the game.
The recommended method of operation for the Tracy Ranch would be to run about 250 mature mother cows, an appropriate number of saddle horses, replacement heifers, and bulls. This is also wonderful yearling country and the ranch could be run as a yearling operation or some combination of cow/calf and yearling.
Pasture Descriptions:
House and Corrals
Supplied with water from an electric well in Home Pasture.
Corrals - 2 automatic water tanks and 3 hydrants.
Summer Pasture
1 solar well with 2 fiberglass tanks
1 solar well with 2 tire tanks
3 dams
1 tire tank supplied by solar well in the Home Pasture
Home Pasture
1 solar well with 1 tire tank
3 dams
electric well
seasonal creek
West Home Pasture
1 dam
hydrant at electric well in Home Pasture
1 tire tank on pipeline supplied by electric well in Home Pasture
School Section
1 solar well with 2 tire tanks
1 tire tank supplied by electric well in Home Pasture
1 heated automatic water tank supplied by electric well in Home Pasture
3 dams
seasonal creek
Mares’ Pasture
1 solar well with 2 fiberglass tanks
1 solar well with 2 tire tanks
2 dams
Little Piney Pasture
1 solar well with 1 tire tank
1 spring
seasonal creek
Hills Pasture
1 electric well with 1 tire tank
1 tire tank supplied by electric well in Home Pasture
3 dams
Piney Creek Pasture
5 tire tanks on pipeline supplied by electric well in Waterhole Pasture
1 tire tank supplied by electric well in Hills Pasture
spring with 1 tire tank
seasonal creek
Waterhole Pasture
1 solar well at spring
6 tire tanks and storage tank on pipeline supplied by electric well
2 springs, 1 with tire tank
2 dams
Red Springs
2 springs, 1 with tire tank
1 dam
Beckwith Pasture
1 tire tank on pipeline supplied by solar pump from spring at Red Springs
1 dam below tire tank
springs in draw
East Buck Pasture
2 springs, 1 with tire tank
3 dams
Mike's ranching background, thoughtfulness and attention to detail all made for a smooth and successful closing.
Working with Mike Fraley to sell our family ranch was truly a pleasure throughout the process. He handled everything with skill and integrity, from family emotions and interfacing with ranch hands, to managing showings without interfering with ranching operations and expertly handling all the...
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