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Maybe for .01% of ranchers. I grew up on a ranch in Utah. Ranchers that make money from tourism or the rodeo are few and far between compared to the total numbe

Maybe for .01% of ranchers. I grew up on a ranch in Utah. Ranchers that make money from tourism or the rodeo are few and far between compared to the total number of ranches in Utah.

nugget 8y ago
If that's the case then what is driving the rapid rise in land prices?
- tejtm 8y ago
  Preppers maybe?
- TangoTrotFox 8y ago
  Source on rapid rise in land prices? This [1] is from the USDA showing land prices at least from 2011 to 2015. Utah land runs an average of $2050 an acre and seems to be rising more slowly than most other areas, up from $1800 over those 5 years. [1] - http://www.usda.gov/nass/PUBS/TODAYRPT/land0815.pdf http://www.usda.gov/nass/PUBS/TODAYRPT/land0815.pdf
  - nugget 8y ago
    From the article: >But in the 21st century, as climate change triggers periods of drought, land values continue to skyrocket, and the attraction of Zion expands along with its hotels, restaurants and bike shops, the family operation finds itself “squatted at the intersection of the old and new Wests.”
    - TangoTrotFox 8y ago
      Hahaha, this reminds me of that Thomas Jefferson quote, "The man who never looks into a newspaper is better informed than he who reads them, inasmuch as he who knows nothing is nearer to truth than he whose mind is filled with falsehoods and errors." I think the thing we can only be 'thankful' for is that that quote was from 1807. Our 'modern' issues are hardly modern!
- stickfigure 8y ago
  Sustained historically low interest rates?
- prawn 8y ago
  Occasionally I look at land in Utah from abroad and there are never any bargains!
matte_black 8y ago
So what happens to the ranches when they can no longer pay the bills?
- altussky 8y ago
  They get sold
- prawn 8y ago
  Sold to hobbyists? One benefit is that the land could rejuvenate after years of bovine hooves, I suspect.
wavefunction 8y ago
Most of those ranchers don't have the vision to transform their ranches as they'd have to. Perhaps not the inclination, either. My aunt's family were ranchers out in NW Colorado and Eastern Utah and the entire extended family has transitioned into city life at this point. Utah is one of the most beautiful parts of the world though, imo.
- Gargoyle 8y ago
  What's the ideal vision they should follow?
  - wavefunction 8y ago
    I just mean they're ranchers. They have a certain mindset and expectations and understanding of the world. They probably were born into it and have only ever known ranching. It's a heck of a thing to (seemingly) cast your family's legacy aside to serve 'tourists' especially when it's the only life you've ever known and you're venturing out into uncharted territory. My mother stayed in a lovely homestay in a mansion/chateau (closest analog?) in the Kolkata region recently and the owner/proprietor joked to her one time as he mopped the floor that his grand-father was a Raja and here he was mopping floors. Not everyone wants to take up mopping floors...
    - prawn 8y ago
      Something that wouldn't help is that the slide would be gradual. Kids would leave one by one. Prices or yield would fall slowly. So while ranching is still there, the focus is on dealing with it or recovering rather than trying to create a slow-start new venture that could complement or supplant it.
  - prawn 8y ago
    Create a unique drawcard that stands out and sells in an age of image-driven social media. If the area is not particularly attractive, find a way to make it more so. Cadillac Ranch is old, scrap cars embedded in nondescript dirt. I've visited there from the other side of the planet. Salvation Mountain is a low, plain hill adorned with plaster and paint. I've visited there from the other side of the planet. There's a wall in San Luis Obispo that is literally covered with chewing gum. It's disgusting but awesome, and I've been there. Elmer's Bottle Tree Ranch is basically junk arranged in an interesting way. Visited that too. I went to a restaurant because it has a novelty sign talking about "Ho' Made Pies". I've got loads of examples. If given 5-10 properties remotely near a driving route or international drawcard (like Zion), I'm confident I could invent a unique thing for each that would attract tourists and not be overly expensive to create. I suspect land-owners don't have the imagination or inclination though. Email in profile if you have a property and want motivation.

Maybe for .01% of ranchers. I grew up on a ranch in Utah. Ranchers that make money from tourism or the rodeo are few and far between compared to the total number of ranches in Utah.

nugget 8y ago

If that's the case then what is driving the rapid rise in land prices?

tejtm 8y ago
Preppers maybe?
TangoTrotFox 8y ago
Source on rapid rise in land prices? This [1] is from the USDA showing land prices at least from 2011 to 2015. Utah land runs an average of $2050 an acre and seems to be rising more slowly than most other areas, up from $1800 over those 5 years. [1] - http://www.usda.gov/nass/PUBS/TODAYRPT/land0815.pdf http://www.usda.gov/nass/PUBS/TODAYRPT/land0815.pdf
- nugget 8y ago
  From the article: >But in the 21st century, as climate change triggers periods of drought, land values continue to skyrocket, and the attraction of Zion expands along with its hotels, restaurants and bike shops, the family operation finds itself “squatted at the intersection of the old and new Wests.”
  - TangoTrotFox 8y ago
    Hahaha, this reminds me of that Thomas Jefferson quote, "The man who never looks into a newspaper is better informed than he who reads them, inasmuch as he who knows nothing is nearer to truth than he whose mind is filled with falsehoods and errors." I think the thing we can only be 'thankful' for is that that quote was from 1807. Our 'modern' issues are hardly modern!
stickfigure 8y ago
Sustained historically low interest rates?
prawn 8y ago
Occasionally I look at land in Utah from abroad and there are never any bargains!

matte_black 8y ago

So what happens to the ranches when they can no longer pay the bills?

altussky 8y ago
They get sold
prawn 8y ago
Sold to hobbyists? One benefit is that the land could rejuvenate after years of bovine hooves, I suspect.

wavefunction 8y ago

Most of those ranchers don't have the vision to transform their ranches as they'd have to. Perhaps not the inclination, either. My aunt's family were ranchers out in NW Colorado and Eastern Utah and the entire extended family has transitioned into city life at this point. Utah is one of the most beautiful parts of the world though, imo.

Gargoyle 8y ago
What's the ideal vision they should follow?
- wavefunction 8y ago
  I just mean they're ranchers. They have a certain mindset and expectations and understanding of the world. They probably were born into it and have only ever known ranching. It's a heck of a thing to (seemingly) cast your family's legacy aside to serve 'tourists' especially when it's the only life you've ever known and you're venturing out into uncharted territory. My mother stayed in a lovely homestay in a mansion/chateau (closest analog?) in the Kolkata region recently and the owner/proprietor joked to her one time as he mopped the floor that his grand-father was a Raja and here he was mopping floors. Not everyone wants to take up mopping floors...
  - prawn 8y ago
    Something that wouldn't help is that the slide would be gradual. Kids would leave one by one. Prices or yield would fall slowly. So while ranching is still there, the focus is on dealing with it or recovering rather than trying to create a slow-start new venture that could complement or supplant it.
- prawn 8y ago
  Create a unique drawcard that stands out and sells in an age of image-driven social media. If the area is not particularly attractive, find a way to make it more so. Cadillac Ranch is old, scrap cars embedded in nondescript dirt. I've visited there from the other side of the planet. Salvation Mountain is a low, plain hill adorned with plaster and paint. I've visited there from the other side of the planet. There's a wall in San Luis Obispo that is literally covered with chewing gum. It's disgusting but awesome, and I've been there. Elmer's Bottle Tree Ranch is basically junk arranged in an interesting way. Visited that too. I went to a restaurant because it has a novelty sign talking about "Ho' Made Pies". I've got loads of examples. If given 5-10 properties remotely near a driving route or international drawcard (like Zion), I'm confident I could invent a unique thing for each that would attract tourists and not be overly expensive to create. I suspect land-owners don't have the imagination or inclination though. Email in profile if you have a property and want motivation.