This outstanding, well-improved working cattle ranch is located near the western edge of Oklahoma, several miles east of the Oklahoma/Texas state line. Besides being productive cattle country, the Turley Ranch offers outstanding hunting opportunities, making this property one of the most desirable ranch offerings to come on the market in this area of Oklahoma in recent years.

Location

The Turley Ranch is located approximately 150 miles west of Oklahoma City in a fairly rural ranching area of Oklahoma. Amarillo, Texas is a similar distance to the west. The property has excellent access with several paved roads and well-maintained county-graded roads providing access to most all of the ranch.

Turley Ranch History

Mr. Windle Turley and his wife, Shirley, were both raised in this immediate area. Growing up here, they had an appreciation and strong attachment to Western Oklahoma. Mr. and Mrs. Turley moved to Dallas, Texas, where he became a very successful attorney. He and his wife enjoyed going back to their roots in Oklahoma and in 1980, they started the assembly process of what is now one of the largest ranching operations in this area of Oklahoma. Over this nearly 45-year period, they have continued to improve the Turley Ranch, and now, after much deliberation, Mr. and Mrs. Turley have made the extremely hard decision to sell this exceptional property.

Black Kettle National Grassland

The Turley Ranch is extremely well balanced, containing over 16,000 deeded acres, but as an added bonus the property has 5,425 acres of Black Kettle National Grassland scattered throughout the property.  This grazing land is a huge asset to the overall ranch operation. This lease permit is based on a 10-year term and each leased tract is tied to certain deeded acres within the Turley Ranch granting the permit holder first priority to renew the 10-year permit when the current term expires. In total, this permit allows the permittee the right to graze livestock on these acres for a total of 2,834 Animal Unit Months (AUM’s). The permit is grazed during the dormant season, with different tracts being grazed at different times. Generally speaking, the permit allows the permittee to graze this land for approximately six months of the year. For example, during a six-month season, the 2,834 AUM’s is equivalent to 472 animal units. The current cost of this lease is only $1.35 per AUM, which is around 5% of a typical private lease expense.

Oklahoma State Lease

 In addition to the Black Kettle National Grassland, there are 520 acres of Oklahoma State Lease. This lease is based on a 5-year renewal term and the current cost is $10,500 annually.

Property Description

In general, the topography of the Turley Ranch is best described as gently rolling and undulating, to sometimes hilly, draining to wide, extremely productive creek bottoms. Soils throughout the north-half of the ranch are sandy, transitioning to areas of broken red shale hills on the southern portion of the ranch. Several well-defined creek and river drainages run through the ranch. The Washita River enters the ranch on the west side and meanders in a southeasterly direction for approximately 9 miles throughout a major portion of the property. Spring Creek runs in a southerly direction, entering the ranch on the north side and merging with the Washita near the north-central portion of the ranch. Other major creeks include Rush Creek, which runs through the southwest portion of the ranch, and Dead Indian Creek, which skirts the eastern edge of the property. All of these creeks are spring-fed, furnishing live water to the ranch during much of the year.

Predominant native grasses found in the sandier portions of the ranch include Bluestem, Indian Grass, Switch Grass, and other mid-to-tall native grasses. Scattered Sand Sage is found on portions of the sandier country. Throughout the productive creek bottoms, native grasses include Bluestem, Switch Grass, Indian Grass, and Western Wheat Grass. Tree cover along the creeks includes Elm, Hackberry, Cottonwood, and Walnut. As the ranch transitions to areas of red shale hills and canyons, principal native grasses include Side Oats Grama, Blue Grama, and Buffalo Grass.

During the Turley Family ownership, certain areas of the ranch have been planted to improve pasture. Approximately 3,500 acres have been reseeded to various perennial improved grasses, including Bermuda, Plains Bluestem, and various varieties of Love Grass. Additionally, approximately 1,000 acres are in cultivation, typically farmed in wheat.

Ranching Features

The Turley Ranch is fenced and cross-fenced with most all fences being in good to excellent condition. Historically, livestock on the ranch rotates from pasture to pasture, maximizing the productivity of the property. There are two large, well-designed sets of shipping pens located on the ranch. These pipe pens are equipped with covered working hydraulic chutes, and sorting pens, along with trailer and truck loading facilities. There are several overhead feed bins located on the ranch.

In addition to the desirable live water features in the various creeks, there is an extensive number of livestock drinking troughs, water lines, water wells, and earthen ponds, all providing excellent water for livestock and wildlife. Rural water is also available.

The Turley Ranch has been very well managed over the years. The property features an exceptional herd of quality Red Angus cows and bulls. Depending upon moisture conditions and supplemental irrigation, the Turley Ranch is rated at 1,200-1,400 animal units. Currently, the ranch is stocked with approximately 1,000 Red Angus cows and bred heifers, plus the breeding bull herd. Mr. Turley is offering this outstanding set of cows to the purchaser of the ranch at market price. We believe anyone buying this ranch will want to purchase this quality set of cows. It would be extremely hard to duplicate a set of cows of this quality.

Hunting  •  Wildlife  •  Recreation

The Turley Ranch is, without question, one of the best hunting ranches in Western Oklahoma. Several years ago, Mr. Turley allowed a limited amount of commercial hunting on the property, but no commercial hunting is currently allowed on the deeded portion of the ranch. The Oklahoma State Lease and Black Kettle National Grassland Permit are for grazing only, so public hunting is allowed on this leased acreage if the property has legal access. Portions of the Black Kettle Permit are landlocked, so no public hunting is allowed on landlocked tracts.

Overall, the Turley Ranch offers excellent habitat for all of the wildlife native to this area. The ranch has abundant whitetail deer and native turkey. Normally, the quail population is excellent in this area, but because of the drought situation over the past few years, the quail population is currently less than typical. Because no commercial hunting is now allowed, the Turley Ranch is considered to be a wildlife refuge. The deer population is outstanding with a 205 B&C whitetail buck taken a couple of years ago during bow season.

With the numerous ponds, creeks, and Washita River running through the ranch, there are great duck and geese hunting opportunities for the new owner of the ranch. Fishing is reportedly good in some of the ponds.

Minerals  •  Resources

There are no seller reservations with the sale of the Turley Ranch. There is scattered oil production on the property, and while Mr. and Mrs. Turley do not own a substantial amount of minerals, all owned minerals will convey with the sale. In this area of Western Oklahoma, a number of large wind farm projects have been developed. All wind generation rights, and solar energy rights will convey.

This area of Western Oklahoma receives an average annual precipitation of approximately 25 inches. The growing season averages approximately 202 days.