Texas ranch sells for $300-million

Nov 03, 2021

In a sale valued at US$240-million (~CDN $300-million), a Texas ranch was sold, including land and industrial assets, featuring 31,000 acres in Milam and Lee counties.

Known as the Sandow Lakes Ranch, the property included the site of the former Rockdale smelter, permanently closed in 2018.

Completed on October 29, 2021, the transaction included improved pasture lands, ag properties and industrial assets, purchased by SLR Property I, LP, an affiliate of a Texas real estate enterprise.

The property was owned and sold by Alcoa Corporation who since purchasing the land, have worked with tenants to create economic development opportunities.

Alcoa received US$230-million in cash, noting that it had taken six years to get to this point after performing significant agricultural land improvements, adding water development and solar components, as well as intermodal, tech and other industrial capabilities that apparently SLR found most agreeable.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.