15,500-Acre Nebraska Sandhills Ranch Sells to Colorado Family After Less Than a Month on the Market

By Katie Micik Dehlinger

Interest rates may be rising, but that didn't slow the sale of the 15,568-acre Dumbbell Ranch in the Nebraska Sandhills.

Located in Hyannis, Nebraska, the ranch sits on one of the deepest parts of the Ogalla Aquifer, produces about 1,800 tons of hay from subirrigated meadows and operates a 900-head cow-calf herd.

The Nebraska Examiner reported the ranch will be sold to a ranching family from Colorado in a deal that will be finalized this summer. Details of the sale weren't released, but its list price was $16.7 million, or $1,072 per acre. It was on the market for less than a month.

At its prime, the ranch was composed of 52,000 acres. In 1937, the ranch was split into three sections they called the Pitchfork, the 3 Circles and the Dumbbell, according to Hall and Hall, the real estate firm overseeing the sale.

"The historic Dumbbell Ranch is multi-generational with a long-storied past. It is one of the earliest and foundational ranches of the Sandhills," said Mark Johnson, a partner at Hall and Hall who also ranches near Valentine, Nebraska. "The ranch provides a very well-balanced combination of native rolling hills, subirrigated meadows, excellent winter protection, and water. Ranches of this stature and quality rarely come to market."