I've Always Wanted To Own A North Dakota Cattle Ranch.

Because I would sell it.

There's this guy in North Dakota that should have done the same. Nobody has been prosecuted for anything at all. So let's pretend that the characters explained here are truly fictitious in nature and bear no resemblance to a gentleman from Rolette County North Dakota that just had 700 cattle removed from his stewardship.

North Dakota, is stewardship the right word?

Of course, it probably isn't because what would I know about the livestock industry?

This is a bit I do constantly on road trips. Ask any of my traveling companions. Let me set the scene- we're in the middle of nowhere driving past a huge herd of cattle...

ME: YOU KNOW I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO HAVE A BIG OL' CATTLE RANCH OUT HERE IN THE COUNTRY

PASSENGER: I NEVER PICTURED YOU AS A CATTLEMAN

ME: I'M NOT. BUT I'D SELL THEM LIKE THAT (snaps fingers)

Well, after some very brief and very broad research into the topic it seems I wouldn't be nearly as rich as I thought after the sale of the cattle! Checking the cattle futures 2022 cattle are going for around $1.38/pound which seems pretty cheap when hamburger is five bucks a pound! But that's a different topic local ranchers would love to discuss with everyone.

It's been brought to my attention by many readers that my original version of this story was way off on cattle prices. I apologize as I'm really livestock stupid. She's not impressed.

The average herd size of a U.S. cattle ranch is only 43.5 cattle

So that's not going to be nearly as lucrative as I had hoped. Land on the other hand...

The average price of land parcels for sale in North Dakota is $347,936.

That's from landwatch.com and I confess it may be made up. So when I receive my hypothetical cattle ranch, it seems the real value is in the acreage, property, and machinery. Not a whole lot of cash in the cattle.

Unless you have 700 head.

Of course, cattle are worth more when properly raised and I'm sure worth considerably less when neglected as these cattle in North Dakota have been

A total of 700 animals were seized from numerous counties in North Dakota after an investigation by the Rolette County Sheriff’s Office, North Dakota Stockmans Association and the North Dakota State Veterinarian’s office.

Deputies found dead cattle and an insufficient food supply for hundreds of animals. It was an investigation that stretched over months and conditions never got better.

With a court order for owners Steven Nickelson and Tanner and Cameron Millang, deputies say Nickelson surrendered all livestock. A total of 700 animals were seized from numerous counties in North Dakota belonging to Nickelson.

A third party has been contracted to feed and care for the cattle which will then be sold. Seems Steven, Tanner, and Cameron should have taken my wise advice.