5 of the Best States for Mountain Ranches

When most people think about ranches and farm property think associate it with older days of cowboys and the Wild West. In reality, farming real estate and ranch land is still a prominent industry for many Americans. It is true that employment of farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers is projected to decline by about 2% from 2014 to 2024, but that doesn’t mean the days of things like mountain ranches are gone for good quite yet.

Mountain ranches offer some of the most beautiful and unique aspects of the farming community. Farming and herding cattle is a hard enough job already, but when you add the element of rocky terrain mountain ranches typically have to deal with it can make it almost impossible.

Still, there are many states in which mountain ranching is still very much a part of the economy. Light cattle grazing to moderate grazing — less than 35% use of primary forage species for light and 35 to 45% use of primary forage species for moderate — usually encourages forb production benefiting wildlife populations. Here are five states you can find plenty of quality mountain ranches today.

1. California: Northern California is known for its plethora of grapes and wine country, but a lot of the terrain is also suitable for ranching purposes. Because of its location real estate in this area tend to be a bit more expensive.
2. Wyoming: Wyoming is a midwestern type state that has always been suitable for farming and ranching. While it may not be known for mountains, there are opportunities for finding land on such conditions.
3. New Mexico: As a bordering state to Mexico, New Mexico has always been able to attract migrant workers, both legal and illegal, to work the many ranches and farmlands in the state.
4. Colorado: Colorado may be famous for the Rockies, but there are also plenty of other smaller mountain ranges that are regularly used for mountain ranching.
5. Arizona: Most people don’t think Arizona has a climate to support farming and agriculture, but there are plenty of Arizona cattle ranches for sale if you know where to look.