Bidding for the Hat Creek Ranch Collection starts at $5.9 million
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
A large B.C. ranch is heading to the auction market next month.
Bidding for the Hat Creek Ranch Collection, which spans 74,716 acres, begins at $5.9 million when the CLHbid.com auction begins on Aug 15.
To put the ranch’s size into context, Parliament Hill sits on about 22 acres of land.
This means more than 3,300 Parliament Hills could fit onto the ranch.
The property includes multiple homes, a shop, barns and a working cattle area.
In addition, the ranch is equipped to continue with livestock production.
“Hat Creek Ranch Collection is a farmstead where the pastures and mountain peaks stretch as far as the eye can see; it supports significant AUMs and boasts irrigated feed to ensure a sustainable and prosperous operation,” the sale description says. “The Upper Plateau offers robust pastureland where it’s not uncommon to find grass that grows to a horse’s belly in the late summer - just when a rancher needs it most.”
For ranchers looking to raise livestock on the land, a livestock option is available.
For $3,000, a buyer can purchase 420 bred cows. Or for $4,000, a buyer can acquire 420 cow calf pairs.
The herd is primarily Angus, and all females retained for breeding are 100 per cent home raised.
“Cows have been exposed to Angus, Simmental/Angus, and Charolais herd bulls. Currently 467 mother cows that will be paired back to 420+/-,” the livestock page says.
There’s also an equipment option available for $375,000.
Equipment in the bundle includes five John Deere tractors, trucks, ATVs, mowers, a John Deere 8300 seeder, a New Holland 185 T/S manure spreader and more.
Purchasing the ranch would also mean owning a piece of B.C. history.
Philip Parke came to B.C. in 1862 from Ireland looking to capitalize on the Cariboo Gold Rush.
He planned on making his way from Vancouver to Barkerville (a near nine-hour drive) but ended up purchasing the Bonaparte Ranch at Cache Creek that year.
In 1900 he purchased more land and joined it with the Bonaparte Ranch.
In 2012, Gordon Parke accepted an award on the family’s behalf to the British Columbia Hall of Fame in the category of Pioneer Rancher.
The ranch made its way through generations of Parkes, with Brian Parke representing the fifth generation to live on and manage the ranch.