Big Nebraska Ranch Sells

Famous Dumbbell Ranch Sells to Locals

Nebraska ranch sells for $16.5 million. (Photo from Hall and Hall website)

Two locals have purchased Nebraska's 15,500-acre Dumbbell Ranch for $16.5 million, according to state records and local media. The ranch covers portions of both Cherry and Grant counties and dates back to the 1800s.

One buyer is well known in the state of Nebraska -- former Democratic state Sen. Al Davis. Based at Hyannis, he is reported as buying the larger share of the ranch, which separated pieces of his own family's ranch.

The other buyers are Chris and Jeanne Gentry. The couple has a ranch that borders the Dumbbell.

The original ranch was divided in the past into three ranch sections. Records filed on the sale show that Gentry paid about $6.4 million for some 4,800 acres. Davis paid about $10.2 million for about 11,000 acres.

Hall and Hall listed the property at $16.7 million. It was described as a 900-cow, year-round operation, with live water, 27 windmills, eight solar wells and an average of more than 1,800 tons of hay production annually.

Mark Johnson, a real estate partner with Hall and Hall, described the property on Hall and Hall's website as "multi-generational with long, storied past. It is one of the earliest and foundational ranches of the Sandhills. The ranch provides a very well-balanced combination of native rolling hills, sub-irrigated meadows, excellent winter protection, and water. Ranches of this stature and quality rarely come to market."

For more on the Dumbell Ranch sale, see "Nebraska Ranch Bought by Neighbors" by Cindy Gonzalez, Nebraska Examiner senior reporter, here: https://www.dtnpf.com/….