My Dad passed away last year and his land passed to me. About 240 acres. No house only land. Outside Luling actually in McNeil. Ag exemption with cattle grazing lease (5K yearly) and hunting lease (5K yearly). Previous oil wells plugged years back due to being tapped out. It's pretty land but not close enough to where I live to make frequent visits. A lot is in flood plain that floods when heavy rains fall. 50 acre hayfield is used by cattle grazer is only part good for growing things. Nice well with plenty of water at present.

I'm a doctor with three practices and a ton of kids….super busy with all that. Can't seem to devote enough time to trying to plan or come up with something to do with it.

Having looked at some of the posts on this thread I was impressed. I'd be interested in thoughts/ideas/opinions from you people. Or are there Ag consultants I should get in touch with?

If there is not much maintenance to do, your taxes are acceptable, and you don't need the money from sale, I would be super hesitant to sell.

OP,
Your post says the land is in McNeil. That is no where near Luling. Were you trying to say McMahan? McMahan is close to Luling & Lockhart. If that's where it is, keep it. That is still pretty countryside. Urban sprawl hasn't reached that far yet. You have the Ag exemption. You have it leased for grazing and hunting. Once your kids get older, they might enjoy it out in the country for a weekday getaway.

What grade did your Dad teach & when?
Apologies in advance if he taught me.

Plans like this are going to be super personal.

IF you are that busy, there probably isn't too much that you can do to make it more profitable without a bigger time commitment, even if you're paying others to do a lot of it.

What is your longer term play? Would you ever retire out there? Any of your kids showing an interest that may lead to it use in the future.

I'm from Gonzales. If you're interested in selling, I can put you in touch with some private parties or realtors that specialize with ranch land in the area.

Outside of what you are doing now there isn't much else you can do that isn't going to require either a large time and/or capital investment.

Your Dad was just a little before my time, so I'm in the clear. My Mom taught at GHS almost that entire time frame, so I'm positive I know who it is.

IMO, I would hang on to it & keep the status quo with hunting & cattle leasing rights.
Land is only going up in value & your life will change in 10-15 years and perhaps you'll find more use for it then.

NVM

I see it is already leased out for hunting.

In that location, I'd think about taking 3-5 acres and doing dove plot with sunflowers. Then, I'd lease out to guides. This won't account for much but would likely double the hunting lease revenue. If you did do a lodge, as mentioned above, the potential would be much higher.

You could also sell 10-15 acres as subplots to finance the lodge.

*Ahem*

As a matter of fact, there are consultants on this very site who will meet with you on your place and write you a darn fine long term plan. That used to be a part of my work territory.

Used to…..dang it. Late to the party. I haven't spent much time on this forum. Any consultants you'd recommend?

I found a site (NCX) with lots of federal programs. CRP, woodlands, carbon sequestration, biodiversity and others. Not sure if the land would qualify for that stuff but willing to check it out. Also not sure I want to get in bed with the gov.

Thank you all for the great ideas.

The land drops down into flood plain after the 60-70 acre hill and hayfield. The views from the top are great. Feels like it goes on forever.

Still part

FinalCylon said:

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Used to…..dang it. Late to the party. I haven't spent much time on this forum. Any consultants you'd recommend?

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There are, in almost any field, people more than willing to consult with you and separate you from some of your money!

My family is from McNeil. We had a couple hundred acres and sold years ago. We were closer to luling (no minerals in our area). All my relatives are buried in the McNeil cemetery (Montgomery, Dewitts).

It sounds like you are further past McNeil, going to Lockhart, near plum creek.

jwoodmd said:

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If you do decide to sell, make sure you only sell the surface. Keep the mineral rights. Never ever sell mineral rights. You're just the next new technology away from those wells being producers again.

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Yeah, that's close to Eagle Ford territory. It's down there somewhere, and they'll eventually figure out how to get it.