Mark and Robyn Jones, founders of Goosehead Insurance, have purchased the roughly 40,000-acre Pawnee Springs Ranch in Lincoln County for $56 million, according to public reporting and real estate brokerage accounts. The property, east of North Platte and extending into Nebraska’s Sandhills, includes river-bottom cropland, native rangeland and significant irrigation and cattle infrastructure.
property and operations
Pawnee Springs Ranch features nearly six miles of frontage on the North Platte River, nine center-pivot irrigation systems covering about 1,700 irrigated acres, calf backgrounding facilities with concrete feed bunks and an indoor‑outdoor arena, according to Hall and Hall, the agricultural real estate firm that said it represented both buyer and seller.
- The ranch currently supports roughly 2,500 mother cows.
- Its land spans fertile river-bottom acreage and Sandhills rangeland that provides wildlife habitat as well as grazing.
- The property includes irrigation infrastructure and facilities for backgrounding calves.
Mark Johnson of Hall and Hall described the ranch as exemplifying the qualities of a Nebraska Sandhills river ranch. Hall and Hall represented both parties in the transaction, the firm said.
“I wanted an operation focused on actual agricultural production,” Mark Jones told the Nebraska Examiner, describing the couple’s intentions for beef production at the ranch.
history and future plans
Pawnee Springs Ranch has a recorded history dating to 1918 and past owners that include former Nebraska governor Keith Neville and construction executive Peter Kiewit, who bought the property in 1949. The Joneses told local reporting they plan to maintain existing cattle and agricultural operations and to develop what they described as a “world-class cattle operation” over several years.
The buyers have indicated broader investment interests in the region, saying they will explore additional acquisitions in Nebraska and neighboring states, including Kansas, Wyoming and Montana, though specific targets or timelines have not been disclosed in the reporting.
economic context
A sale of this size ranks among the largest ranch transactions reported in Nebraska. The combination of river frontage, irrigated cropland and Sandhills grazing increases the property’s value for integrated cattle and forage systems. The sale also underscores interest from out-of-state investors in Nebraska agricultural land and cattle operations.
Hall and Hall handled marketing and negotiations for the transaction; the brokerage’s role in representing both parties was noted in the reporting on the sale.
