Deseret Land and Livestock in Utah: History, What It Raises, How It Makes Money and How to Contact It
Profile updated November 2026
Deseret Land and Livestock is one of the largest private ranches in the Intermountain West, with more than 200,000 acres in Rich County, Utah, along the Wyoming border. Established in 1891, it is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which acquired it in 1983. The Salt Lake Tribune reports a cow-calf operation of 4,500 mother cows and roughly 10,000 large game animals, with wildlife contributing about a third of the ranch's revenue.
| Location | Woodruff, Rich County, Utah (Monte Cristo Mountains) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1891 as the Deseret Live Stock Company |
| Sectors | cow-calf; wildlife and hunting; rotational grazing |
| Scale | More than 200,000 acres; 4,500 mother cows; 100 pastures and six herds (Salt Lake Tribune, 2020) |
| Why it is elite | One of Utah's largest contiguous private ranches; national coverage of its grazing and wildlife management |
| Ownership | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (since 1983) |
| Official website | Salt Lake Tribune: LDS Church's northern Utah ranch (2020) |
History of Deseret Land and Livestock
The Deseret Live Stock Company was founded in 1891 by a group of prominent Mormon families as a joint stock operation. Over the following century the holdings grew and the operation shifted from sheep to cattle. The Church acquired the ranch in 1983 from Hong Kong businessman Joseph Hotung, and American Cowboy magazine described it as the largest contiguous block of private land in the state at the time.
Today the ranch operates under the name Deseret Land and Livestock in Utah and works alongside Church-owned operations in Florida. Church officials declined an interview for the 2020 Tribune story, so most public detail comes from reporting and from the ranch's biologists' public remarks.
What Deseret Land and Livestock Grows and Raises
The cow-calf operation runs about 4,500 mother cows producing up to 4,000 calves a year. It uses a rotational grazing system across 100 pastures and six herds, resting about 20 percent of pastures each growing season. Elevations range from 6,300 to 8,700 feet in the Monte Cristo Mountains.
Wildlife is managed as a core enterprise. The ranch supports about 10,000 large game animals, including elk, pronghorn, mule deer and moose, and up to 2,500 elk. Its land forms most of a Cooperative Wildlife Management Unit of about 224,000 acres, administered with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. The ranch receives big game permits and sells them to guided hunters, and tags are split equally between landowners and the public.
How Deseret Land and Livestock Makes Money
Cow-calf production
The ranch produces up to 4,000 calves a year from 4,500 mother cows, and American Cowboy ranked it among the leading cow-calf producers in the nation. Its published herd and pasture structure is designed around sustaining grass.
Wildlife and hunting permits
Under the Cooperative Wildlife Management Unit program the ranch receives big game permits and sells them to guided hunters. The Tribune reports wildlife accounts for roughly a third of ranch revenue.
Grazing research and partnerships
The ranch has been a site for grazing case studies, including a 2018 grazing case study by the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, which shows how scale can support learning that other ranchers can use.
Farm Insight: What Other Operators Can Learn from Deseret Land and Livestock
Count wildlife as a crop. When elk, deer and pronghorn share your grass, a permit program can pay for a meaningful part of the operation. Ranches of any size can explore Utah's CWMU program or access arrangements with the Division of Wildlife Resources.
Rest part of the ranch every year. Resting about 20 percent of pastures in a rotation of 100 pastures and six herds is a practical way to hold grass through drought. Smaller operations can apply the same principle with fewer paddocks.
When a ranch has 100 pastures, six herds and up to 2,500 elk, the person keeping the schedule deserves a medal and a very large whiteboard. At farm.FM we make farm satire, farm humor, ranch humor and farm jokes, and we like to think even the elk would approve of a rest-rotation plan that finally gives them a quiet pasture. We tease only the logistics and always with admiration.
The outlet behind those laughs, farm.FM, is the nation's first satirical farm site, complete with Tractor Tunes country music for farmers. A farm.FM humorist's archive shows what a week of it looks like.
How to Contact Deseret Land and Livestock
Website: https://www.sltrib.com/news/environment/2020/10/01/lds-churchs-northern-utah/
No official ranch website was found, so this news profile is the best verified public page. No address, phone or email was verified; the Tribune article notes a ranch spokesman responded by email, so route inquiries through the Church's public channels.
Deseret Land and Livestock Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Salt Lake Tribune profile - Independent report on ranch size, herd and wildlife
- American Cowboy ranch ranking - Coverage of the ranch's history and cow-calf standing
- Utah Department of Agriculture and Food - State agency with grazing programs
- USU Extension - Utah's land-grant extension service
- NRCS Utah - Conservation planning and cost-share
Deseret Land and Livestock FAQ
How big is Deseret Land and Livestock?
The Salt Lake Tribune reports more than 200,000 acres in Rich County, Utah.
Who owns it?
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which acquired the ranch in 1983.
What does the ranch raise?
A cow-calf herd of about 4,500 mother cows, alongside managed wildlife and big game hunting.
Can I visit or hunt there?
The ranch sells guided hunting permits under the Cooperative Wildlife Management Unit program; confirm access with the ranch and the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.
Deseret Land and Livestock shows what scale, rotation and wildlife management can accomplish on Utah rangeland. Compare it with the other operations in our guide to Utah farms.