In the Wyoming ranch real estate ring, the tale of the tape continues to swing toward “crossovers,” a term that some use to describe how traditional working cattle outfits are becoming “recreation ranches with an agriculture component.”

A couple decades back, crossovers began springing up around Jackson Hole as millionaires sought ranches offering spectacular views of the Tetons, outstanding fly-fishing in spring-fed creeks and big bull moose a stone’s throw from the patio.

HOT MARKET: Agriculture real estate is booming in west-central Wyoming’s Star Valley, nicknamed America’s Little Switzerland.

As billionaires began replacing the millionaires, crossovers became commonplace in other scenic areas of Wyoming, among them Cody and Sheridan. Today, the trend is alive and well in other areas of the state, which is perhaps sending the following message to working ranchers: if a nearby place goes on the market, figure out a way to buy it because this might be your one and only chance.

The Star Valley in western Wyoming is a case in point. It used to be home to dozens of dairy farms, which raised milk for a local cheese factory. The factory is long gone, and the ranches that raised dairy cattle are slowly becoming crossovers.

“The Star Valley ranch real estate market is booming right now. It’s one of the more active markets in Wyoming,” says John Turner, a partner in Live Water Properties, a Jackson Hole-based brokerage firm that focuses on recreational ranch properties in Wyoming, Idaho, Colorado, Montana, Utah and Oregon.

Turner says that a lot of the quality ranch recreation inventory around Wyoming was swept up the past three years, so buyers are turning to less-traditional areas as long as the price is right.

“We’ve had three really strong years in Wyoming,” Turner says. “I believe the energy crunch has pulled some buyers out of the Wyoming market because a lot of our recreation ranch buyers are in the oil and gas business, and they are feeling the pinch right now.”

He adds, “Currently, Montana is a very strong market for us.”

West-central Wyoming

One of the Star Valley ranches that recently sold was owned by the Jasperson family, which operated the place for three generations.

 “This was kind of the classic story of the West,” says Turner, whose firm represented the Jaspersons. “As families grow, the younger generation often takes jobs in other communities, so they move away. And as the current managing generation gets ready to retire, there is no one wanting to take over the operation so they decide to sell.”

A local landowner who has actively been acquiring properties in the area purchased the 595-acre ranch, which traditionally raised 200 acres of barley under center pivot and ran 150 cow-calf pairs. Driving the sale was excellent fishing and hunting amenities.

The asking price: $3.5 million (the selling price wasn’t disclosed).