Pathfinder Ranches: Who bought the massive Wyoming ranch? New owner unmasked after Zelensky rumors swirled
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Who really bought the massive Wyoming ranch?
Chris Robinson has been announced as the buyer of Pathfinder Ranches, a sprawling 916,000-acre estate larger than the state of Rhode Island. Robinson is the CEO of Ensign Group and already owns a neighboring operation. His company purchased the ranch for an undisclosed price after it was listed for about $80 million, according to Cowboy State Daily, according to a report by the Daily Mail.
There was speculation on social media that a foreign buyer was involved, but the deal remained entirely in local hands. Ensign Group LC, which controls more than one million acres in Wyoming, Idaho and Utah, has completed the acquisition, making it one of the largest land transactions ever completed by Swan Land Company in Wyoming.
“We are very particular about trying to get things done,” Robinson said. “We have a lot of room to improve, but I think we’ll make this place shine.”
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Why was Pathfinder Ranches such a historic sale?
Pathfinder Ranches features spectacular scenery, with only 99,188 acres owned outright and the remainder accessed through leased land agreements with government agencies or private landowners. These leases allow the land to be used primarily for animal grazing, giving the farm a grazing capacity of 90,444 cow-months.
The scale of the deal made this a turning point for the Swan Land Company. Listing agent Scott Williams stated that the transaction was exactly the type of transaction his firm specializes in, according to a report by the Daily Mail.
“Large, complex transactions are what we specialize in,” Williams said. “The beauty of this is that the buyers are excellent farmers, but they are also conservation-minded operators.”
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How does Stone Ranch fit into the deal?
Robinson’s company had laid the groundwork for the acquisition years ago. Ensign Group purchased Stone Ranch four years ago from the family’s descendants, who began selling pieces of the original Pathfinder Ranch in the 1970s.
Stone Ranch sits right in the middle of Pathfinder Farms, effectively reconnecting the once whole landscape. “So we’re kind of putting that back together and we plan to do that as well, we’re operators. We’re not landlords in general,” Robinson explained. “We will grow over time and mostly have our own animals working on it.”
Stone Ranch alone supports between 800 and 1,000 mother cows, while Ensign Group’s extensive operations in three states support approximately 13,000 cows.
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What are Robinson’s plans for livestock and land use?
Robinson made it clear that his vision differs from that of absentee ownership. He criticized situations where large farms were purchased for recreational purposes or as emergency property, leaving short-term tenants with little incentive to maintain infrastructure.
“It’s one of those things that happens on these farms when there’s someone buying them and they’re not operators, they’re just buying them and maybe they want to recreate them or make a mistake when the world ends, there’s short-term-minded tenants there,” Robinson added.
“They have no incentive to fix anything – maintain the fence, improve the spring, keep the diversion in the ditch working. They have no long-term perspective,” he said.
While Ensign Group is planning significant growth, Robinson said the company will delay purchasing large herds due to high cattle prices. The farm will instead grow its herd organically by keeping young female cows or heifers from each year’s calf crop, the Daily Mail reported.
“If you eat your corn seed, you have nothing left to plant,” Robinson said. He emphasized that mother cows are essential, adding, “They’re the factories. I keep using that term, but they’re what produces the widgets.”
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How does this relate to the shrinking US cattle herd?
The acquisition puts Robinson at the center of broader efforts to rebuild America’s cattle population, which has fallen to its lowest level in more than 70 years. After years of drought, inflation and rising costs, the national herd stood at just 86.7 million head as of January 2025.
“If things get really tough, we’ll get rid of the yearlings. But we can’t get rid of the mother cows,” Robinson said. He added that the company’s scale allows for flexibility under difficult circumstances.
What’s next for Pathfinder Farms?
Beyond his cattle operations, Robinson expressed his interest in the ranch’s desert landscapes, which he described as a personal passion. High desert properties help reduce winter feed costs by limiting hay purchases, and Ensign Group plans to winter cattle there too, according to a report by the Daily Mail.
The farm’s boarding houses also affect future plans. “We’ll try to find a use for them. Maybe rig or hunt some,” Robinson said. “These buildings have a lot of value and if they’re not used they fall apart, so you’ve got to use them. That’s going to be one of our challenges. We’re going to solve it.”
With Pathfinder Farms now under familiar ownership, Robinson described the purchase as both a business opportunity and a commitment to land he already values. “It gives us the opportunity to grow our business and surrounds a landscape we already love,” he said.
FAQ
Who is the new owner of Pathfinder Farms?
The farm was purchased by Chris Robinson through his company Ensign Group.
Was the farm bought by a foreign leader?
No. Speculation on social media was false and the buyer was a US-based farm operator.
