6 Mile Pasture
Levy, Florida⁞1400± ACRES
Recreational Ranch Completely high-fenced for the Ultimate in Privacy and Wildlife Management
- 1,400 +/- acre high-fence ranch, Levy County, FL
- Completely high-fenced for ultimate privacy and wildlife management
- Furnished new 5BR/3BA lodge
- Gathering Cooking Pavilion
- 8-stall horse stable
- 2 large bay equipment barns and break room & several large open equipment barns
- Office building with 2 office rooms, bathrooms, and a fully equipped kitchen
- Genetically improved whitetail deer
- Fallow Deer
- Osceola turkey
- Highly improved leveled pasture mixed with live oak, cabbage hammocks, & cypress ponds
- Incredibly good ecotones
- Several miles of water lines for water troughs in case of a drought
- Profitable cattle herd and lucrative Argentina Bahia grass seed
- Exceptional Social Storm™ property score
- Located just 30 min to the New World Equestrian Center in Ocala
- Located 45 min to Gainesville and 25 min to Cedar Key
Culmination of a Dream to Own and Share a Wildlife Experience with Friends and Family
Southernmost 1,400 +/- acres of the famed 6,000-acre 6 Mile Ranch
6 Mile Pasture is the culmination of a dream many of us share—to own and enjoy an exceptional wildlife experience with friends and family. This property is the southernmost 1,400 +/- acres of the famed 6,000-acre 6 Mile Ranch in Chiefland, Florida. Developed by entrepreneur and businessperson Justin Lamb, 6 Mile Ranch represents the pinnacle of professionally developed recreational properties. Completely enclosed by a high fence for the ultimate in privacy and wildlife management it is widely regarded as a role model by those in the shooting preserve industry. The buildings, infrastructure, and amenities are world-class, the ranch now ranks among Florida’s top high-quality recreational properties.
“Many have the budget, and many have the dream, but very, very few have the vision and leadership skills to create what Justin has. As a landowner with a high-fence myself, I have enormous respect for what he’s turned this place into.” - Jon Kohler
“The best way to describe 6 Mile is this is one of those unlimited and exceptional habitats with a landowner that has the passion to be the best, the business sense to accomplish great feats, and a seemingly unlimited budget to achieve those goals." - Jon Kohler
Justin had a vision for 6 Mile Ranch, one that set him apart. He took on the challenge of transforming the land, shaping it into something extraordinary. However, 6,000 contiguous acres under a high fence may be more than any one person can really utilize.
Justin reflects on the decision to sell the southern part of the ranch: “It’s true. When you develop something like this and invest your time, blood, sweat, and tears, you never want to see it go. But we just don’t utilize that side of the ranch enough, not for any reason other than we’ve already got 4,000 acres up here. I’ll be picky about who we sell it to because I worked extremely hard making it the canvas I wanted, and I want a good neighbor.”
6 Mile Pasture is fully high-fenced and home to white-tailed deer, axis deer, fallow deer, and wild turkeys. If additional species are desired, there are seventeen different species just across the fence that can easily be arranged. This 1,400 acres is a perfect blend of highly improved, leveled pasture and diverse ecotones, with live oak, cabbage hammocks, and cypress ponds. At great expense, several miles of water lines have been installed for multiple water troughs, ensuring game and livestock have access to water throughout the property, even during droughts. Years of prescribed fire have created incredibly well-maintained ecotones along the wetland upland interface, vastly improving wildlife habitat. The habitat here is well improved and well capitalized.
“What people don't realize when you're looking for land (and I had to learn this the hard way), is if you go and look at a pine timber track that's maybe been thinned or cleared, and you want pasture, you’re talking $3,000 to $5,000 an acre to turn that into pasture. If you've got a place that's all hardwood and you want pine, the cost continues to add up. So, for me, I always said, this is a passion for me; I'm going to do it and I'm going to come out with a finished product, and that's what we're going to have because it's very labor-intensive and it is very capital-intensive. But at the end of the day, for me, it was that addiction of the love for the land and watching it get turned around and developed into a dream hunting property that prompted us to improve it the way we did.” - Justin Lamb, Landowner, 6 Mile Pasture
“We sell a lot of industrial timberland and even sold the 2,966 -acre Mill Owner’s Tract in 2021 which shares almost a 3-mile border with what is now 6 Mile. While that tract is still industrial timberland, and always will be, we help a lot of landowners convert industrial timberland to higher and better uses. Justin is correct in his cost estimation, but what the quote above left out is the time it takes and how much landowner leadership knowledge it takes to get it done right. In my experience, when it comes to converting land, building infrastructure, and truly developing a place where one wasn’t before, it’s the landowner’s time that is the highest cost. This is the #1 reason that post-Covid we don’t see the number of conversions that we once did. In today’s world, there is significant value found in buying things ‘turnkey.’” - Jon Kohler
One of the things that sets 6 Mile Pasture apart is its historical use of prescribed fire over a good portion of its habitat.
“I don’t think anyone sells as many properties that successfully use prescribed fire as we do. In our world, prescribed fire is the #1 value differentiator. Everything else being equal, we can show about a $1,200 per acre difference between a property that has consistently used prescribed fire and one that hasn’t. There’s nothing you can do to your land that will make as much of a difference in value as prescribed fire.” - Jon Kohler
Fire also helps cattle, and this property has also historically been operated as a profitable cattle operation. Levy County has a proud cattle history going back 500 years and is part of today’s culture. As one would expect, the pastures here are planted with not just any grass but Argentina Bahia grass, the most valuable grass of its kind. In fact, the pasture quality is so high that you will be shocked to learn the amount they get just from harvesting the grass seeds.
In line with the cattle lifestyle, there is a “Florida Style” open horse barn, with stables that can accommodate up to eight horses. A fully enclosed tack room stores supplies such as saddles, bridles, grooming supplies, and tack.
Accommodation includes a new, fully furnished five-bedroom lodge, thoughtfully designed for hunters, families, and guests. The lodge comfortably sleeps up to 12 guests and includes three full bathrooms. Additionally, there is a separate gathering cooking and entertainment pavilion, ideal for cooking, sharing meals, and enjoying time together, while others can peacefully rest next door.
“I love Florida Cracker architecture. The modern buildings here are timeless and show reverence to what these lands and the people here are all about.” - Jon Kohler
The ranch’s infrastructure reflects the touch of a successful businessperson. When it's time to work, everything needed is already in place. The two large-bay equipment barns and break room are fully insulated with closed-cell foam, making them ideal for year-round work. This is a well-organized and fully stocked operation, complete with a dedicated tool area, as well as a walk-in freezer and game cleaning space for ultimate functionality and convenience.
There are also several large open equipment barns and a nearby office building with two spacious office rooms, bathrooms, and a fully equipped kitchen. Quite frankly, this farm building is nicer than many cabins, and the cost to improve this ranch to its current level has been exponential.
Another remarkable aspect of this property is its location. Just six minutes south of Chiefland, it captures the charm of “Old Florida” while being strategically positioned only 30 minutes from the New World Equestrian Center in Ocala, and 45 minutes from Gainesville. Cedar Key and the Gulf Coast are a quick 25-minute drive, offering great seafood and even more Florida culture.
“With no conservation easement currently in place, the potential for one here is significant. Various Florida programs will pay the landowner for these rights, and many land trusts would also be interested. While this is still ‘Old Florida,’ the path of growth is quickly approaching. A conservation easement could be a highly profitable way to monetize the land's future development potential today.” - Jon Kohler
Today’s real estate world is changing rapidly. Florida, particularly this part of Florida, is experiencing tremendous appreciation and growth it hasn’t seen before. Florida is the “beacon of light” of which many of the 138M tourists a year choose to be one its 22M permanent residents. This area is still “Old Florida” and one of its last best places. The habitat here, the wildlife here, the improvements here can’t be duplicated. The fact that there is not yet a conservation easement here allows one the option to monetize this extra value when they see fit without having to sell the land. This is an ideal opportunity to capitalize on both recreation and investment. This is one of those rare opportunities to be able to step in, with everything already done, with no-deferred maintenance and begin enjoying.
“If tomorrow brings a better day, these high-quality recreational lands will continue to increase in value. If tomorrow brings a worse day, these lands will be in even higher demand, making them the perfect hedge.” - Jon Kohler
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Bruce Ratliff is a retired elected official (Property Appraiser Taylor County). Bruce brings years of experience in ad valorem tax knowledge. His property tax background gives JKA Associates & clients a unique insight into the complicated tax process. Bruce held several positions in the Florida Association of Property Appraisers, including member of the Board of Directors, President, Vice-President and Secretary, and served on the Agricultural & Legislative Committees for the Association. The real estate business has been part of Bruce’s life since childhood. His mother, Shirley Ratliff owned Professional Realty of Perry, Florida and his father, Buster owned Ratliff Land Surveying which Bruce was General Manager of before his political career.
From murky farm ponds to pristine glacier-cut lakes and everything in between, Knox Daniels’ expertise stems from a lifelong fascination of water and the creatures that live in and around it. He recognizes and helps clients appreciate the value water features bring to a property. “My goal is to help buyers realize and sellers maximize the value different water bodies bring to a property, not only in a recreational sense, but also for social storm reasons.” After extensively traveling the country for collegiate BASS fishing tournaments, Knox graduated and worked for the Southeast’s finest fisheries and wildlife biologist, Greg Grimes. With Grimes’ company, AES, Knox managed many of the southeast’s finest private lake estate/impoundment properties, and learned the intricacies of upscale property management. Learning from Greg and other biologists, Knox honed in on the specific conditions and habitat needed for optimal gamefish growth in private lakes. He has also worked as a property manager on several thousand acres and for a commercial developer, facilitating the dirt work and builds of several apartment complexes, but his true passion has always been in the outdoors. “I’ve always had an insatiable fascination with ponds/lakes and am grateful to be able to help to place clients on the properties of their dreams and make their personal fisheries/wildlife goals reality with JKA.” – Knox Daniels
As a landowner of his own family farm, Lick Skillet, along with family land that has been passed down and enjoyed together at Keaton Beach for 40 years, Jon knows what it means to be a steward of the last best places. As a third-generation land broker with more than 30 years of experience in advising landowners in this niche, Jon is known for his innate ability to harvest a land’s unique intrinsic value. Touting several notable sales under his belt, Jon personally closed Rock Creek/Molpus – 124,000 acres of premium timberland at $142,000,000 – which was known as the largest timberland land sale in the Southeast for eight years running. He is a co-founding member of LandLeader and achieved the real estate industry’s highest honor, “2022 National Broker of the Year – Recreational Land Sales,” by the Realtors® Land Institute.
Prior to joining Jon Kohler & Associates, Walter Hatchett served for 30 years as a land manager to several of the south’s most esteemed properties, including Rock Creek. As a former property manager himself, and a consistently ranked “Top Sales Producer” nationwide and achieved “APEX Top 20 Land Broker” multiple times, Walter has a keen eye for the best in habitat management.
With Madison County roots, Lori grew up on her family farm at Pettis Springs along the historic Aucilla River. A love of the land was instilled in Lori very early on by her father who was a local farmer. Lori understands the importance of good land stewardship and has witnessed first-hand how her own father, a former 2-term member of the Florida House of Representatives whose district encompassed many rural counties of the Red Hills Plantation Region, with a little bit of sweat equity, so lovingly worked their own family land. These are core values she carries with her today, and nothing gives her more personal satisfaction than to represent some of the south’s best land stewards.
Hailing from a long line of outdoorsmen, Tim learned a great deal from his father and grandfather. He saw first-hand what it means to be a good land steward. He believes land is so much more than a place to hunt, fish, and grow timber or crops. “It’s an identity, a resting place, a safe haven and a way of life, said Tim.” Tim’s family ties to Alabama run deep. During his grandfather’s first term, Governor James was responsible for signing into law Alabama’s first state duck stamp which helped to ensure funding for the procurement, development, and preservation of wetlands for migratory waterfowl habitat. He also established Alabama’s lifetime hunting license, so it is no surprise that Tim is an avid outdoorsman with a keen eye as to how best to improve habitat for the greater good of its wildlife.
Jason has been assisting landowners for the last 28 years in Georgia and South Carolina obtain achievements the owners did not realize were possible. His degree in Biology from Georgia Southern stemmed from the desire to know how things in nature work. His plantation roots began at just 16 years old outside of Albany, GA and the last 20 years were spent in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. His entire career has been spent developing a global approach to plantation management. That plan included sales. Sales is in Jason’s blood- his mom had a 45-year career as a real estate broker. After college, he chose to pursue his passion of making properties great. In 2011, Jason sold his first plantation. Since then, he has assisted buyers and sellers with over $20 million in sales while most of that time working as a full-time General Manager of a large Lowcountry plantation. Today, he is committed to using his unique skill set and experience to guide landowners through the many challenges of plantation ownership.