Who Is The Largest Private Landowner In North Dakota?

It's always been my dream to own a piece of hunting land someday. 

I think it's safe to say that ship has sailed and I have missed my window of opportunity to do so.  Land prices are insane and you have to have pretty deep pockets to buy even a small piece of land for recreation.

Still, it's sure fun to dream about the possibility.  What you would do with it?  I'm sure that is some of the most enjoyable parts about being a landowner.  Planning your next move and how you handle your land whether it's for farming, ranching, or recreational hunting land.

So, I've always wondered who is the LARGEST landowner in North Dakota?

This is a question that all of us on my staff have done some research on, and to be honest there is not a lot of information.  However, I do believe we have the answer for you.  More on that in a moment.

Before we get to North Dakota, let's see who are the largest landowners in our neighboring states.

Minnesota:  The Molpus Woodlands Group.

The Molpus Woodlands Group owns over 286,000 acres of land in the land of 10,000 lakes.

South Dakota:  Ted Turner (founder of CNN, TBS & TNT) yeah, that guy.

Ted Turner owns not only the most land in South Dakota but the most in 7 other states and he owns the 3rd most private land in the entire United States, according to Madison Trust Company.

Montana: Plum Creek Timber.

According to AZ Animals, Plum Creek Timber owns a whopping 765,925 acres of land in Big Sky country.  I thought it would've been the Dutton's???

North Dakota:  Johnson Farms in Walhalla (maybe).

I say maybe because it appears North Dakotans are pretty tight-lipped when it comes to revealing who owns how much land.  After extensive research, I believe that Johnson Farms in Walhalla are the largest landowners in North Dakota (no, it's not Bill Gates).

One of my co-workers confirmed this by asking his friend Doug Goehring (who is the Ag Commissioner of North Dakota) and said he believed it was true.  Several of my other landowner friends told me they believe it to be true also.

So, how much land does Johnson Farms in Walhalla, North Dakota own?  This would strictly be a guess, but it's believed to be more than 200,000 acres which would be in line with other states around us.

Even the World Population Review, which listed the largest landowner in just about every state in America did not have one for North Dakota.

I did reach out to Johnson Farms in Walhalla several times over the last few months and I did not receive a callback.  Again, tight-lipped.

To learn more about this farm operation (Johnson Farms) from Ag Week you can click here.