Infinite Outdoors offers a platform to help landowners earn added income

Farmers and ranchers provide many acres to support hunting and fishing activities, but a common question is how can they capitalize with additional revenue?

Sam Seeton, co-founder of Infinite Outdoors, based in Casper, Wyoming, is familiar with the question, and growing up with ranchland and farm operations in Colorado and Wyoming; it was one that many other friends had.

Like his friends, he was familiar with annual leases that could be too rigid, and some outfitters were not as conservation driven and sustainability oriented when it came to wildlife. Plus, some leases were so exclusive it limited his own personal hunting opportunities on land he owned. He and co-founder David Rhine decided to create change.

“That was the original pain point that planted the seed for Infinite Outdoors,” Seeton said.

At the time, he and Rhines were at Colorado School of Mines, and the two engineering majors applied their technology learnings to their own interests.

“For lack of a better phrase, we were high-tech rednecks,” Seeton quipped. “We understood the ranching and farming side, but we also had the technical capabilities to create a solution.”

Infinite Outdoors’ concept has similarities to Airbnb. Offering a tech-based solution for managing short-term recreational access on farmland and ranchland, the platform provides landowners with more control and higher earnings compared to traditional annual leases, he said.  The platform facilitates short-term access and offers features like geofencing, user applications and liability protection to give landowners more control of the access they provide.

Landowners, he said, can earn two to five times more than what annual leases can generate for high quality hunting or fishing experience. One example was prime waterfowl hunting in which a landowner earned $15,000 to $20,000 with the Infinite Outdoors program when typically, they might have only received $2,000 with an exclusive long-term agreement.

Infinite Outdoors’ platform allows landowners to be as hands off as they want, but they can retain full hunting and fishing use. “We created something that allows landowners to be as hands off as they want, but they also still have full rights so they can control their calendar,” Seeton said. “Within the app, or by talking with our team, landowners can easily block off dates if they have friends or family coming in and want to allow access to their own land.”

The beauty is that the Infinite Outdoors platform can facilitate shorter-term access to limit hunters and anglers to day-only hunting and fishing experiences or lengthen out to weekly or even annually as desired, he said. By catering to different opportunities for sportsmen, it creates much higher earning potential for the landowner.

A sportsman can also benefit by paying less for short-term access, which benefits both sides, he said.

The platform operates in 20 states, primarily in the High Plains region, and emphasizes conservation practices with biological standards.

Gareth Pettijohn, Solomon, Kansas, says the program has helped him as a young farmer.

He joined Infinite Outdoors about four years ago through a friend who is a biologist and highly recommended the company. Pettijohn, an avid hunter and fisherman, appreciated the flexibility and smooth reservation process.

He said Infinite Outdoors’ approach provides landowners who are looking for ways to diversify their income, flexibility and added revenue, adding that in light of today’s challenging farm economy, each dollar counts.

Landowners can still set their own prices and manage access details within the platform. He highlighted the benefits of Infinite Outdoors’ program, noting it also provides liability protection.

Pettijohn offers a guide service, and the Infinite Outdoors platform complements that enterprise. He praised the Infinite Outdoors team for their attention to detail and liability policy that provides him comfort, knowing that is a common question many landowners have.

If a landowner has property they generally lease out for hunting and fishing, Infinite Outdoors makes it a simple process to earn more, he said, adding he has not had problems with overlapping conflicts and the platform’s team regularly reviews policies and retains a record in case of damages.

Seeton said sportsmen go through a suite of questions when they submit an interest application to Infinite Outdoors. There are 12 disqualification questions that require answers. As an example, one of the questions is if the applicant has ever been accused of a game violation. The process is designed to ensure integrity with both parties. The sportsman agrees to hold landowners harmless from legal action.

“Our strength is in being one possible solution for landowners,” Seeton said. “It’s not just a smoke-and-mirror agreement.”

Pettijohn says there are farmers and ranchers with hunting lodges or rental homes that may be able to capitalize by renting out those places when sportsmen come out to either hunt or fish on the land as a bonus.

Infinite Outdoors also puts a premium on wildlife conservation over hunting or fishing, both men said, which makes it a better long-term experience for sportsmen and landowners alike.

Seeton said the company takes an active role by using conservationists and game biologists to make sure stewardship practices are being followed, ensuring sportsmen can have a quality experience while the landowners’ properties can support wildlife long-term.

For more information, visit infiniteoutdoorsusa.com and click the For Landowners tab to submit your property for consideration.

Dave Bergmeier can be reached at 620-227-1822 or [email protected].