A ranch perhaps not miles in the distance (4)
I believe the answer is:
afar
'in the distance' is the definition.
(far away)
'a ranch perhaps not miles' is the wordplay.
'ranch perhaps' becomes 'farm' (ranch is a type of farm).
'not' is a deletion indicator.
'miles' becomes 'm' (common abbreviation).
'farm' with 'm' taken away is 'far'.
'a'+'far'='AFAR'
(Other definitions for afar that I've seen before include "Not in this neighbourhood" , "a good way off" , "A long way away" , "At a distance (literary)" , "Many miles away" .)