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Our Ranch

written by

Laura Wheeler

posted on

November 10, 2020

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Our ranch is located in Saint Ignatius, MT. You can see our bison from the junction of Airport Road and Watson Road, about a mile off of Highway 93. We have 120 acres, 40 of those are currently fenced for bison. We are hopeful that we can get the other 80 fenced during the spring of 2021. 

We raise bison, cattle, and pigs. We are in the process of building and developing all of our herds.

Currently we have about 25 head of bison on the ranch. Our first five bison heifers came from the National Bison Range. We added five more yearling heifers a year later. Our bull came from another local bison producer named Chris Sullivan. (He has been an invaluable resource to us, and we appreciate him!) Stay tuned for a later blog post that highlights all of our girls. 

Our cattle herd is comprised of a few mixed breeds. We have Angus, British White, Holstein, Jersey, Guernsey, and Brown Swiss. We keep or sell cows based on their performance in an all-grass system. If they can't produce a calf that can grow and thrive on pasture only then we find them a new home. Though you wouldn't think it from the mix of breeds, we produce short fat calves which are ideal for grass finishing. We love walking out through our cows, most of them will let you pet them. A few of them will track you down for a good scratch!

The Mangalitsas are our newest addition. Pigs have been a learning experience, but they are fun. We chose Mangalitsas for their unparalleled meat quality. The drawback to the breed is they are slower growing, often taking a year to grow to harvest size (other breeds reach size at about 6 months). There are few people offering them commercially because of this trait. However, we like niche products and are excited about their potential. 

If you drive by, feel free to check out the bison from Airport Road or Watson Road, just be careful of the electric fence!

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