What can I do to support this project?
Buy local beef. Support local products because it will benefit our local economy. Look for restaurants that offer local beef and ask others where the beef came from which will help establish that the public does in fact care where their beef is from. With gathered effort we can bring light to the issue that most of the beef consumed in Montana has an unidentifiable source.

Are all your beef Angus?
No, most are Angus or Angus mixed with another cattle breed which has been shown to provide a good beef product in regard to taste, tenderness and weight of beef product. Our local ranchers have nearly 150 years of experience in raising cattle, we leave those details of raising quality beef in their hands.

What is Ranchers’ First?
Ranchers’ First is the model from which we have created our pricing structure. This is a project of an economic development council to support sustainable ranching and in pursuit of that goal we aim to offer ranchers a better price for their cattle than they can obtain in a commodity market. We intend to generate enough sales that this will impact several local ranchers’ incomes to the point that they have a viable option when choosing where to sell their product.

Is natural beef healthier?
Absolutely. The process that quickly fattens commodity cattle on feedlots also quickly fatten those of us who eat it. Natural beef is lower in cholesterol and higher in Omega 3 fats. The fat it does have (and there is less overall in natural compared to commodity beef) is a cleaner and less harmful fat.

Additionally, natural beef doesn’t have hormones and antibiotics. While we don’t know the extent of harm these chemicals might be responsible for, avoiding unnecessary chemicals in our food products is clearly a healthier choice. Some studies are showing a link between growth hormones in cattle and human breast cancer.

Finally, this beef will certainly be fresher. The beef spends its entire life cycle here and is processed upon need in the same county. This beef hasn’t been trucked hundreds of miles and stored for months. We can tell you which ranch it came from, how old it was at the time of processing and when precisely it was processed.

Why is grass-fed beef more expensive?
Grass-fed beef is more expensive to produce. Getting local cattle to market weight in a natural healthy environment means ranchers need more hay in the winter and space available in the warmer seasons on their fields to feed the increasing appetite of an adult beef. This animal is taking space and food that a pregnant, or producing cow could use and comes with a financial risk in maintaining it to full weight, that should it become sick and require antibiotics it is no longer able to qualify for this project and sells for a lower price at the open market. Grass-fed beef is a healthier beef product and the ranchers willing to commit to the project to provide such a product deserve a price that reflects the added costs, risk and time involved in raising beef on grass alone.

How is your beef different from Commodity Beef or Organic Beef? Our beef is natural, grass and grain finished beef. Unlike commodity beef, that which you purchase at most supermarkets, this beef has not been given steroids, growth hormones, antibiotics or any other supplemental chemical to induce rapid growth or maintain mediocre health despite unnatural living circumstances for cattle.

Organic Beef is that which is fed organic feed. This could mean either fields of grass which are not chemically fertilized, or grains which were grown organically.

Our beef is simply Madison County cattle who have grown to full weight while roaming the fields naturally their whole lives. They are typically one and a half to two years old and are chemical free.

What is the goal of the Montana Black Program?
The goal is to support sustainable ranching which in turn will decrease the number of subdivided acres and increase our communities economy by the repeated number of times every added dollar earned by local ranchers and processors will be spent in our community.