The Milton Ranch is a 15,000 acre ranch located northeast of Roundup, MT on the beautiful rolling Northern Plains. Our current operation supports 500 mother cows which we manage intensively, using electric fence for daily moves. We began studying the principles of Holistic Management in the early 70’s and are still employing ideas of herd effect, high intensity grazing and long recovery periods. We believe in large-scale conservation— the Northern Plains is one of the last remaining grassland ecosystems in the world, and we believe that with the collaboration of neighbors, government agencies, non-profit organizations, and other like-minded ranchers, we can leverage our individual power to create real change on this landscape. The Milton Ranch is a proud recipient of the 2020 Aldo Leopold Conservation Award.
Our vision takes a lot of work. We spend a lot of time planning our daily grazing moves, setting up and taking down electric fence with our motorized fence spool, and using low-stress stockmanship to check cattle. Off the range, Bill spends much time facilitating meetings with various working groups to chip away at the Miltons’ vision of a sustainable ranching community in Montana. Some current project include:
Rangeland Monitoring Group: A new group of producers, scientists, educators and government agents working to address the question, how can we collect and organize range health data as a means to leverage our shared understanding of how, as land managers, we are positively impacting the Northern Plains?
Winnet ACES: A grass-roots non-profit working to sustain agriculture, community and the environment. The group is currently working on setting up grass banks in Montana to help young ranchers access land.
CM Russel Working Group: A group working with various stakeholders to represent the intersection of environmental, agricultural and recreational uses of the Charles M. Russel Wildlife Refuge, located north of the ranch.
Growing Practices
- Mob Grazing
- Raised Without Added Hormones
- Raised Without Antibiotics
Products
- Beef
