Our Story
We raise healthy, nutrient rich, grass fed beef in the mountain valleys of the Eastern Sierra with a focus on the health of our land, a great appreciation for the cattlemen and women before us, and creatively tackling the modern challenges of a small family ranch-
How MCR Beef started ....
Montgomery Creek Ranch Grass Fed Beef began as a high school project for Jake and his brother in 2009 when they noticed a desire for local food developing. At that time, steers were purchased from a local ranch that was also raising grass fed cattle and brought back to Montgomery Creek Ranch to be finished on alfalfa hay. The beef was USDA processed and sold to Manor Market in Bishop and directly to consumers. With the help of family, this process continued throughout Jake's years in college. The resounding support of the East Side community for locally raised beef was a clear sign that this project needed to continue.
Upon graduating college in 2014, Jake and Mini purchased the Blind Springs Ranch adjacent to Montgomery Creek Ranch and 76 mother cows with a modest down payment funded by previous beef sales and high hopes. The cattle herd and the grass fed beef business had the potential to grow and we were ecstatic to increase contributions to the local food system! Though motivated, the learning curve was steep. Raising cattle in the arid Sierra desert held previously unimaginable challenge summed up by the old adage that "you don't know what you don't know." With a great deal of helpful knowledge and experience shared from other local cattle producers, as well as incorporating our own animal husbandry education, we have worked to build a healthy and well adapted herd of cattle to produce some of the highest quality beef grown on the local open range country and irrigated meadows.
With the health of our land as a primary focus, we have utilized NRCS Environmental Quality Incentive Programs to grow our operation in both functionality and conservation value. As a result, the Montgomery Creek Ranch is completely cross fenced for rotational grazing with wildlife friendly fence. Solar powered watering stations for cattle were installed in each pasture, allowing the cows to graze the hay stubble during the winter. This symbiotic process is incredibly nutritious for the cows and noticeably beneficial to the hay. The cow manure fertilizes the soil and encourages healthy soil microbe activity which grows healthier hay when the spring time weather sets in. Additionally, NRCS EQIP programs have financially supported the costs associated with managing intrusive brush and seeding pastures with drought tolerant native grasses with higher forage value. A purpose built aerator is used to reduce the rabbit brush (a highly competitive species that is unpalatable to most animals) by breaking it into the soil for increased organic matter, aerating the soil for improved water absorption and retention, and also giving native grasses more potential to thrive.
Where we are going ....
Through the years we have learned that the food system can only grow if the correct building blocks (and strong tall fence) are in place. With a better understanding of the nutritional and management needs required for cattle to thrive in the area we are raising them, we have been able to grow our herd size beyond our original purchase. Through careful examination of genetics and thrift in our climate we are proud to offer healthy, nutrient rich, grass fed beef produced by cattle that lead healthy, low stress lives. We strive for constant improvement of our herd in their ability to transform the nourishment of our landscape into the protein that nourishes your body. Currently, all of our cows are born on our pastures, raised on our pastures, and thrive on our pastures. Cattle only leave our pastures due to old age or demeanor - or as a fully finished beef ready for your family table. We will continue improving our regenerative practice, the scenic value, and the functionality of our operation in sustainable ways, and offer more delicious local foods on a consistent basis.
