About Us
Our Journey
Our family has been ranching for generations, and we want to preserve that history and values by being able to pass down a successful Ranch to the next generation. Our beef is raised with the utmost care. Thought goes into the impact on the land, the environment, and the livestock themselves. Without those three things, our ranch would cease to exist.
Ranchers of Shields Valley believe better feed and better animal handling equals better beef. We believe that hard work pays off and the food tastes better because of it. When our family sits down around the table, we know where our beef came from, we know that each piece of meat will taste prime, and we know that the animals were taken care of with love and compassion. Ranchers of Shields Valley want others to know those same things. That is why our ranch is taking steps to make sure other families have access to the same type of product that we have.
Meet The Ranchers - Eric & Juliana
Eric operates the ranch. He is a native Montana rancher - something many people cannot say and something that he is proud of. He shares: My family came to Montana in 1889. There is a book The Weak Turned Back, the Cowards Never Left that contains some of my family's history. Our ranch is pretty young, it has only been around since my grandfather bought it in 1953. I am the 3rd generation on the Ranch and I am raising the 4th generation here with my wife, Juliana.
When I was in High School, I had an English teacher who asked us to write about where we wanted to be in 10 years. The kids I went to school with, all 17 in my graduating class, wrote about going to big cities and getting away from Wilsall but where I wanted to be in 10 years was here. This is my home. This is what I love.
I did get away from the ranch for a while. I went to college in South Dakota for a minute, 2 years, I made the dean’s list, just not the list you wanted to be on. After that I went to school in Helena, MT for welding and machining. Where I worked for a company building tooling for projects like stealth bomber and the F22. The company sent me to Georgia for a job. I went with a few buddies for about a month. When we first got down there we went to the store. Figured we would get some beef. It was awful. Worst tasting meat I have ever had; out of 10 lbs, threw 9 and a half in the garbage. Home cooking is great but home grown beef, well that's something else.
While I was in away, either in South Dakota or Helena, on weekends or when my dad called I came home to the Ranch to help out; shipping, branding, farming.
I knew that eventually Iwanted to end up back on the Ranch and when I realized that my heart was not in welding I called up my dad to see if I could move back home to help out on the Ranch. Not sure mom and dad really could afford to have me here working for the Ranch but they found away.
I married a pretty amazing woman who puts up with me and my Rancher lifestyle. But you know what they say, behind every successful rancher is a wife who works in town. Together we are raising our two kids our family Ranch. My son, Acesa, wants to grow up to be a rancher. I guess it's in the blood. My daughter, Abigail, has a great business mind and often has marketing ideas.
My father taught me that our cattle’s needs come first. Before I get my breakfast, the cattle get theirs. If I am thirsty, then I better check to see if they have water. Sometimes my wife tells me she thinks the Ranch comes first and sometimes she is right -just don’t tell her I said that. That’s why our beef tastes so good, because the animals are taken care of. I joke with my kids that you can taste the love in our food and that love is the special ingredient.
I work our Ranch because I believe in it. I believe in working with my hands to create something, I like watching things grow and thrive. I want a better life and I want to be a better rancher. I like taking care of the land and the people who depend on it.
Juliana grew up in central New York on a Christmas tree farm, where she was involved in all the aspects of the business. Her grandpa was a veterinarian and dairy farmer; Juliana spent many hours at his animal hospital and around the dining table, discussing animals and farming. Juliana moved to Montana, where she earned several degrees in School Psychology and Special Education and also fell in love with Montana and its way of life.
“I am glad to be a part of Shields Valley Ranchers as I believe someone needs to advocate for agriculture. Meat just doesn’t come from a supermarket; it came from someone’s ranch or farm before that. I think you can taste the difference between meat that has been shipped off to large, faceless stockyards and meat that was cared for on the family operation.
I believe everyone should have meat that has the secret ingredient that ours has; love. In addition, I am obsessed with Tallow! Tallow as part of my skincare routine has been a game changer. I wanted something that was free of toxins and chemicals. The bonus all the great benefits from Tallow. Coming up with new ideas for our tallow products and experimenting with them brings me a lot of joy!”