SILVERTIP RANCH

BRIDGER, MONTANA

The Hergenrider family arrived in Montana’s Clark’s Fork Val-ley in 1916 and have been farming their land ever since. “My ancestors were pursuing opportunities offered by the Great Western Sugar Company, a company that we still grow sugar beets for today,” says Rhonda Hergenrider, who manages the 700-acre farm with her father and sister. Her grandfather told stories of digging beets by hand, removing the tops with knives, and then shoveling them into horse-drawn wagons.

Nonetheless, change has been a constant. The family has raised hogs for years, but they now market the meat, too, selling direct-to-consumer through a local co-op, the Yellow-stone Valley Food Hub. Selling direct “is a way to control your price,” reports Hergenrider. “But ‘value-added’ also means ‘work-added’ and ‘time-added’!” The farm also meets the growing demand for malt barley (used in craft beer, malted milk balls, and pizza crusts). About half of the land is now used for raising cattle. “As we move into the future, I see our cattle numbers increasing. I enjoy them,” Hergenrider says.

Since childhood, Hergenrider had always planned to do something to help farmers. She did so off-farm for a decade after college, writing about agriculture and selling insurance Kamal Bell to farmers and ranchers. But the farm girl missed the smell of freshly

cut hay and tilled soil, working outdoors—and variety. "In farming, just when one thing gets old, the seasons change and it's time to do something else," observes Hergenrider. "But my biggest passion is, and always has

been, farming itself.” Her school-age son and daughter love the lifestyle, too: “My kids express interest, but they are young,” says Hergenrider. “We’ll just navigate through it one day at a time.” (continued)

Photo: Laura C. Nelson/lauracnelson.com