In late July my sister Katie mentioned that a business acquaintance of hers had nominated our ranch for the “Jake Jabs School of Entrepreneurship Family Business Award.” How nice, I thought, before completely putting it out of mind, knowing of course it was unlikely we would be chosen. The business acquaintance is not affiliated with directly, nor does she come from an Agriculture background so my first thought was “is she crazy for nominating us amidst all the super qualified, cutting edge businesses throughout our state.” We are, after all, only ranchers. And a family of ranchers just trying to get the cows sorted before a family feud erupts ; ) Much to our dismay, we received news in August that we were indeed finalists and were now faced with the difficult task of “applying”. After a minor sister feud, not over cows but over describing jobs roles and duties, Katie and I managed to put together an application we felt proud of submitting. Through the process we also realized there is much our family should be proud of and thankful for. We feel blessed that our ancestors settled in this beautiful valley and chose ranching and farming as a career. And we are extremely proud of the diligence, hard work, perseverance, ingenuity, and integrity exhibited by previous generations that has enabled our family to remain in business for over 100 years. The Gallatin Valley is growing at an incredible rate and there are so many wildly successful entrepreneurs and a vast array of accomplished family businesses that have stood the test of time during the seas of change. We are humbled to be acknowledged among such an elite group of business owners in the state of Montana, and appreciative of the selection committee for honoring our family. 

Cooper Hereford Ranch highlighted in Big Sky Business Journal click here