Montana Working Lands Project thrives thanks to the incredible land, animals, ingenuity, and expertise of the dedicated owners and managers of Wickens Ranch in Winifred, MT. They are the heart and foundation of everything we do.

So Who is Wickens Ranch?

We're a 4th Generation Montana Ranching Family - Currently managed by Eric and Emma Wickens.
Just outside of Winifred, MT, Wickens Ranch has an abundance of healthy grassland, ideal for raising cattle and producing delicious, regenerative beef that's sought after by top chefs and home cooks. But for us, it's about more than really good beef...it's also about running a sustainable ranching business, and in doing so building more resilient rural communities through the hundreds of interconnected relationships within that system.

Since Wickens Ranch implemented practices to increase the health of our lands and our animals, we have watched the landscape flourish in ways we haven't seen in decades. Areas that were once just "wet bottoms" are now flowing spring creeks, due to increasing the water cycle through management practices. With an abundance of native plants, we’re witnessing wild animals not seen for many years, as more habitat is rebuilt that they thrive on. Dung beetles, nature's nutrient recyclers, have begun to flourish along with other beetles, ants and larvae. Ever seen year-old cow pies, scattered across a field, drying out instead of breaking down? Eliminating almost all the pour-on insecticides from our cattle has helped to nurture the return of these nutrient cyclers and add to the growing microcosm.

There’s no pointless biowaste in a truly healthy ecosystem — everything is connected, and everything has a purpose.