“This is good ranch country,” John thought to himself as he watched the cows spread out across the rolling prairie. “Lots of grass, good water.
When John got all 800 cows loaded onto the train, he put 25 head of good saddle horses on the next car and then climbed on himself. Two days later, he was in Montana, out on the eastern plains at the little town of Terry. He and his father and brothers then unloaded the cows and trailed them 30 miles to a ranch on the Powder River near Miles City.
Jim says there are two things you need breed into these horses to survive this rough land..."Lots of COW instincts and GUTS!"
It's a long way from Texas to Montana but that's the trek that the Scott family made in 1948 due to drought conditions. Learn more of the story of the 2007 AQHA Best Remuda Award winner and its ranching operation in Big Sky Country.
Last October, S Ranch Meats received its USDA certification—no small feat according to co-owner Caleb Scott. “Most people said it’s almost impossible to get a facility USDA certified and we got it certified in less than a year, so that was exciting,” Scott said.
The facility where S Ranch Meats is housed was built in 1969 and used as a butcher shop for about 30 years. The building sat vacant for another 20 years before the Scotts purchased it in September of 2020 and breathed new life into the place. By July of 2021, the butcher plant was refurbished and processing animals as S Ranch Meats.
