Liberty Herefords by Adrienne Barnett
Tom Gingerich, a rancher in the Bitterroot Valley, runs mini-cattle in mini-pastures because the availability of land is limited in Montana and the price is high.
Liberty Herefords, the Miniature Hereford cattle operation owned and managed by Gingerich, is located near Corvallis, Montana, in between the Bitterroot and Sapphire Mountains. Because Gingerich is only able to lease small patches of land to graze his cattle, the Miniature Hereford is the perfect size.
Their small stature makes them very easy to handle and great for grazing smaller acreage. Miniature Hereford’s are short and stalky, standing 40-50 inches tall and weigh about 700 -1000 pounds. They also adapt well to the extreme weather conditions in Montana. The breed can be traced back over 100 years and is registered with the American Hereford Association.
“Cows are something that I understand, and when you raise cows, many challenges arise, and I enjoy rising to the challenges,” said Gingerich.
He now runs around 70 head of cattle between 12 pieces of land spread throughout the valley. His younger brother Ryan and cousin Ronnie Birky, help out with the day-to-day tasks and chores involved with the cattle operation. At Liberty Herefords, they run, breed/sire and sell the cattle.
The boys were born and raised in Oregon and have been around cattle all of their lives. After living and working with livestock in a few other states, Gingerich was the first to move to Montana, arriving about six years ago.
A close friend, who owned Liberty Herefords, introduced Gingerich to the Miniature Hereford breed and he eventually took over the operation. “Smaller Beef for Smaller Acres” is Gingerich’s fitting slogan for the business.
Managing the cattle operation with modern and traditional methods, the guys use a 4-wheeler and a couple of horses to round up the cattle for moving and medical treatments. Some of the land Gingerich leases is close enough for herding the cattle and then walking them across the road. Other times, they must be packed into a trailer and driven to the new fields.
For the past five years, Gingerich has enjoyed his job and the lifestyle that comes along with his business. He likes to watch when the thick, short legged cattle disappear into the tall grasses as he releases them into pastures.
Ranching is something Gingerich is passionate about; saying people “learn the values of hard work, self-sufficiency, and utilization of natural resources through its practice.”
Only eating the grass grown in the pastures they graze, his Miniature Herefords are raised on an organic diet, something called grass based genetics. Minerals such as New Life Mineral, Redmond Natural Salt, and Diatomaceous Earth are the only supplements he introduces to the cattle to meet their nutritional needs.
Gingerich said, “Basically, genetics from cattle raised on forage alone, are superior to those (cattle) whose growth is artificially pushed ahead using grain.”
Gingerich is able to use grass fed genetics because the land in the Bitterroot Valley is irrigated, resulting in plenty of grass growth. Once the cattle have grazed over their current location, they are moved to land with fresh grass.