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Though he grew up in a farming family, Doug Ney married into the ranching life. His father-in-law, John Lindstedt, had been raising registered Polled Herefords for 20 years and was ready to retire. Rather than let Lindstedt’s ranching expertise go to waste, Ney persuaded him to help build a small herd of Certified Hereford cattle with the idea of selling natural beef direct to the consumer.
John started his herd by buying a single Hereford cow in September 1985. The herd grew over several years to approximately 50 purebred cows that became the ranch’s Polled Hereford genetic seedstock. In 1993, land was purchased in Jefferson County, 50 miles west of Milwaukee and Big Sky was born.
John and Doug’s objective was to produce all-natural fresh beef without sacrificing quality and integrity. They decided to raise Hereford and Hereford Crossbred cattle because they are known to produce consistently tasty beef. They eschewed antibiotics and growth promotants--both mainstays in today's commodity beef industry.
Big Sky Ranch cattle are raised on a combination of pastures and certified grain. From the beginning, Big Sky Ranch’s management philosophy has focused on personal care of its animals. The cattle are raised according to all-natural standards which allow them to eat as much natural feed as they want whenever they want. They have constant access to water and free range.
Nearly 20 years after the ranch’s inception, many of Ney’s family members--including his own father, a retired farmer--are involved in raising 100 head of Herefords every season. After Big Sky Ranch Natural Beef is dry-aged for 14 to 21 days, it is sold through Farmer’s Markets in Wisconsin and through the website www.naturalbeefatbigsky.com.
“There is no distant third-party involvement. At Big Sky Ranch we live with our animals. We are a small, family-owned facility. We take pride in our cattle and we personally feed and care for them each day, rain or shine.”
Big Sky Ranch cattle are processed in small USDA-inspected facilities, where experienced butchers hand-cut and dry-age the beef. The product is wrapped and flash-frozen to preserve the flavor.
Visitors are always welcomed at Big Sky Ranch. “We invite people to come out to the farm and see how the animals are raised. We like educating them about cattle and we want them to know where their beef comes from.” Please come and see a small piece of western tradition at Big Sky.
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