SPEAKER_01: 0:00

Hey Matt, welcome to the podcast. How you doing today? Great, great. Thanks for having me. Thrilled to be here.

SPEAKER_00: 0:06

Well, man, I'm so stoked you're here. I'm really excited to dive into Northbridge or Bison, all the things you guys got going up there in Montana. But you know, kind of at the very beginning of a lot of these podcasts, uh, for listeners who may not be uh familiar, I'd love to give a little bit of background. Uh you guys got quite an interesting story about how you landed in Bozeman, but you know, kind of rewind me a little bit before that and maybe talk about where you grew up and then how you kind of made that transition over to uh Bozeman and then you know starting the bison ranch, and then we'll kind of dive into some specifics there, if you don't mind.

SPEAKER_01: 0:35

Yeah, you bet. So um yeah, so I was uh born and raised in suburban Chicago, no agriculture background whatsoever. But ever since I was a little kid, always loved nature and the outdoors, and um fell hard for the Northern Rockies and Montana in high school and college, uh, and then started to care a lot about the environment and conservation. And um, so I decided to go to law school uh for two reasons. One, you know, every town needs a lawyer, and maybe I could be a lawyer in Montana one day, and then had a dream of being an environmental lawyer. And so after law school, went to Chicago, which I knew wasn't for me long term, but it was a good place to start. And then in 2008, over 17 years ago, my wife and I were getting married, and we just decided it was now or never. And so we quit our jobs, got married, moved to Bozeman, and then I spent 10 years doing environmental policy work for the NRDC, the Natural Resources Defense Council. And the main issue I worked on was bison, bison management, fell in love with the animal, but was really craved, and then eventually just started really craving to do something entrepreneurial on my own. It was more tangible, land-based, conservation-based, wanted to get my hands dirty. And um, I'm a big meat hunter, care a lot about food and where it comes from. And when I read about bison ranching and read um the memoir Buffalo for the Broken Heart by Dan O'Brien, who started Wild Idea Buffalo in South Dakota, we were just like, we we gotta do this, or at least we gotta get, you know, learn more. And so went into like a deep dive. I called it sponge mode, just trying to learn and absorb as much as possible. And then eventually uh found this land up here and start all this from scratch in 2018.

SPEAKER_00: 2:29

So when you guys found this land, uh, I I know that you've kind of built upon and and expanded a little bit, but tell me a little bit about the the property of itself. How did you find this? What spoke to you about this? And then what did that beginning stages of the operation of, you know, okay, we got this land now. Where are you getting your bison? How are you bringing them in? Uh, where were those connections there? I'm just kind of curious about that kind of beginning stage and phases.

SPEAKER_01: 2:53

Yeah. So I mean, so like when we decide after, you know, when we decided we were really interested in this, um, I I mean, I knew nothing. So, like, literally the first thing I did was type into Google bison ranching consultant. Like, I I mean, I knew absolutely nothing and met this amazing guy, Roland Cruz, who's still a super close friend and and mentor. Um, and we met for lunch in Bozeman, and he was like, he kind of cut me off. I was telling him my story, and he cut me off. And he's like, Look, if you're really serious, you should come to my I teach a holistic management workshop on a bison ranch. And I took it both as in two ways. One, this would be very beneficial for you. And two, like, are you serious or are you a dreamer? Um, you know, and I so I went and it was amazing. Came back and um started looking for land. Dream died very quickly. You know, land out here is expensive. Uh, but I'm stubborn and persistent, kept looking. And we, Sarah and I, we thought a lot about where we wanted to look. We knew we wanted it to be within an hour of Bozeman because we'd lived here for 10 years with two little kids at the time. Um and then we and then Bozeman was growing. I mean, we no one could have predicted the Yellowstone boom and the and the COVID boom and all of that. But even with the growth, like there were certain areas where we just didn't, we did, we, we did not look because we knew that that's where like the sprawl was gonna happen. And so we're actually in a different so Bozeman's in the Gallatin Valley and we're 30 miles northeast in the Shield Valley. We're in a totally different valley, and this was our number one spot. I've cut firewood up here for years and just love the area. This is like very much a hardcore ranching valley. Um, and so you know, there's no concern about like, you know, next thing you know, you're surrounded by subdivisions and golf courses. Um, and so yeah, we just happened to stumble upon these parcels, and um, it's the only land we looked at in person. Like I kept looking online, but nothing even merited us calling to take a visit. And then in like early spring 2018, it was like, if we don't get this land under contract, this is not going to happen. So we got it under contract with as long a closing date as possible, and then really went to work meeting folks in the bison industry. Um, and then, you know, ultimately, you know, got financing, got it across the finish line, worked with someone to tear out a bunch of old barbed wire fence and put in wildlife-friendly bison fencing. Um, and then uh uh these two ranches about 150 miles west of here along the Rocky Mountain front near Shoto, Montana. That's where we got all of our bison to start the herd. And they arrived that January, and here we are.

SPEAKER_00: 6:00

So, one question there on on the fencing. When you mentioned, you know, bison-friendly fencing. I grew up in cattle operations on both sides of my family. So I'm very familiar with you know, a five-strand barbed wire, but uh curious, what is that that's uh differentiating uh for bison? Because I'm you know, very strong animals, you know, and there's very tough conditions where you are. I was just kind of curious what those are. I mean, it's not a high fence thing, but is it or or it's a just a very structurally sound uh no, it's actually it's funny.

SPEAKER_01: 6:28

It's actually like when people look at it, it's the it looks like the flimsiest thing you'll ever see. Um so our perimeter fence is five-wire, high tinsel, uh, pronghorn can go under, deer elk, and moose can go over. So it's very wildlife friendly, and then um, and then the middle wire is hot. And so, you know, for bison, it's totally just a psychological barrier. Like they could jump it or run through it like it's nothing, but they the great thing about bison is their herd instinct is still it's so strong that they they want to be together. So as long as they have plenty of grass and plenty of water, they're not looking over the fence line. And it's just you know, it's been programmed into that into them over tens of thousands of years of evolution that safety's with the herd. So they're not looking to leave the herd and jump the fence, and then that that middle wire is hot. That teaches them, oh, I don't, I don't like that. And um, and so yeah, and then our our internal fences are just two two wire um with only one hot wire, and it works great because again, they they just want to be with the herd, they don't they're not looking to to to jump the fence.

SPEAKER_00: 7:43

And you have cross-sectioned areas because you're bringing them through now. You guys aren't growing hay, because that's one of those things that I know that people talk about where if you're doing that, there's a part of the ranch that you know you're kind of not using, but you're moving these these animals around. How often and like how many pastures do you have, and how often are you kind of moving them from area to area?

SPEAKER_01: 8:01

Yeah, so um on our existing ranch, we've cross-fenced it into about 20 different pastures, and um, and then in the summer, it really varies. Uh, we have a couple small pastures where they're in there for just two or three days, and then we have a a few bigger pastures where they might be in there for two weeks, but I would say the average is like you know, seven to ten days per pasture is probably probably the average.

SPEAKER_00: 8:31

Gotcha. And I know that you said it there's a certain point where you walk up and they're like, We're ready to check out the next field.

SPEAKER_01: 8:36

Like they're oh yeah, no, it's they're they're just they're so smart, and they now um they know like they they know the drills. So people always ask, like, how do you move bison? And I mean, there's a joke that uh you can get bison to go anywhere they want to go. Yeah, um and but basically like easiest way to explain, like I do basically all the pasture moves by myself and a side by side, and easiest way to explain it would be let's say I move them into a new pasture, let's say it's July, grass everywhere, move them into a new pasture on Monday morning. If I come back on Tuesday, um, you know, they don't even look at me. They got grass, they're happy. But after a certain number of days of eating, pooping, and peeing, like I show up five days later, and those older cows, you can literally feel them looking at you, like, hey, are we doing this or what? And then you get you start to drive to the gate and you get their attention, and then the rest of the herd, again, that herd instinct, they're like, I don't know where they're going, but I'm gonna follow them. And then they just follow me through the gate and close the gate behind them. And it's uh it's actually like, yeah, it's pretty easy, all things considered.

SPEAKER_00: 9:49

Well, and and that's another thing, too, is that you're doing like a I guess a pull. It's not a push. You're they are coming and following you, which is one of the things too that I think differentiates the idea of that stress, the environment of moving them. You you guys have a an approach to how you treat your animals, which goes into great regenerative practices, which goes into uh the best thing for the habitat and the environment. I want to kind of dive into that. So that was kind of a uh you know, a tipping point onto this conversation I wanted to have as far as like how you guys treat and view your animals, because I've seen all the reviews and there's many people who said I've tried bison meat from many different places. Yours has always gotten five-star reviews of some of the best possible tasting meat. And I think there's something behind that that I'd love for you to kind of explore a little.

SPEAKER_01: 10:40

Oh, yeah. No, absolutely. I I love this stuff. So, yeah, so we we strive to operate uh a no-stress operation. So exact so, so on the pasture moves, we pull, we don't push. And what I what I mean, literally what I'm doing is driving, is going out and saying, Hey bison, I would love for you guys to follow me to the next pasture, but it's your call, not mine. And there are some days where I'm a day early and they kind of look at me and they're like, Yeah, we're good. And then I just come back the next day. Um, and then same thing, we don't wean. Uh, you know, that's time, that's stress for the mom, stress for the calf. Uh, and the science is clear that the longer the calf is on mom, the healthier that calf will be for the rest of its life. Um, so we and I just read a scientific paper on you know the effects of stress in meat. And it, you know, it's a it's a major thing. Like, and so we we we strive for a no-stress operation. And then when it's time to kill a bison, instead of shipping him to a slaughterhouse, which for bison, the stress is through the roof. I just drive out, like I'm field harvesting tomorrow morning, and I will drive out. They know me, they know the truck, they're out there doing their thing, and then it's a headshot uh with a copper bullet from a 270 or a 308 from like 15 yards, and it's instant. And like people have been like, Oh man, I love your ranch, you know, because the bison only have one bad day. And I'm like, oh no, there's no bad day. Like they're standing there, grass in their mouth with the herd, and the second I pull that trigger, it's instant. And when you read about, you know, like the alternative, you know, all that stress has a negative impact on meat. And then what slaughterhouses typically do is they quote unquote, they dry lot the animal, which means they starve it for a day, so that when they kill it, the stomach's empty. But by starving it for a day, that has a like major negative impact on the meat. So, you know, yeah, our our meat's amazing. We feel really good about it, our customers love it, and um, and yeah, it's it's it's bison that tastes how bison should taste.

SPEAKER_00: 12:53

Well, and you guys are shipping all across uh the US, and then are you doing Canada, Mexico, other countries around, or is it just kind of could the main 48? What are you uh what's your your your uh range there?

SPEAKER_01: 13:06

Just the US. We've we've gotten a bunch of increase from Canada and just um haven't figured out yet how how to ship into Canada, but yeah, we ship we ship all over the country. Like uh this week we're shipping to Minnesota, Las Vegas, Washington State, Idaho. Uh yeah, we we ship all over.

SPEAKER_00: 13:25

And so you got quarters, halves, holes, and then I know that you talked at some point in time about how maybe there may be some smaller cuts later on down the future, but at the moment that's uh you guys got that. And then uh as far as people who are interested in ordering from you guys, what does that look like on the timeline? Because I know that you have you know the days that you'll go out there like tomorrow morning, um, but how often are you kind of shipping out and you know, uh and and maybe talk about the yield of each animal and kind of you know what that looks like as far as the the ordering and the process and and your timeline?

SPEAKER_01: 13:55

Yeah, no, great, great question. So um, so I'm I I field harvest year round, um, which we've just found it just it it it works it works great for for us, our customers, our processor, Amsterdam Meat Shop, who's they're amazing butchers, amazing people. Um, and and then also the herd, like spreading it out over the course of the year, I think is helpful. So uh yeah, the way it works is someone goes on our website and picks a quarter, half whole, they put down their depot, put down their deposit, and then I always email them within 48 hours to thank them for their order and then give them a ballpark estimate of when I'm gonna field harvest. I always joke, like, if I didn't email, you know, a quarter deposits,$925. If you don't hear from me for a month, you're like, is this, you know, what the hell's going on? I just, you know, so I just email and say, hey, thanks so much for your order. And then I look at our our our wait list and my field harvest schedule and say, you know, based on our current wait list and field harvest schedule, I expect to field harvest your bison like today, I would say in mid-January. Following field harvest, it'll be dry aged and then professionally cut and wrapped at Amsterdam Meat Shop. And then I get in touch about shipping and then we work around their schedule. Like if I say, hey, it's ready to ship the week of January 16th, and they're like, oh, I'm out of town that week. It's okay, no problem. We'll do the following week. Um, but we, you know, because I field harvest year-round, I'd say from placing an order to receiving your bison, it's probably two months. Um, so it's it's not too bad. And we have what's really nice is we've, you know, got a lot of repeat customers that you know are like addicted to our bison and love having a freezer full of bison meat. And um, and they'll now, you know, put a deposit down and then email me like today and say, hey Matt, I would like this half bison to arrive the second half of March. And I say, like, that's so helpful because then I can just slot in, you know, George half bison late March, and then I just work backwards. So uh, but yeah, so that's how we do it.

SPEAKER_00: 16:09

And then when you're talking about dry dry aging, what is your process once it goes to the butcher as far as as that and how long is it dry aged? Yep.

SPEAKER_01: 16:18

So so we like I guess yeah, but you know, the two things we focus we we strive to give bison these amazing stress-free lives and then give our customers like the best red meat they'll ever taste in their life. Um, so you know, the as you know, you know, everything that from an animal's life to the way it was killed, aged, cut, wrapped, cooked, blah, blah, blah, like all those different variables lead up to the taste of that meat on your plate. Um so I the way the process works, like tomorrow. So I'll field harvest, so I'll drive out, field harvest the bison, bleed it, take it to a different pasture, gut it, save the tongue, cheeks, heart, liver, kidneys, hanging tender, tail, take it to Amsterdam. They do an amazing job skinning it, washing it, trimming it, and then they dry age it. We found like two weeks is the sweet spot for our bison. So they dry age it about two weeks, then they uh cut it, wrap it, box it, and then when we deliver it or ship it, it shows up ready to go into your freezer. You know, uh the ground bison is in one pound chubs, and then the steaks and roasts are all, you know, like two steaks to a package. Um and the ground bison, uh, and what one cool thing is like whether you're ordering a quarter, a half, or a whole, everything you get back is from your animal and nothing else. So there's nothing at there's no like additional fat that's added. Um, and bison fat's amazing. I now, whenever they have excess fat, they vacuum seal it for me. And when I butcher my own like elk deer pronghorn, I cut our our bison fat into the trim for the burger, and it's like amazing.

SPEAKER_00: 18:16

Dude, that's amazing. I yeah, I'd I'd love to to definitely try some. I have not had bison fat other than some that came with some bison that I ended up getting and was gifted. Um, but I can just only imagine, especially ones that have been uh cared for the way that yours are. Um, you when when you mentioned there with like tongue and heart and the opal there, what's happening with that meat? Uh is that is that the uh your your your freezer behind you there that that uh that goes into and friends and family? Because I mean I've heard buffalo tongue is absolutely amazing. Uh and I was just kind of curious, what yeah, what do you do with those?

SPEAKER_01: 18:47

Yeah, so um the way we're set up right now, you know, we can't sell individual cuts, but we don't want that stuff to go to waste. So we save it and then we eat some of it ourselves. Like our kids, they're obsessed with bison heart. Like they just they like, I mean, really, really, really love bison heart. Um, and then we just give it away to to friends and customers. Um, got some chef friends that we give it to. Um and uh yeah, so it's been and yeah, bison tongue. I I will say, like the um, you know, our mutual friend Steve Rennell of Meat Eater, he he's he made he's made us some smoked and cured tongue from our bison. And I gave it, I I um served it to our kids, and all I said was we're having bison steak for dinner. And uh, and one of them said, they go, Oh my god, this is meat candy. And then the other one said, Can we have this every night? It was like so good, yeah. So uh yeah, and we so we just you know, one day we'll sell it, but now we just we give it to friends and customers, and yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 19:57

Well, you know, mentioning that meat eater, um, you've had an affiliation last couple of years. They have the tailgate tour, which is kind of the early season college football, they go around and you know, they have kind of pop-up stuff. I know in Texas here they've done a lot of stuff over at Archery Country uh with a mutual friend of ours, uh Jesse Griffiths, who's done a lot of work with Meat Eater as well, a wild game chef here. And that was where I kind of, you know, I had heard about you guys before, but then, you know, as I saw more of the uh, you know, promotions there going on and knowing that he was going to be cooking some of the bison meat there, um, that's kind of where I dove in a little bit deeper and learned more about uh, you know, your your your ranch and your operations there. But why don't you talk to me a little bit about you know what that was like on your side of things? I know you've had a relationship with Steve for a while, but then you know, doing this tailgate tour and providing this meat for all these amazing uh events and really being able to kind of I think share um that incredible you know bounty with all these other people is just phenomenal. I was kind of curious how that uh came to be.

SPEAKER_01: 20:54

Yeah, no. Um Meat Eater, it's been a just a wonderful relationship. Um, you know, the those guys have become good friends, and um, you know, they're based in Bozeman, and it really started a few years ago. Um, you know, Steve has this huge interest in like ice age hunters and you know, uh the first humans to come to North America, and so um they were looking to do a like Stone Age tool uh butchery experiment. And um, so Corinne, who's the producer of the podcast, she reached out, and then she and the lead scientist came and visited the ranch, and we put together this plan, and then they brought like the whole crew here in September. And I went out, field harvested a bison, bled it, and then drove over to the guys. And it was uh Steve, Cal, Spencer, Clay, and then um the taxidermist that they work with. And I literally just dropped the bison, and there were like five scientists from three universities, and they skinned, gutted, butchered the whole thing using Clovis points and stone flakes, um, and made an amazing, you know, video that's like super popular on YouTube. Um, and then from there, uh, you know, we've just become good friends, and like whenever they need bison, like we're their bison guy. So uh they started this tailgate tour last year, and um, and and you know, though to give them, I mean, they deserve so much credit, both for all that they do for conservation and everything else, but like they they were like, hey, we want to source good bison meat for our tailgate tour. We don't want to get just you know whatever feedlot bison you can find somewhere. Um, so I really respect that they that they wanted to do that. And um, and it's been fun. We've we've done other projects with them, um, and yeah, just become good friends and uh yeah, just love what they do and and appreciate the relationship.

SPEAKER_00: 23:00

Well, I'll definitely have a link below on that video. Um, I mean, it's really crazy. They're you know, studying the station marks and all the different things to kind of build a model of how like that the prehistory of some of these tools evolved and being able to kind of you know match, okay, this these marks here maybe indicated, you know, you know, different eras and times and different types of tools. And it's just it is fascinating. I mean, obviously you see behind me, I kind of have a special interest in and uh, you know, these the the arts of of the prehistorical uh you know, works and flints and different tools. So that was right up my alley. I thought that was incredible. Um, you know, I want to talk a little bit more about some of the things that you have experienced. And, you know, maybe it started with your studies early on about, you know, what are how bison are different for the land than you know, cattle operations and ranching, because there's also uh, you know, I've always heard this thing, what's good for the birds, good for the herd, what's good for the herd, it's good for the bird. Like there's something that, you know, the I know the Montana Audubon has come out there and they've talked about, you know, uh your richness of your habitat, and that's something that is very important to you guys as an operation of really building habitat that benefits all the animals around. And so I'd really love for you to kind of key in and talk a little bit about that and what that means to you and some of how those practices have evolved uh over the years you've had the property.

SPEAKER_01: 24:20

Sure, sure. So I mean, I I guess, you know, starting with big picture, I just I I have a deep love for the natural world. Like, although Leopold's my hero, a sand county almanac had an enormous influence on me, you know, and and he talks about, you know, how every piece of the natural world matters, right? Like every little bug and worm and insect, like it all matters. And um, and in this age of extinction that we're living through, where we're losing biodiversity every day, we ultimately manage for biodiversity on the ranch because we love biodiversity, full stop. And then two, the science is clear that the more biodiverse our ranch is, the healthier our animals are, the more resilient they are, and the healthier their meat is. Um, and so, you know, what that looks like is um, you know, we don't use any chemicals. Um, you know, uh, there's a great, you know, amazing regenerative farmer in Georgia named Will Harris, and he's got this thick southern accent. And he says, uh he says, pesticide, herbicide, fungicide, all various forms of homicide. Um but it's true, right? Like it all starts with soil health. And if you're killing all the bugs, like then the birds don't have a food source. So um, and then same thing. Like, I, you know, when we see a coyote, I take a picture of it. We don't shoot it. Coyotes have their role to play, badgers have their role to play. So we want this to be a fully functioning, thriving grassland ecosystem. Um, and that's what that's that's what we're all about. And it's so we geek out whenever we see a new bird species or see a badger or an ermine or you know, uh, I love it.

SPEAKER_00: 26:02

So, you know, that that brought to mind too, you know, we we've doing the same kind of thing on our properties here in Texas, uh, as far as trying to, you know, create the best habitat, you know, 365 for the native animals. And we have a lot of issues with invasive animals. Obviously, we have wild hogs that are coming through, but there's also different plants and tree species and things that we've had to go down and kind of remove those, root plow, burn, and then be able to restore uh native grasslands and forbs and such. I was kind of curious, have there been any kind of invasives uh where the whether that's on the the animal side of things or even maybe uh brush or trees that you guys have had to deal with? And then uh how do you tackle that if that is an issue?

SPEAKER_01: 26:46

Yeah, no, great question. No real issues um on you know from a from an animal standpoint, uh yeah, not none, none at all. Um, you know, there's definitely some non-native birds around, but they're not like not a problem. Right. Um, and then we're fortunate in that our we we we don't have too many weeds on the ranch, but we we do have a few hot spots of cheat grass, spotted nap weed, and leafy spurge. Um and uh so we've been uh trying some different uh, I guess like very environmentally friendly ways of managing it, like trying to bale group, like putting a you know, bale graze on it, which it can really change the profile of the that particular piece of land. Um, and then recently um uh some people in Bozeman have this organic fertilizer that they're finding basically just changes this the uh soil chemistry profile and makes it more advantageous for native grasses than these invasives. And um, so we put some of this organic fertilizer on these hot spots a little over a year ago, and it'll take a couple years to see what the results are. Um, but we're yeah, we're very fortunate that we're, you know, knock on wood, it's we're we're we're we we don't have that big of an issue with that stuff.

SPEAKER_00: 28:12

That's great, man. Well, and and it's cool to see you guys trying some things. And of course, I know that you guys are always going to do that organic format, what's you know, not you know, no homicide of all these animals because eventually that leaks through to every single other, you know, aspect. I mean, it's all I always talk about that the uh the concept of Matakuye Oyasin from my Lakota friends I used to work with. Like everything's related, where every piece is always a part of that puzzle together. And I I I see in how you guys uh really care for your land in that way. So it I I kind of have I see that same ethos there. Um, you know, one thing I wanted to kind of talk about uh was this year has been a year of expansion for you guys. And uh also you're offering the ability for people to come and see this and be able to stay at uh you know this property here as well. If you can tell me a little bit about that and kind of the evolution of the space and getting some expanding the property and kind of what it is that you're hoping to have uh and being able to share this with other people as they come through and stay, you know, on the land there.

SPEAKER_01: 29:12

Yeah, yeah, no, great. So yeah, so you know, a few years ago, Sarah and I were like, man, we would love to expand the ranch. And if and if we and if we ever expanded, it would have to be adjacent. Like we're not gonna, you know, pick up a lease that's 10 miles away. It has to be adjacent. Uh and land prices have just gotten insane out here. And so we, you know, instead of complaining and crying about it, we were proactive and through a series of introductions, got connected with this firm called Dirt Capital Partners. And it's a regenerative agriculture finance firm. Um, and and then uh our our our neighbor to the east, so our adjacent landowner, this like really, really wonderful elderly woman named Hallie passed away. A year and a half ago, and her kids were gonna sell everything, and they were awesome and they worked with us quietly. Um, because if you know if word got out, we probably would have been a cash offer pretty quickly, but they they worked with us for months, and so Dirt Capital bought this additional 917 acres, they're leasing it to us for 10 years with the goal that we expand the herd, grow the business, ultimately buy them out. Um, and then the new land, it's just a better ranch headquarters for us. So we moved here in August and then turned our old house into an Airbnb. And it's like, yeah, I mean, it's amazing. I mean, one, it's our it's it was our house. Like that's where we lived for years. So, like, there's a ton of love and care that's gone into it. Um, and when we first started the ranch, we actually operated it as an Airbnb in like 2019, and it got very popular very quickly. So it's this kind of unique uh, it's a three-bedroom, two-bath, really cool house on the ranch on a dead end dirt road with insane views, uh, 30 miles from Bozeman, 15 miles from skiing, be an amazing base camp for a hunting trip or hiking, gravel biking, whatever. Um, and so yeah, so it's really we're really excited that people can come and stay on the ranch and see the bison and uh, you know, just experience the the what we have up here.

SPEAKER_00: 31:30

Well, and I know that you also share a lot of this with other places, there's other, you know, communities that have come out there and be able to learn. Uh, you know, I've seen a lot of different things uh in in some of the outdoor wilderness uh you know events that you've had out there. And one thing also that I thought was just incredible is like back in April of 2022, you guys ended up doing a conservational easement to where you did, I think it was at the Gallatin Valley uh land trust there, and it basically protected this property from development forever. And that is something that I love that you guys have done this. Uh, why don't you talk a little bit about that? I mean, I'm sure it was kind of an easy decision in in a sense, but how did you go about doing that? And and what was that goal for you guys to be able to have that kind of as a legacy?

SPEAKER_01: 32:14

Yeah, no. Um, you know, it's funny. I uh I like I said just for me, back to Aldo Leopold. I just have this deep love of land. And actually, when I was in law school, I wrote my thesis on conservation easements. I've been a conservation easement geek for over 20 years. Um, you know, it's just this amazing tool to protect land uh and help farmers and ranchers. So for us, it was like we believe deeply in conservation, and it was put put your money where your mouth is. So we um, you know, worked with GVLT over a couple years and uh ultimately put our land under a conservation easement. So, you know, long after we're gone, um, that land can never be developed. It'll look exactly like it does today. We're gonna do the exact same thing on the expanded ranch. Um, and it's just it feels really good. Like I think about it a lot. Like I'll be out on the ranch and be like, this view right here is gonna look like this in a hundred years. Um, and so yeah, it it feels good. Um, and then and then yeah, we just you know, we're we we love sharing this with folks. Like when people um like if someone in you know Dallas, Texas orders a quarter from us, we really we really want to connect people to the ranch, where their food comes from, the natural world. And so um, like if someone from Dallas ordered a quarter today, when I field harvest their bison next month, I take some pictures of you know the herd that morning, dead bison on the ground, nothing bloody or gory, but very clearly like that's a dead bison. And I send them an email the next day and said, Hey, I field harvested your bison yesterday morning, everything went great. It was cold and windy or whatever. Uh, and then when we ship it to them, we include like a tote bag with some cooking tips and some stickers, and then a sprig of sagebrush with bison hair wrapped around it. So it's like this, and our customers love it, like they feel like they've never been to Montana, but they feel really connected to the ranch and to the bison. Um, and yeah, we just we we we're passionate about what we do and and want to, you know, connect folks to the natural world.

SPEAKER_00: 34:28

I love it, man. It it's phenomenal. I love what you guys are doing out there. Um, for those who are interested in learning a little bit more, following the journey, checking out some of the videos, articles, blogs, and everything. Why don't you go ahead and give them your website and your socials?

SPEAKER_01: 34:40

Yeah, really simple. Our website is northbridgerbison.com, and our email and my cell phone is on there. And then we just do Instagram and it's Northbridger Bison. Uh and yeah, so we're keep it pretty simple, but you know, we we uh you know actively maintain both the website and the Instagram and keep it keep it fresh and interesting, and uh it's been fun.

SPEAKER_00: 35:04

No, I love it. It's highly entertaining, educational. I mean, it's it's great all around. You know, Matt, is it as far as any parting words, is there anything that you'd like to, you know, say to those people who have been supporting you guys for all these years, all the people who send you messages, uh those who've had the orders and maybe some of those you know partnerships that you've had. Just kind of curious what your thought is as far as like, you know, this uh, you know, how you feel uh towards them and maybe towards the legacy of what you guys are building. And uh yeah, just any parting thoughts you have there.

SPEAKER_01: 35:35

Oh, yeah. I mean, it's for me simple, come straight to just immense gratitude. Like we uh, you know, we started this thing from scratch, people thought we were nuts. I called it the bison wrench pipe dream because I did I actually didn't think it would ever happen. And um, you know, we've got this amazingly loyal, passionate following. People are excited about what we're doing. And I just, you know, it's very like it's just black and white clear that like, but for our customers, but for our friends at Meat Eater, but for podcasts like yours, we we wouldn't exist. Um, you know, we've been for so fortunate in with people telling our story and our customers, you know, buying our meat, telling their friends about it. Um, so yeah, just immense gratitude, like really deep, real, genuine gratitude.

SPEAKER_00: 36:31

Well, it it comes through, man. And and I love what you guys are doing out there, Matt. You and your family are incredible. Uh in what you guys are putting together and working with the land and these animals, uh, it really, it really shines through. And I I look forward to uh you know someday getting out there and hopefully checking it out in person sometime.

SPEAKER_01: 36:47

Oh, yeah. No, right back at you. I love what you're doing, George, and uh look forward to meeting in person, whether it's in Texas or Montana, but definitely gonna happen.

SPEAKER_00: 36:55

Absolutely, sir. Well, hey, thanks again, everybody. Make sure you go check out the show notes below for all the links on the videos, websites, uh socials, and make sure you guys are following North Bridge or Bison and place your order today for the best bison out there. Thanks again, Matt, for joining me, buddy. Thanks, George. Cheers. Cheers.