Garl Germann
Montana Meat Co.
Bozeman, Mont.
The die-hard romantic’s image of Montana features a cowboy herding cattle across a wide-open prairie. In the age of industrial meat production and factory farms, this vision is less of a reality. But Garl Germann is trying to change that by fostering the growth of Montana’s organically raised, free-range beef industry.
Why we chose these meats:
Montana Meat Co., a distributor, buys cattle from ranchers who raise their livestock sustainably, and then sells the beef across the region. Ultimately Germann wants to build a network of grass-feeding ranchers across Montana, helping them reach markets both inside and outside of the state.
Germann also founded The Rodear Initiative, which is exploring a method of holistic land management in the upper Rockies. The idea: use grazing cattle to rejuvenate mountain grasslands. Germann counts holistic management pioneer Alan Savory as one of his influences.
For the love of the land:
“Being able to heal land and rejuvenate it, and make it flourish with proper grazing management, was kind of my first love,” says Germann. “That kind of land management is also the best way to make beef. What benefits the land also benefits people.”
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