Story & Photography by Shannon Ruckman
Central Montana Ranch Investigates New Ideas,
Improves Ranch Health Using Wholistic Approach
GRAN PRAIRIE GRAN PRAIRIE
RANCH
RANCH
Sustainable ranching means investigating new ideas and technologies to improve
range health and overall productivity, according to a Grass Range, Mont., rancher.
"If you improve the soil, it improves the forage, which improves the livestock,"
says Nick Schultz of the Gran Prairie Ranch, located in the vast range on
the eastern edge of Fergus County. "It's a chain reaction."
The Schultz family, from left, Nick, Marti, Wyatt, Mason, and Johnnie, lives on the Gran Prairie Ranch near Grass Range,
Mont. Nick's great-grandfather moved from Buffalo, NY, and homesteaded the ranch in 1940 after sending his two teenage
sons, Nick's grandfather and great-uncle, on a train to check out the country.
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