Creating a new ‘Legend’: Ranching family seeks "natural" niche

After four generations and 100 years in the cattle business, the Mackay family decided to try something different. In 1998, the family launched Montana Legend Brand Meats, http://www.montanalegend.com a division of Natural Meats Montana Inc. They changed the way they raised, sold and marketed their beef.

by Leanne H. Frost Western Business News

"The return on the commodity of cows is zero or less and has been that way for 25 years," said Derek Kampfe, president and CEO. "We wanted a niche, to be the price-setters instead of the price-takers."

The company switched to raising "natural" beef, which means not using growth hormones or antibiotics and not including animal byproducts in the feed. They also "cut out the middleman" and began overseeing every aspect of the beef’s production, from raising the calves, to finishing the cattle on grain, determining how the meat is cut and packaged, how it is warehoused and trucked, and even which restaurants, delicatessens and supermarkets carry their meat.

The company is based in Roscoe, about 60 miles southwest of Billings, where the Mackay family has its Lazy E-L Ranch. They started with a 160-acre homestead in 1901 and have grown to a 13,000-acre ranch. The cattle no longer have to endure a three-day trail drive to Red Lodge and then a four-day train ride to market in Chicago. Montana Legend has been using a processing plant in Columbus since 2001 and has plans to build a new, environmentally-friendly processing plant in the Red Lodge area. The company’s order fulfillment center is in Billings.

At first, Kampfe said some of the ranch’s neighboring cattle producers were skeptical of taking a "natural" approach. They wanted to wait and see how Montana Legend Brand Meats fared. Thanks to its success, some of the other ranches in the area have adopted the natural standards and raise cattle for the company.

Montana Legend natural Angus beef has won taste tests and loyal customers from New York to San Francisco. A growing number of foodservice providers and retail outlets are carrying the brand. Kampfe said the Internet has been a great tool for increasing consumer direct sales. The gift segment currently accounts for about 40 percent of the company’s sales. Last year the company launched a line of corporate gift items. Kampfe said he would like to see the sales split evenly between retail, food services, and consumer direct.

Although the meat is more expensive than conventionally raised and processed beef, Kampfe said there is a growing market for natural beef. The natural foods industry in general is growing approximately 20 percent a year in sales. The natural beef segment’s growth is about the same. Currently less than 1 percent of beef is produced naturally.

Kampfe said the consumers cross all demographic lines, from the elderly, to the gourmet chef, to the soccer mom.

April Drake, accounting and project manager for Montana Legend, said the company has seen a growing demand among Baby Boomers who are becoming increasingly health conscious, as are senior citizens.

Currently 80 percent of the company’s products are sold outside of Montana. Yet, the company has earmarked a portion of all of its sales for organizations such as the Montana Land Reliance, the Corporation for the Northern Rockies and the Greater Yellowstone Coalition.

Kampfe said such stewardship and concern for the environment fits naturally with the Montana Legend product and mission statement, which is "to produce and sell profitably the highest quality beef in America, focusing on natural standards, customer service, adding value, and ethical practices."

To help it achieve its goals, the company has turned to technology. In 2001, Montana Legend purchased a roll-stock machine that labels each package of meat with a code. Customers can take that code, enter it into the company’s web site, and find out the whole history of the meat as a form of "source verification." "With E. coli and other scares, it helps consumers understand how the meat got to them," Kampfe said. "Part of why our beef is so good is because we know the history of every single package, even the hamburger."

Each cut of meat is literally traced from birth to the dinner plate. According to the company, "The Montana Legend system starts with careful selection of calves that have the preferred traits, then raising the herd in a chemical-free field environment without the use of growth-promoting hormones or antibiotics. They are given a special natural blend of feed, and to top it off, the cattle live in a calm, friendly, no-stress environment."

The company tracks the meat’s origin, its genetics, and the veterinary history of the animal. "The company is working vigorously with computer programmers and systems experts to continue advancing technology that will benefit the consumer, the environment and beef producers," the company said.

Drake said the strategy is working. The company is expecting to process approximately 100 head of cattle a month by year end. Gov. Martz even mentioned the company in her recent State of the State Address.

To boost its retail business, Montana Legend is launching a national advertising campaign in such magazines as Gourmet, Bon Appetite, and the New Yorker.

Kampfe said the company is quickly approaching the maximum capacity of the Columbus processing plant. If demand continues to grow, Montana Legend is considering building a processing plant in Red Lodge. He said the idea has received strong support from the Beartooth RC&D, the Red Lodge Chamber of Commerce, and the Red Lodge City Council.

The plant would recycle 85 percent of its water and use solar and wind energy generators. It could also employ 25 people. However, Kampfe added, those plans are at least a year away if not longer.

In the meantime, other ideas are in the works, such as developing a three-ounce children’s size hamburger patty.

Says Montana Legend, "One family does it all. This means we know what goes into our meat; it also means that we are fanatics about consistency and quality. After all, if the meat isn’t right, there’s no one to blame but ourselves."

For more information on Montana Legend, go to http://www.montanalegend.com.

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