Bowen Cattle Company, LLC
&
Tami’s Grassfed Beef, LLC

Bowen Cattle Company, LLC is a single family operation owned by Scott and Tami Bowen, daughter Codie and son Brock. The ranch is located 40 miles east of Billings, MT. Their mother cows graze on 11.000 acres of native range year round and are only supplemented with a small amount of hay during the winter months. Their goal is to not have to feed any hay to the cows. The weaned calves get alfalfa/grass hay through the winter and graze the Crested Wheat grass pastures in the spring before going to irrigated pastures for finishing.

The Bowens lived in Ogden, Utah before moving to Montana and it was there in the late 1990’s that they became interested in rotational grazing and began studying books and attending seminars. By 1998 they were finishing a few beeves for themselves and family members. They also started selling a few to the extended family and some friends.

In 2001 they started the process of getting their own label but had trouble finding a slaughter house that would work with them and let them use it, so they settled for only being Utah State inspected.

They started Tami’s Grass-fed Beef in 2003 and Tami began doing all the marketing.

In 2004 the city grew in around them and they had the opportunity to move and expand their cattle operation. After a brief stay in Idaho, they landed in Montana. In spring of 2009 they were approved for a USDA label and have been marketing their beef with the label that bears their name.

Scott and Tami recall back in 2002 when Gearld Fry and Allen Nation were traveling through Utah looking at cattle herds. “We were lucky enough to have them stop by and see our steers”, Scott says. “It was the first time I met Gearld Fry and after a couple of hours of him looking at our animals and explaining to us everything from mineral nutrition to bone structure to hair coat, I was convinced on how little I knew about cattle. That was when we switched gears and started focusing more on genetics and animal nutrition.”

“We began a breeding program using the Rotokawa® bulls on our commercial cows and currently have an American Herbataurus (Rotokawa® 663 half blood) bull that we use for both live cover and clean-up. We also have two Devon full blood Rotokawa® sired ET bulls. Their first calves were born in 2009.”

The Bowens currently run 80 mother cows with plans to build up to 225. That process got stalled when the wildfires of 2008 came in on them from three sides and burned half the ranch and 14 miles of fence. They do expect to be set up and able to irrigate 300 acres of pasture this spring.

Scott and Tami have found a way to keep 9-year-old Codie and 7-year-old Brock involved in the family business. The two children are personally responsible for the care of the free range chicken flock and market the eggs. In addition, each one has been given ownership of a cow and gets to decide what happens to the resulting calves each year. They are charged a pasture fee each year for each animal retained.

Future goals for Bowen Cattle Company, LLC are to continue improving the cow herd; to make them more efficient and eliminate feeding hay. They want to produce and finish steers that consistently provide a quality eating experience for their families, friends, and other customers. They see the influence of the Rotokawa® genetics and American Herbataurus cattle as a key component.