Eric Wickens

The Wickens are a 4th Generation Montana ranching family. Eric Wickens, his wife, Emma, and their five kids live in Hilger, Montana, a rural community in Central Montana near the small town of Winifred. Wickens Ranch has an abundance of healthy grassland prairie, ideal for raising healthy and delicious beef. Eric and Emma have been running the ranch since 2007 after returning from MSU with degrees in range science and equine science.

Just outside of Winifred, MT, Wickens Ranch has an abundance of healthy grassland, ideal for raising cattle and producing delicious, regenerative beef that's sought after by top chefs and home cooks. But for us, it's about more than really good beef, it's also about running a sustainable ranching business, and in doing so building more resilient rural communities.

How do you define your Good Meat® values?

• Ecological and financial sustainability
• Superior beef quality and flavor
• Convenience and accessibility
• Local, community-oriented (we deliver our product locally, no shipping)

Why do you raise meat that aligns with those values?

Independent, direct meat businesses are good for Montanans and our state’s rural communities. It’s also good for our family and the ranch — growing Wickens Ranch beef helps us stay in business, taking care of our grassland for decades to come. We want this for our family and for other responsible landowners.

In one or two sentences can you describe the approach/practice/philosophy of your operation?

Our focus is regeneratively-raised Montana beef. We follow Allan Savory’s holistic management practices, focusing on the health and resourcefulness of the whole system. Decades of dedication to regenerative management have built a robust grassland ecosystem that nourishes our animals and leads to exceptional beef. Read more about our practices here.

What is one thing you wish more consumers knew about raising livestock for food?

I wish we had time to really educate everyone about the complexities of production. What works for one ranch or farm won’t always work for a different ranch or farm, and that’s ok. There are many different options to ranch or farm regeneratively and produce a healthy and delicious product.

What meat, or meat dish, do you eat most regularly and what do you eat for a special occasion?

Ground beef is always a good choice because of its versatility. A steak cooked on a Traeger grill is for special occasions.

What is one of your biggest challenges as a Good Meat® producer?

Helping people take a chance on buying meat directly from a ranch, regularly. Helping them see just how good it can be for their home-cooked meals, their connection to place, and their pocketbooks to buy directly from a ranch.