Open A Ranch, Inc.

Gerhard Albers patented the homestead in 1872 as a “winter place” and with it became one of Beaverhead County’s largest ranchers. Every year, as the unforgiving Montana winters approached, Gerhard’s cattle were moved from the high, mountain meadows to the Open A, finding refuge from harsh Montana winters.This century old tradition of living in harmony with the changing seasons still endures. Today, the Van Deren Family own and manage the Open A traditionally using progressive methods to enhance both agricultural productivity and wildlife habitat. Like Gerhard, they manage the ranch to make the harsh winters and brief summers work to their advantage.

Every fall, neighboring ranchers “winter” their cattle on the plentiful grass grown during the spectacular Montana summers. Cattle graze peacefully during the winter months on the Open A meadows, benefiting from a mild climate, an abundance of natural feed, and sheltered from winter storms by native willow windbreaks.

As winter melts into spring, the natural cycle of life sprouts at the Open A. Baby calves are born on the meadows, take their first wobbly steps, nibble the succulent green blades of grass, then grow while following their mothers summer grazing in the high mountain valleys.

Obeying and benefiting from these natural rhythms is one of the many qualities that make the Open A uniquely inviting.