LOMA — Red Flame Ranch is carrying on a Montana tradition: raising cattle slowly, locally, and with a level of care the Sayers family believes customers can taste.
What started as a family ranch in the early 1990s has grown into a direct-to-consumer beef operation built on genetics, transparency, and keeping Montana beef in Montana.
Unlike many commercial operations, Red Flame Ranch keeps its cattle on the same land from birth through finishing. The animals graze pasture outside Loma, a method Sayers says produces consistent, high-quality beef.
Raised on grass with plenty of space, the cattle develop slowly, a process that requires more hands-on work but aligns with the ranch’s philosophy of humane treatment and quality over speed.
“We want people to know the story behind their food,” Sayers said. “That connection matters to us.”
To get from the ranch to a family’s freezer, Red Flame Ranch relies on Montana Premium Processing Co-op in Havre, one of the small-scale processors in the state designed to support local producers.
At the facility, beef is inspected, cut, aged, and packaged under federal guidelines.USDA inspection teams ensure that every step meets safety and humane-handling standards.
“Our job is to make sure everything is handled safely and humanely,” General Manager William Jones Jr. said. “Local producers rely on us to get their product to families’ tables.”
Jones says Red Flame Ranch stands out for how involved they are in the process.
“Producers like Red Flame can come in and look at their carcasses,” Jones explained. “They can see if they’re over-finished or under-finished, that helps them decide what genetics to keep or cut.”
Red Flame also requests a longer, three-week aging process, which extends past what Sayers explained as a “typical” aging period. From conceptualization to product delivery, he is involved at every step of the process.
As customers seek food they can trace back to its source, ranch-to-freezer operations like Red Flame Ranch are experiencing growing demand. The Sayers family now ships beef across Montana and around the country, all without their product ever leaving the state before it reaches a buyer’s freezer.
“It’s pretty special knowing the work we do out here ends up on a family’s table,” Sean said. “Especially around the holidays.”
Montana’s farm-to-table movement is expanding beyond holiday seasons, with more families choosing to buy directly from ranchers. For operations like Red Flame Ranch, the trend is encouraging and a reminder of the value of local agriculture.
“What they’re really getting is a premium product that’s raised right here in Montana under the big sky by local producers,” Sean explained. “So you’re not only just getting a premium product for a great value, but you’re also getting a product that’s supporting local Montana ranches.”
