About Us

In 1913, Matthew’s Norse ancestors crossed America to settle on the vast fertile fields of the northern-Montana prairies, 30 miles south of the Canadian border, in Dodson, Montana. For this small Norwegian family, what began as a long journey in a struggle to create a new life on the Montana frontier, ended with a family homestead. Built through hard work and perseverance, their homestead survived and expanded with each new generation. Today, Matthew is part of a close-knit, extended family, one that cherishes strength and fortitude, along with their rich heritage, a legacy gifted to them by their forebears. That first homestead, housing a family scrabbling to survive, now has evolved into a successful, thriving farm-and-ranch operation, a gift today’s generation will pass on to the next.

     Marissa also came from generations of Montana farmer-ranchers. Although she grew up in the city (Billings), Marissa was weaned listening to stories from her father, aunt and grandmother about ranch life: caring for animals and tending crops.

     Like Matthew’s family, Marissa’s Dutch forebears also began their long journey to Montana in the early part of the last century, pegging their homestead beneath the never-ending skies and boundless prairies of eastern-Montana, where there is little to see except your breath for miles and miles, a place her father has described this way: “It might not be the end of the world, but you can see it from here!” The tiny township of Vida, Montana—a place you might miss if you blink as you pass by—still is home to the family ranch.

     The yearning for a rural life followed Marissa, beginning with her first solo horseback ride in the mountains of Montana at the tender age of three. Her passion for horses and her dream of life on a ranch remained with her every step of her growing-up years. Her family instantly knew that Marissa’s dream would become her reality when their tall, beautiful, blonde, blue-eyed Dutch girl first looked into the handsome blue eyes of her even taller, blond-haired Norse cowboy… and married him—and ranch life—a year later.  

     All the carefully-tilled stories about the seeds that sowed the heritage of their families’ rural Montana lives are as rich and fertile as the soil in which they grew, and the landscape of Matthew and Marissa’s lives, today, is filled with tantalizing colors as brilliant and breathtaking as Montana’s sunrises and sunsets.

     The stories of their ancestors’ early trials and tribulations are instilled in the backbones of both Matthew and Marissa, percolating in their dreams a desire to continue their families’ pioneering legacy with the founding of their own ranch; and, just like their ancestors did, Matthew and Marissa, with tremendous toil and diligent perseverance, did build their own ranch.     

     It was on this ranch that, in 2020, Montana’s Finest Cattle Company became a dream-come-true for these two.  Since the company’s inception, they have strived to provide a pure-and-simple product with Montana’s Finest brand of beef.

     Transparent is what they wish to be, and this is why they decided to bring Montana’s Finest ranch and farm food to your table. They want you to know precisely what food you are putting into your body, where it came from, and how it was raised. In order to do this, they are diligently careful about what their cattle are putting into their bodies. What the cattle eat, you eat.

     Health and wellness are personal issues for Marissa and Matthew. In 2017, Marissa waged battle against an extremely aggressive form of leukemia and was given less than a week to live. She won that hard-earned battle, but the brutal experience left her with a high level of respect for maintaining a healthy lifestyle. This desire for wellness shaped the path for Montana’s Finest Cattle Company (MFCC), where cattle are humanely raised and pasture-finished, with no added hormones, and no corn or soy products added to their feed.

     It is imperative to Matthew and Marissa to have a low-stress herd, living a happy life interacting with Marissa and Matthew’s horses, dogs, cats and chickens on the wide-open, roaming range of their ranch. They insist that there should be no question of how your food was raised and what your food was fed. Again, transparency is key!

     With an agricultural heritage burrowed deep within the roots of their family trees, Matthew and Marissa also understand the value of being good stewards of their land. By cultivating great care of their land and all it produces, their happy herd, and the herd generations to follow, enjoy active, healthy lives. MFCC takes great consideration to, and responsibility for, nurturing their land and all its natural resources, to ensure and sustain a viable and prosperous future. They understand that without the land, there is no MFCC, so sustainable practices are more than just a desired result: they are essential!

     Matthew and Marissa truly love every aspect of ranching, especially watching their livestock range on healthy, verdant-green pastures before a backdrop of majestic mountain crags tickling the belly of heaven. God truly has bestowed a bounty of blessings upon their patch of paradise.

    Out of gratitude and absolute love for their community and neighbors, Marissa and Matthew have pledged 10% of each sale to be donated to various local nonprofit organizations, to feed a healthy and nutritious meal to those less fortunate. Far too many people are living with hunger, and MFCC wants to help fill that void. As their ranch grows, they dream of bridging that gap even more.