Homesteaded in the beautiful Gallatin Valley of Montana in 1864, Becky Weed and her husband, Dave Tyler, have been managing their 360 acres as grass farmers since 1987. They farm organically because they believe, “...it is the healthiest way to manage the land, and to feed people,” and became certified organic in 1999.

“We’re both happiest when we’re in wild places, and farming in a way that minimizes interference with surrounding wild places is the next best thing.” Practicing what they preach, Becky and Dave raise sheep and cattle using predator-friendly management of their grass-finished livestock. “I believe that restoration of a grassland economy is our best chance of carving out a sustainable economy in North America,” says Becky. “Surely the corn/soybean/feedlot machine is not doing it for us.”

In addition to their livestock, Becky operates a wool mill producing blankets, sweaters, hats, yarn, hand spinners’ fleeces, etc. A statement on their yarn label best sums up their operation: “The mill celebrates the diversity of what grass can grow. A solar hot water system, semi-worsted spinning on small-scale machinery, and plant-based hand dyeing are consistent with the land and livestock management outside. In an era when fossil fuels are diminishing and vulnerable, water is scarce and manure is precious, our farm/mill is an experiment to assert that decentralized agriculture and industry may have a future.”