Montana Sheep Grower Explores Value-Added Options for Livestock
To keep his operation sustainable for the long-term, Ben Lehfeldt comes up with creative ways to generate income from his livestock.
By Julia Debes, NRCS Working Lands for Wildlife
In the rangelands of eastern Montana, Ben Lehfeldt shepherds thousands of sheep over hill and dale near the Musselshell River. As a fifth-generation rancher, his herds are reminiscent of centuries past.
Lehfeldt’s great-great-grandpa first settled these rolling grasslands in 1885, at the beginning of Montana’s sheep boom. As of January 31, 2025, about 185,000 sheep and lambs were raised in Montana, ranking it eighth for sheep-growing in the nation, according to the American Sheep Industry.
Lehfeldt is proudly continuing his family’s legacy as a sheep and wool grower. He is teaching his two sons and four nieces and nephews the ins-and-outs of ranching.
Plus, as a director of the Montana Wool Growers Association and vice-president of the American Sheep Industry (ASI), as well as the industry’s representative on the National Grazing Lands Coalition, Lehfeldt is a mentor and a voice for 89,000 sheep producers around the nation.
His goal is to ensure the ranch remains profitable enough to support his children’s families. “But that takes work, it doesn't just happen,” Lehfeldt said.
Getting creative keeps the ranch profitable
Like several other Montana ranchers, Lehfeldt raises both sheep and cattle on his family’s deeded and leased rangelands.
“Sheep can bring diversity because they graze different plants from cattle. They can also help to manage invasive species,” said Tom Watson, state conservationist for Montana Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).
Sheep yield annual profits from selling their wool. When cattle prices drop, selling lambs can help make up the difference. Sheep also tolerate Montana’s cold winters well and tend to cost less than cattle to raise.
“We've always stressed dual purpose to get the value from both lambs and wool,” Lehfeldt said.
For instance, Lehfeldt sells the merino wool from his Rambouillet ewes to clothing companies like Ibex and Duckworth. The family also spreads out the sale of their lambs to capitalize on niche markets around different holidays.
Another innovative income stream Lehfeldt taps into is using his herds to graze noxious weeds on public or private lands in the summer. In exchange, Lehfeldt can keep his sheep on those parcels for free or for reduced rates during the fall.
This year, he’s experimenting with virtual fencing on his cattle to see if it’s more cost-effective than rebuilding old fences. Down the road, Lehfeldt is interested in using virtual fencing for sheep to maximize their weed-eating powers.
Conserving natural resources for livestock and wildlife
To keep his ranch sustainable long-term, Lehfeldt is also mindful of stewarding water, soils, and native plants. He received technical and financial assistance through the Sage Grouse Initiative (SGI), an NRCS effort that provided partial funding for grazing practices, for Lehfeldt to create smaller pastures and rotate livestock more frequently between them.
This type of grazing management helps the grasses flourish, which benefits his livestock, sage grouse, and hundreds of other species that rely on native plants. Researchers from Montana State University even studied his pastures to learn how sustainable grazing can boost populations of native bees.
Through SGI, Lehfeldt also received funds tofunds to construct a water pipeline that better distributes water for livestock. This project included building fenced water gaps that protect fragile streamsides. “Without the cost-share from SGI, this was something we would have had to space out over 30 or 40 years,” Lehfeldt said.
When landowners keep rangelands productive and vibrant, the positive impacts ripple out well beyond their ranches. It helps communities thrive and protects vital ecosystem services for people around the region.
“In Montana, more than 38 million acres of private land are used for grazing. Families like the Lehfeldts are critical for managing a huge portion of our state’s natural resources,” Watson points out.
Lehfeldt offers this advice to other livestock producers: “You’ve got to keep trying new things. You can't be doing the same old. In order to be sustainable, you've got to look at all the pieces. Every bit counts.”
For more information on available assistance to voluntarily conserve western rangelands, visit the NRCS Sage Grouse Initiative web page.
