Farm to Table Success
Oswald Farms Beef
Joliet, MT
Photography by Stu Hoefle and contributed by Melissa Oswald
On a frigid morning in January, Melissa Oswald greeted an Alaskan couple in her rural meat shop. A recommendation from satisfied customers prompted the travelers to stop by to fill their cooler with Oswald beef before their trek back home. Melissa happily obliged, answering questions, and making suggestions. A half hour later, 50 pounds of steaks, roasts, and burger had been carefully packed for shipping.
“We’re getting more and more of those kinds of sales,” Melissa said after they left. “That’s pretty exciting. Our beef has been shipped to Alaska, Oregon, and down into Wyoming.”
“Families can trust that we’re doing everything we can to ensure our meat is top quality. It’s important for people to know where their food is coming from and how it’s treated, especially meat.”
Most of the retail orders for Oswald beef comes from over 100 “local” customers within several hour drives from the shop. The addition of specialty cuts and orders of half and whole sides of beef keeps the family busy with their farm to table operation.
The Oswald family has been farming and raising cattle in the Joliet - Edgar area for almost 80 years. Established by Orlyn and Mavis Oswald in the mid-forties, the couple built one of the largest registered Shorthorn herds in the country. Production sales were held on the ranch as evidenced by the barn which is still partially standing near the home of Melissa and her husband, Justin, Orlyn’s grandson, today.
With each succeeding generation, the direction of the ranch shifted slightly. Malyn and his wife, Debbie, next in line, focused more on farming in the fertile soil along the Clark’s Fork River bottom and switched from registered cattle to a commercial cow/calf operation.
When Malyn’s sons, Justin and Jason, were grown, the brothers continued in the steps of their father, raising commercial Black Angus cows, farming crops to feed them, and selling calves in the fall. Justin took to the cattle while Jason enjoyed managing the farming. Every year they held back about a dozen calves to finish for beef for family and friends.
That all changed about five years ago, when the quality and taste of their meat caught the eye of the nearby Edgar Bar.
Less than five miles down the road, the famed Edgar Bar, has become increasingly popular since Scott and Kim Feldkamp became the owners and operators seven years ago. Eager to offer locally raised, high quality beef, it was logical to approach a neighboring rancher.
They started sourcing some ground beef from Oswalds and when several customers made raving comments about the burgers, Kim and Scott wanted to offer customers that burger on a daily basis. That meant Oswalds needed to find a way to accommodate their needs year-round, so the two couples sat down with the owner of Stillwater Packing near Columbus.
“If we were going to make this work, we had to figure out a way to make it worthwhile for all of us,” Justin explained.
A plan was set in motion at that meeting and now the Edgar Bar has a standing order of one or two whole beef per week from Justin and Melissa. The Oswalds have slots each week at Stillwater Packing to not only fill the Edgar Bar order, but also provide half and whole beefs for other customers as well, some coming as referrals from the dining experience at the bar.
“Our diners are continually asking about the source of our beef,” Kim said. “We like saying ‘it’s from just down the road.’”
The Edgar Bar offers Oswald beef as their specialty primal cuts and use it in all their hand-pattied burgers. In addition, for special occasions, they slow smoke Oswald beef brisket, giving their loyal customers another reason to come back.
“They love that smell,” Scott added. “It’s always a treat when we serve it.”
Oswalds credit the connection with the Edgar Bar for their growing success as a local beef retailer.
“They are what put us on the map,” Melissa said appreciatively. “People would eat a steak at the restaurant and then stop and buy a few specialty cuts. If they didn’t order a half or whole then, they do eventually.”
Between word of mouth and the pandemic-driven shift to local food sourcing, orders have been pouring in and today, the ranch retains 100 percent of their calf crop. More than 150 head are fed on a carefully planned schedule to have finished cattle for year-round retail sales.
“Families can trust that we’re doing everything we can to ensure our meat is top quality,” Melissa said. “It’s important for people to know where their food is coming from and how it’s treated, especially meat.”
The increasing popularity of their meat has allowed the family to build a retail shop right at the ranch where customers can stop and purchase individual cuts. The building is an addition to the machinery shop, and is just large enough for an attractive counter, an office, and a walk-in freezer. In keeping with the history of the ranch, the Oswalds incorporated barn wood from the original Shorthorn production sale barn into the decor. The transitions the ranch has seen has kept them operating efficiently with each changing decade.
“Most people are generations removed from having an idea of what goes on to grow the food people buy,” Melissa said. “If we can educate them as to why we do the things we do, it just gives us more credibility. It’s one of the reasons we like having the shop, so we can explain how we do things.”
Kelia Castro from The Edgar Bar offers up an Oswald Farms porterhouse.
Priding themselves on accommodation, the Oswalds deliver beef to their local customers when it’s ready. Filling the back of her pickup with coolers full of beef, Melissa makes deliveries as far as Billings on a weekly basis.
Work starts at 6:30 a.m. with feeding cattle, continuing through the day as steers are loaded up and hauled to Columbus. Beyond the beef business, daily farm and ranch work means there’s always something to be done. With three generations of Oswalds living in the area, help is usually available, including Melissa and Justin’s three children, Tray, Tysa and Tory, who chip in when they aren’t busy with their jobs and school. Justin’s brother, Jason and his wife, Nicky, do the farming.
“It’s good to have family around,” Justin said. “We couldn’t do this without everyone’s help.”
Located on Highway 312, between Rockvale and Fromberg, signage beacons travelers off the road and gives customers a bit of a view of the ranch operation. Cows in nearby pastures fattening up for calving season, the feedlot where calves are being fed and cared for, and center pivots waiting to be used for the upcoming growing season are all evidence that Oswalds care deeply for the cattle they are raising and the land they farm.
“Families can trust that we are doing everything we can to ensure our cattle are well taken care of and our beef is top quality,” Melissa concluded.