G and G Livestock was named the 2024 Montana Environmental Stewardship Award (ESAP) winners at the 2024 Montana Stockgrowers Association (MSGA) Annual Convention and Trade Show in Billings, Montana. Each year, MSGA recognizes a Montana ranch that exemplifies environmental stewardship and demonstrates a commitment toward improved sustainability within the beef industry.

“We are proud to award G and G Livestock with our Montana Environmental Stewardship award to applaud and showcase their decades long dedication to being stewards of the land,” said Lon Ruekauf, MSGA ESAP Committee Chair. 

Purchased in 1990 and operated by Greg and Lynn Gardner and their daughter, Brittany, and son-in-law, Wacey Cathey, the family manages a cow/calf business on approximately 28,500 acres between deeded land and private, state and tribal leases in Polson, Montana. In 2019, Brittany and Wacey started Cathey Cattle Company, a grass fed and finished direct to consumer beef business. Wacey also owns and operates Black Gulch Aviation, an aerial application business. 

“I would like customers to know that ranchers are friends with the land and we are stewards [of the land]. It’s in our best interest to be so because it is how we make our living. The animals do their best if we take care of the land they’re on,” said Brittany Cathey. 

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The family’s main focus has centered around spraying invasive weeds, installing water lines, and implementing a deferred rest rotation grazing system. In an effort to evenly distribute their herd, the ranch has installed roughly eight miles of pipeline and multiple 1,000 gallon cement water tanks. In their deferred rest rotational system, pastures are rotated so that each pasture has a deferment period every few years. This allows the plants to grow and reproduce without being grazed.

Established in 1991, the national Environmental Stewardship Award Program provides an opportunity for the beef industry to showcase the stewardship and business practices that exist together on progressive farms and ranches. State winners selected by MSGA advance to the regional and national levels. Since the establishment of the program, Montana has won 15 regional awards and two national awards.

To learn more about the Montana Environmental Stewardship Award Program, please visit www.mtbeef.org/esap