In the late 1870's, my great grandfather on my father's side came West in a covered wagon and settled in the Western Idaho territory. There, my grandparents raised four children on their homestead. The land was used to raise their own beef produce and milk. My maternal grandfather was an importer-exporter and introduced a popular breed of sheep from England to North America and Asia. In 1934, my parents homesteaded near Fort Bridger, Wyoming. I was raised on two Wyoming ranches, learning to take care of our livestock before our own personal comfort and safety. Our family faced many hardships in the winter blizzards of Wyoming. Over the years, these ranches developed a reputation for high quality cattle and sheep through the West. We have 5 generations and over 125 year's experience raising livestock (cattle, sheep, and buffalo) in 6 western states. The Moore family has been involved in every phase of the cattle and beef industry.

   After graduating from Colorado State University with a degree in Animal Science in 1958, I worked in the cattle, sheep, and horse business. Using my agricultural background, I became interested in selling ranch properties. This led to my own real estate company, National Property Exchange, where I have sold and exchanged properties for nearly 40 years in 34 states and Canada.

   My wife and partner, Bobbi, and I have been married for 36 years, and have four wonderful sons, Rex, Lance, Charlie, and Monte. We are proud to say that we are all in business together. Not many families can have a great working relationship and get to see each other almost daily. It is the joy of my life.

   In 1972, we bought a mountain ranch called the Rocking M Ranch on the Snake River in Idaho where we could raise our sons. I believe that ranching is a great way of life that is almost unmatched in teaching children about life, faith, and in giving them a work ethic to last their entire life.

   I first heard about the French Salers breed of cattle in 1974. The word "Salers" means "salary or the reward for hard work". The Salers breed appealed to us as ranchers because of their inherent maternal qualities and high quality beef. I followed in my grandfather's footsteps by importing the first Salers bull, Jet, to the United States with several partners.

Jet-Champion Carcass Bull

Rex, Julie & Charlie Moore with our second consecutive carcass trophy from the National Western Fed Beef Contest.

   About that time, our sons were in 4-H and starting to show cattle at county and state fairs in Idaho and Arizona. The Jet-sired calves that they showed won the beef carcass championships at nearly every fair in which they were entered. In 1981, we decided to enter the National Western Fed Beef Contest, which is the most prestigious cattle show in the world. We won, and since then we have won Grand Champion or Reserve Champion at the National Western Fed Beef Contest 13 times in 19 years. No other major packer or beef processor has placed above fourth. We started the American Salers Association on our ranch and within twelve years the breed rose in popularity to eighth (out of 72 breeds of cattle) nationwide. We knew that the Salers beef was superior in taste and tenderness compared with most other beef. The beef from Salers cattle has a unique "finely threaded marbling." Laboratory tests indicated that the Salers beef has a smaller fat cell than average and therefore, has a lower fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol content than other beef of the same grade. The fame of the Rocking M Ranch and our cattle spread throughout North America, as well as Europe, Asia, New Zealand, and Australia.

   In 1985, a "Natural" food market in Boulder, Colorado asked us to provide beef for their company. We formed Maverick Ranch Association and enlisted over ninety ranchers to participate in our system. This system was, and still is, based on superior genetics to produce superior beef. We also had many concerns about chemical usage in agriculture, so we brought ranchers into the system that raised their Salers cattle on the healthy grassland in the West, where fertilizers and other chemicals were rarely used.

   1987 saw Maverick Ranch become a supplier to the U.S. Olympic Training Centers. Since then we have provided all the beef to feed over 20,000 athletes at these centers each year. The U.S. Olympic Committee chose our beef for the following reasons:

1. Superior taste and tenderness
2. Predictable heart healthy nutrition
3. Laboratory tested to guarantee that the product is chemical free.

   As a result, Maverick Ranch Beef has truly become "The Beef Behind The U.S. Olympic Athletes." In 1998 Maverick Ranch began supplying Natural Buffalo to the three U.S. Olympic Training Centers, and in 2001 Natural Pork was added to the list.

   Since we began, many major retailers who are sensitive to the concerns of today's consumers have chosen to sell our many brands of Natural and Lean Meats. At the present time, we are proud to say that over 8% of the nation's 30,000 supermarkets carry our family's product. To me, it is an example of the great American story, proving that a family-owned business, with our roots deep in my grandfather's western ranch and our children's 4-H projects can compete with the major corporate meat processors. We do this by providing a high-quality product that is desired by the health-oriented general public and supplied to our nation's Olympic hopefuls and athletes. It proves that together, we can truly develop partnerships that make a difference.

   Throughout our site, you will see how we can all help through involvement with organizations such as the American Heart Association and the University of Michigan M-Fit Health Program.