Welcome to Belmont Springs Ranch!

Raising Lamb with Heart - So You can Feed Your Family with Confidence

written by

Julie Hackmann

posted on

July 7, 2025

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Have you ever wondered why you make the decisions you do? Why do you choose a certain lifestyle, live in a certain area, shop at certain stores, or buy certain brands?

I was pondering the other day as to why am I ranching. Why sheep? Why direct marketing? Sometimes we have the luxury to choose. Other times, necessity dictates what we do. 

When my husband and I moved our family to our ranch in 2021, we thought we'd get back into raising sheep. We needed something to eat the grass, that didn't cost an arm and a leg to get started and we could use to fill our freezer every year. 

 That was 2021. Since then, our lives have taken a radical turn, and I was left wondering how I can use my lamb to not only feed my family but serve others as well? How can I supply the needs of my friends and community? Could I possibly provide them with the same clean, nutritious meat that we raise with love and intention?

I'm sure our sheep are given about the greatest care any flock in this country has. Our family loves raising them and watching them grow. Our goal is for them to live healthy, content lives grazing our pastures. I am convinced it is true that happy animals become flavorful and healthy meat. 

So, whether you are grilling lamb chops on the barbeque or slow cooking a leg of lamb to perfection, knowing the animal was raised in a loving and humane environment makes you feel good about feeding it to your family. Not to mention, it's so good for you!

 The health benefits of lamb are amazing. Did you know that lamb is an excellent source of complete protein, containing every essential amino acid? 

That it is high in iron, phosphorus, selenium and zinc?  That it contains vitamins B-2, B3, B5, B-6 and B-12? Did you know that the fat in lamb contains anti-inflammatory omega 3 fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which has been proven to stimulate fat loss and improve muscle lean muscle mass? 

And did you know lamb is super delicious, leaving a busy mom with happy children that will gobble it up with gusto?

Lamb is so easy to prepare every fits pretty much every lifestyle. If you haven't already, you really need to give it a try! Check out our website and click here to buy.

More from the blog

It's Beginning to Feel Like Spring

As I sit here and listen to the meadow larks singing, I know that spring is really trying to come to Montana. We have just finished lambing and kidding, one of our female Great Pyrenees had a litter of puppies, and our heifer just had a calf.  We all love to spend time watching the antics of the baby animals. They are so cute and sometimes so hilarious. It is truly a joy to watch them. With the change of the seasons come a few challenges on our small ranch. Spring in our neck of the woods generally means volatile temperature fluctuations, lots of wind and usually some precipitation in the forms of rain or snow. This can mean troubles with pneumonia in our livestock. It seems no matter how hard we try we usually have a loss or two, especially of lambs or goat kids, due to spring weather. It requires keeping a vigilant eye on the animals, making sure they have adequate shelter and wind breaks. We are always alert and on the lookout for any animal who looks droopy or is standing off by themselves and acting lethargic or off feed. If caught soon enough you can usually save them. An ounce of prevention is truly worth a pound of cure. Springtime is also the time for getting out the grooming tools and grooming the Great Pyrenees, helping to rid them of their heavy winter coats. We don't cut or shave their fur as it helps to keep them cool in the summer months, but we do like to brush them weekly to keep their fur from getting matted and full of bugs and burs. That way also if they come rub up against you, they don't leave you covered in hair. Other projects for this season are planting the garden and seeding/overseeding our pastures. We have a lot of weeds and not much in the line of good grass in our pastures. In March we overseeded some dryland, wheat grass varieties on our range land. The next project is to seed roughly 60 acres to Sainfoin. Our hope is to use the Sainfoin for grazing, but we may also experiment with haying it as well, once it's established. I guess we'll decide that when the time comes. We hope you have a great and productive Spring!