By Molly Jacobson, for Tri-State Livestock News
Leep Hay and Grain, Co. farms near Bozeman, Montana. Left to right Jorden, Taylor, Logan, Greg, Sherwin and Brendan Leep.
LeepHayGrain
The west was won by homesteaders – pioneers bold enough to stake their hopes and dreams on a cash crop and a sod shack. Some places proved unsuitable for farming and all that remains is a rusty windmill. But in other areas, like the Gallatin Valley, barley boomed and neighbors sprouted up on all sides. Now, over a century later, wheat fields brush up against the side of a Starbucks and swathed fields are swapped for subdivisions as fast as the bricks can be laid. Welcome to the world that Greg and Sherwin Leep, third generation Montana farmers, wake up to every day. Their grandpa ran dairy cattle, and then their father started farming some ground near Four Corners to help support the family of 12.