Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicole Uthmann.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I didn’t grow up on a ranch or farm. I always wanted to. My husband’s family has been ranching in the hills of Virginia Dale, CO since 1903, and I started learning about raising cattle and agriculture when we got married.
Life experiences guided me to work at Olander Farms in Loveland during my college years at Colorado State University, as I was studying for the medical field. I met my husband driving a truck for corn harvest. Chad (my husband) owned his own trucking business in addition to helping his family with ranching operations. I found myself on a different career path that included learning about bookkeeping, cattle, and self-employment. I love that our business involves my family, especially my sons; I get to see them often and teach them as I learn too.
The opportunity came up to buy a small feed yard in north Fort Collins in 2015. Our family had the vision of raising cattle from the calf to the finished product. This allowed us to oversee every area: that they were raised and fed with top standards and practices, humanely treated, and to be able to trace the cattle health and growth records.
As COVID hit our area in 2020, our main cattle buyer shut down due to the virus and was not able to buy our beef. Concurrently, there was a shortage of meat in the grocery stores and we were presented with the opportunity to sell our beef directly to the community, something we eventually planned on doing anyway. The next hurdle was finding a local processor. They were all scheduled 9-24 months out. We found a processor in Craig, CO that worked with us (a 4-hour trip one way) and did a great job.
In the meantime, we became partners with Mac and Celsie Sussex to set up a new beef processing facility in WY. That facility, Bear Mountain Beef, opened in December 2021. Now, we have oversight and control of our cattle from the ranch to the plate. Our customers can ask questions, see how the cattle are raised, and be assured they have high-quality beef.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
As mentioned in the previous question, a huge struggle was finding a local processor for our beef. Another struggle was learning marketing and advertising. This was an area we didn’t have any experience with or know what to do, and we are still learning.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We sell our locally-raised, ranch-to-table beef directly to the community through Mountain View Meats. Our artisan, hand-cut beef is aged 14+ days for increased tenderness and flavor. Our beef is the 2021 Winner and 2022 Runner-Up of the Rendezvous City Beef Roundup “Best Beef in the West”. We are a family-owned and operated small business. My sons Tyler (19) and Jace (16), work alongside of my husband, Chad, and his parents, Roger and Vicki, driving feed trucks, checking cattle, fixing fences, and more. The cattle start off at our mountain ranch in Virginia Dale, CO, or at another local ranch. They are raised and finished at our feed yard, Mountain View Feeders, in Fort Collins, CO, where we also take care of other customers’ cattle. We have a cattle nutritionist that oversees the feed rations to ensure the cattle are getting all the needed nutrients for optimal growth and health.
They are fed a variety of forages like spent grains, silage, corn, grass hay, alfalfa, and supplement of vitamins and minerals. Cattle are monitored daily for health and care with no added hormones, and all crew members are Beef Quality Assurance certified in handling cattle with utmost care. Our family and employees are passionate about the cattle, the land, and our business. We embrace several generations of ranching and our western tradition while implementing new ideas for sustainability and technology. We believe in supporting and being a part of our local community like 4-H, and FFA, and helping in our local schools. Our goal is to provide premium, healthy beef from our family to yours.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I grew up on a cul-de-sac in Broomfield, with a longing to live in agriculture. School was a challenge, but I strived to excel in academics. While in graduate school, I found out I had dyslexia and that helped explained many of my challenges with learning.
I’ve always been very introverted and quiet, but my new role in sales and marketing at Mountain View Meats has definitely pushed me outside of my comfort zone. I love supporting and strengthening our local community through involvement with 4-H, FFA, our church missions, and agriculture events. Starting in Feburary, I will be a part of the Colorado Agriculutre Leadership Program for 2 years. This will help me learn more about agriculuture isses around the state and how to be a better voice for our industry. Growing up, I never imagined being a business owner or leader in agruculcture.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.MVmeatsFC.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/mvmeatsfc
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/mvmeatsfc
Image Credits
Shauna Deines and Nicole Uthmann
