Padlock Ranch

What Padlock Ranch does

Padlock Ranch Company is a privately held, family-owned diversified cow-calf, farm, and feedlot operation headquartered in Ranchester, Wyoming, at the base of the Bighorn Mountains. Founded in 1943 by Homer and Mildred Scott, the ranch produces over 10,000 high-quality feeder cattle annually through an integrated system spanning northern Sheridan County, Wyoming; southern Big Horn County, Montana; and a significant footprint on the Crow Indian Reservation. Core operations include cow-calf grazing on native rangeland with rotational management, on-farm forage production (over 4,000 irrigated acres and 2,900 dryland acres producing alfalfa, grass hay, corn silage, and hay barley), and an on-site feedlot that finishes cattle to yearling weights using professionally formulated rations. The company sells feeder cattle, replacement cows, and heifers through direct relationships with feedlot buyers, offering conventional, NHTC, and All-Natural programs, and operates a premium Wagyu terminal-breeding partnership with Snake River Farms (Agri-Beef).

The company's underlying technology centers on a proprietary three-way rotational crossbreeding system (Red Angus, Polled Hereford, Shorthorn) developed in the late 1970s and a composite breeding program using Stabilizer and Simm-Angus bulls adopted in the early 2000s. This genetic platform consistently yields over 98% Choice and Prime grading on all-natural fed cattle. Precision farming practices include GPS-guided equipment, variable rate seeding, and zone-based fertilization, and the ranch raises roughly half of its bull battery internally. Revenue mechanics are direct-to-buyer (feedlot enterprise customers for feeder cattle, Snake River Farms for Wagyu, and cattle producers for replacement females) supplemented by content marketing via the "Behind the Brand" podcast and social media. The ranch is led by CEO/President Dr. Trey Patterson with CFO Kayla McGanty, and remains under multi-generational Scott family ownership with no disclosed institutional or PE investors.

Name

Padlock Ranch

Legal name

Padlock Ranch Company

Website

https://padlockranch.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1943

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Padlock Ranch is a family-owned, diversified cow-calf, farm, and feedlot operation in Wyoming and Montana that produces over 10,000 feeder cattle annually for feedlot buyers, plus a premium Wagyu program with Snake River Farms. It serves U.S. cattle feeding enterprises and replacement-cattle buyers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Beef Cattle Ranching

NAICS

Beef Cattle Ranching and Farming, including Feedlots (11211), Cattle Feedlots (112112)

SIC

Agricultural Prod-Livestock & Animal Specialties (200)

akta.pro primary industry

Beef Cattle Grazing & Pasture-Based Operations (AFAEABAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Feedlot Finishing (Cattle Feeding) (AFAEABAC)

Keywords

• Cow-calf operation
• Feeder cattle production
• Beef cattle ranching
• Forage farming
• Cattle feedlot finishing

Headquarters

HQ city

Ranchester

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Feeder Cattle Sales: Primary revenue from producing and selling over 10,000 high-quality feeder cattle annually. Steers marketed at 800-850 lbs, heifers at 750-800 lbs. Cattle developed in grow yard are healthy, uniform, and ready to gain.
2. Cow Sales: Annual sales of cows including dry cows (late July/August), feeder/utility cows (late winter/early spring), summer and fall calving cows for replacement, and short-term cows sorted for condition, udder quality, and soundness.
3. Wagyu Cattle Partnership: Partnership with Snake River Farms for Wagyu cattle, adding value through premium genetics program. All-natural cattle have graded over 98% Choice and Prime.
4. Forage Production: Farm operation producing high-quality forages including alfalfa, grass hay, corn silage, and hay barley to support cattle operations. Over 4,000 acres irrigated and 2,900 acres dryland.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Padlock Ranch is a diversified cow-calf, farm, and feedlot operation that produces and sells over 10,000 high-quality feeder cattle annually. The integrated system combines irrigated and dryland forage production (alfalfa, grass hay, corn silage, hay barley) on more than 6,900 acres with rotational grazing cow-calf units and a feedlot that finishes cattle on formulated rations. It also offers replacement cow sales and runs a Wagyu breeding partnership with Snake River Farms for premium marbled beef.

Product overview

Padlock Ranch Company is a diversified cow-calf, farm, and feedlot operation. The core business produces over 10,000 high-quality feeder cattle annually through an integrated system: the Farm Operation grows forages (hay, haylage, corn silage) on over 6,900 acres to support the Cow-Calf Operation, which grazes cattle on native grassland in Montana and Wyoming. Weaned calves enter the Feedlot to be grown to yearling weights using professionally formulated rations. The operation includes a Wagyu Breeding Program in partnership with Snake River Farms, producing premium marbled beef. Padlock also offers cows for sale annually and maintains the Behind the Brand Podcast for educational content.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 98% Choice and Prime grading on all-natural cattle
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Snake River Farms (Agri-Beef)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPadlock Ranch partners with Snake River Farms to terminally breed first-calf heifers and a subset of cows to Wagyu bulls. This partnership produces premium marbled beef cattle that are fed at Snake River Farms. The smaller Wagyu cattle allow heifers to calve unassisted on the range, reducing labor and stress while producing enhanced value feeder calves.
• Beef Quality Assurance (BQA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPadlock Ranch is a certified BQA producer and source for BQA certified cattle. BQA is a national program that provides guidelines for beef production emphasizing animal care, handling, and food safety.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/padlockranch

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Padlock Ranch