Our History
More than a hundred and twenty years ago (1896), when Pam's great grandparents, Michael and Lucy Embody, first homesteaded the original 320 acres of the Rocky Mountain Front, Angus cattle was the furthest thing from their minds. In fact the Embody's were first famous for the horses they raised and the bronc riders in the family. In addition to the huge bands of grade and Morgan horses that they raised for riding and work, the family also imported Belgian and Percheron stallions to improve their strains of working horses. Through the years the ranch continued to grow and it changed its emphasis, becoming first a cattle operation and finally Apex Angus with a total of 3 ranches.
The first is a farming operation near Valier, Montana featuring wheat, barley and alfalfa. The other two, near Dupuyer, Montana, are homes to some of the nations premier production cattle. After six generations of a family developing a reputation of excellence, Daryle and Pam Swanson, along with sons Kirby, Kurt and Klint, today maintain an age-old tradition of customer satisfaction.
Long steeped in a regional history of Hereford breeding in this part of Montana, it came as a surprise to many when the family first introduced Angus stock in 1945. In fact many doubted the wisdom of bringing these hardy black animals into Montana. Those doubts disappeared as observers saw how well they adapted to their new Montana home.
The ranches began performance testing with the original Montana Beef Performance Association in the late 1960's. Registered cattle were introduced into the operation in 1972.
