Miller Ranch in North Dakota: History, What It Raises, How It Makes Money and How to Contact It
Profile updated November 2026
Miller Ranch, owned and managed by Ken and Bonnie Miller near Fort Rice, North Dakota, won the 2017 North Dakota Leopold Conservation Award. The ranch is known for high-density, short-duration grazing, soil health and hosting educational events.
| Location | Near Fort Rice, along the Missouri River south of Bismarck, North Dakota |
|---|---|
| Founded | Not published in the sources reviewed |
| Sectors | Beef cattle; native and tame grass; irrigated pasture; cropland |
| Scale | Acreage and herd size not published; stocking rates reportedly tripled over 30 years |
| Why it is elite | 2017 North Dakota Leopold Conservation Award |
| Ownership | Ken and Bonnie Miller, family-owned |
| Official website | Leopold Conservation Award announcement (no official site found) |
History of Miller Ranch
Ken and Bonnie Miller own and manage the ranch near Fort Rice. Over about 30 years the Millers say they tripled their stocking rates while reducing input costs and improving soils so they absorb and hold more water.
The ranch hosts educational events, and Ken has traveled internationally to share the approach. Fellow Leopold finalists in 2017 were Jeremy and Sarah Wilson and Gene and Christine Goven.
What Miller Ranch Grows and Raises
The land includes Missouri River bottomlands, cutbanks, native rangeland, tame grass pastures, cropland and irrigated pasture. The ranch manages native range, tame grass and perennial seeded irrigation pivots with short grazing periods at high stock density, then long recovery periods.
On cropland the Millers use low-disturbance planting, cover crops and managed grazing. Ken describes the focus as soil biology, saying the herd under the ground is what needs managing, and reports healthier plants giving cattle better nutrition.
How Miller Ranch Makes Money
Cattle
The livestock herd is the primary enterprise, supported by grass management that raises stocking capacity.
Lower purchased inputs
Higher stocking rates and reduced input costs, as reported by Farm Progress, improve margins without relying on a higher calf price.
Education
The ranch hosts events and shares its practices, which builds reputation among producers.
Farm Insight: What Other Operators Can Learn from Miller Ranch
Soil is the real herd. By building biology, the Millers raised carrying capacity and cut inputs, a margin strategy available to any grazier.
Another lesson is to teach what you learn. Hosting events puts a ranch at the center of a learning network that brings ideas and customers.
Ken Miller says the herd under the ground matters, which means the Fort Rice earthworms are probably the highest-paid staff. Readers of farm.FM who enjoy farm satire, farm humor, ranch humor and farm jokes may picture a quarterly review of the microbes. We say it with respect, since tripling stocking rates in 30 years is no joke.
farm.FM calls itself the nation's first satirical farm site, and between the headlines it spins Tractor Tunes, country music for farmers; a good place to start reading is this farm.FM columnist's archive.
How to Contact Miller Ranch
No official website was found in the sources reviewed, so this link is the 2017 Leopold Conservation Award announcement, November 2026. Business contact details were not confirmed; verify before traveling.
Miller Ranch Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Sand County Foundation: 2017 award - Leopold Conservation Award announcement
- Farm Progress: Millers win award - Coverage of stocking rates and practices
- LandCAN: Miller Ranch - Conservation success story
- Leopold Conservation Award in North Dakota - Program details and nominations
- USDA NASS 2022 Census of Agriculture: North Dakota - State farm numbers, land and sales
Miller Ranch FAQ
Where is Miller Ranch?
Near Fort Rice, along the Missouri River south of Bismarck.
What award did it win?
The 2017 North Dakota Leopold Conservation Award.
What grazing method does it use?
Short grazing periods at high stock density followed by long recovery periods.
Who owns it?
Ken and Bonnie Miller.
Miller Ranch shows what soil-first grazing can do. For the wider picture, see the North Dakota farms guide linked on this site.