Introducing Alex Blake, Ranch Operations Manager at TomKat Ranch

05/20/2026
By: Jessica Hartzell and Wendy Millet

We are thrilled to welcome Alex Blake to TomKat Ranch as our new Ranch Operations Manager. Alex brings over two decades of experience working with his family to run their cattle operation in Big Timber, Montana. He has designed and implemented grazing plans across thousands of acres, built conservation partnerships with organizations like World Wildlife Fund and Montana Audubon, and developed direct-to-consumer beef markets that tie ecological outcomes to long-term financial viability. His combination of on-the-ground practice and systems thinking is exactly what TomKat Ranch needs as we deepen our work around how healthy food can be grown on working lands in ways that benefit soil, water, wildlife, and people. 

He also brings experience translating regenerative principles beyond the ranch gate. During his tenure with Western Sustainability Exchange, he worked directly with producers to put these principles into practice on ranches across Montana.  As Alex puts it, “I’m optimistic about the future of ranching as regenerative practices become more widely adopted. The benefits to soil, water, wildlife, and our bottom line are impossible to ignore, and younger generations have renewed enthusiasm in our profession as a result.”

Alex arrived at the ranch with his wife Abby, their daughter, a horse, a pony, a mule, and three dogs; we are glad to have the whole family here and look forward to what we will learn and build together.