Our Ranch

In 1907, Piet VanderSloot came to the United States from the Netherlands and founded a 200-acre ranch in Hedgesville, Montana. His son, Peter Francis (known as Frank), established his own ranch in northern Idaho.

In 1991, Frank Sr.'s son Frank, along with his wife Belinda, founded Riverbend Ranch with a bold vision to build the best Black Angus cattle herd in the United States. Starting with humble beginnings in Southeast Idaho, Frank set out to personally and individually hand-select the best cattle from across the country—investing millions of dollars and countless hours into what would become one of the nation's premier seedstock herds.

The Riverbend Ranch herd has been meticulously curated through a rigorous selection process using genomically enhanced EPDs, evaluating muscle and skeletal soundness, and individual performance data, resulting in a herd that epitomizes excellence!

The operation gradually expanded its reach, encompassing vast acreage across multiple states, and today Riverbend Ranch totals approximately 163,000 deeded acres of prime pasture and high-elevation ranchland, with four main operations in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and Utah.

Frank’s passion for cattle ranching is evident in every detail—from flying to auctions nationwide to personally select cattle, to overseeing the herd’s continual improvement. That dedication was nationally recognized in 2016 when the Certified Angus Beef® brand honored Riverbend Ranch with the Seedstock Commitment to Excellence Award.

Riverbend Ranch is nationally recognized as one of the best-run ranches in America, with some of the largest sales in the nation. The ranch hosts three sales annually, which bring ranchers from all over the United States to Idaho Falls to invest in quality genetics.

Combining innovation with time-honored tradition, Riverbend Ranch employs a team of highly skilled cattlemen and women who embrace the ever-changing advancements in the industry while always staying true to the traditional values that makes ranching so great.