Roger and Maureen Gnerer both grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota. Maureen attended Catholic school where she became friends with Roger’s sister. They were introduced and after dating for a year, they were married. They welcomed 13 children from 1961 to 1979. Roger worked several jobs and after his full day of work, he took on odd jobs like rolling sod and driving mail truck. After years of hard work and saving, they came up with enough money to purchase land in Wadena, MN. They bought a few milk cows and slowly began building their dairy business, at first selling milk to neighbors. Their business slowly grew and their dairy herd expanded. They built a barn and went from hand-milking to one of the most state of the art dairy farms in Minnesota with self-cleaning pens and milking machines. The whole family helped with the 24/7 chores and milking.

Although Roger had built a successful business in Minnesota, Montana had always kept a piece of his heart. After returning from a trip to MT, Roger made the decision to buy a ranch there. In 1983, Maureen and Roger sold the dairy farm in Wadena and purchased the ranch in Hammond, MT. The family set off on a new adventure - cattle ranching in Montana. They expanded the business, purchasing sheep as well. They leased land from neighbors and different places around the Hammond area. Roger and Maureen faced an uphill battle with many obstacles including the drought, cattle prices, and grasshoppers.

Roger and his two oldest sons, Mark and Joe, had interest in registered Black Angus cattle. After years of ranching in MT, they were impressed with the efficiency, durability, and profitability Angus cattle had to offer, excelling in the harsh Montana environment. Mark and Tammy purchased their first registered Black Angus heifers, including Landmark Lora 9266 from Landmark Cattle Company in Whitehall, MT. The first Registered bull from the program was a mating from Landmark Lora to Leachman Right Time, Gnerer Big Time 707, who has remained a staple in the herd. Roger, Steve, and Greg began building their herd in 1992, purchasing several registered cows from Ward’s Flying W Angus Ranch in Bozeman, MT, one of the oldest registered Angus producers in Montana. Joe began building his herd by purchasing cows, heifers, bulls and semen from the Van Dyke Angus Ranch in Manhattan, MT. The registered herd continued to grow with the main focus of the program aimed at producing a superior Angus cow. Sires were carefully chosen to target genetics including efficiency, profitability, fertility, and docility. Sires were selected from many great herds including Van Dyke Angus Ranch - Manhattan, MT; Gartner~Denowh Angus Ranch - Sidney, MT; Sitz Angus Ranch - Harrison, MT; Heart K Angus Ranch - Lewistown, MT; Vermilion Ranch- Billings,MT, and Connealy Angus – Whitman, NE amongst other great Angus producers. Gnerer Angus has also been using Artificial Insemination since 1990 to assist in trait selection and genetic progress.

Roger was killed in a tragic tractor accident in 2001. Chris, the youngest son, quit his electrical job in Gillette, WY to come home and help his mother and to take over ranch operations. Today Maureen, Chris and Krista operate near Broadus, MT. Joe and Renee Gnerer operate in Olive, MT. Steve and Ila and Greg and Hillary own a ranch in Billings, MT and manage the feedlot in Westend Billings.