Contact: Sara Diedrich, diedrichs@missouri.edu
Sept. 18, 2025
For Patrick Montgomery, BS ’16, MBA ’19, purpose drives everything — because he knows legacies aren’t built on balance sheets, but on vision. Success comes to those who innovate relentlessly and pivot when the unexpected hits.
The Army Ranger-turned-first-generation cattle rancher learned that lesson the hard way in 2022, when a global supply chain disruption sent the cost of grain and other essential inputs soaring for farmers trying to bring crops and livestock to market.
KC Cattle Company was no exception.
When Montgomery launched KC Cattle Company in 2016, his goal was to build a profitable venture that would allow him to work in agriculture. Based in Weston, Missouri, the company quickly drew national attention as a leading supplier of American Wagyu beef, a Japanese breed of cattle prized for its umami flavor and rich marbling.
His big break came three years later.
Just months after earning an MBA from the Robert J. Trulaske, Sr. College of Business at the University of Missouri, Food & Wine magazine named KC Cattle Company’s Wagyu gourmet hotdogs among the best in the nation. Before long, there were features in The New York Times and NBC’s “TODAY Show.”
“It was a whirlwind,” Montgomery said.
Overnight, orders surged, reaching all 50 states by 2020 and expanding to Canada by the end of 2021. Montgomery had grown his team to seven full-time and seven part-time employees and was shipping 20,000 packages of hotdogs each year. KC Cattle Company was on the map for not only its gourmet hotdogs but other signature offerings, including the Wagyu KC strip steak, shaved peppered Wagyu beef and Wagyu ground beef-steakhouse grind.
Then the market turned upside down. By the end of 2023, Montgomery was the only full-time employee left at KC Cattle Company.
In the face of setback, he drew on the lessons he’d learned through his experience in the Army and at Mizzou — discipline, resilience and a foundation in sound business strategy. Over the next two years, Montgomery used those principles as a guide as he rebuilt his company through innovative ideas and smarter management practices.
Today, KC Cattle Company employs 14 people — five full time, three contracted and six part time — and is developing a new genetic line of Wagyu cattle to ensure a strong, healthy herd. Montgomery also spearheads Valor Provisions, an online cooperative he launched with two fellow family farmers to help small operations compete in the U.S. protein market. The group, already preparing to welcome two more farms, offers customers member-only pricing and discounted shipping through a lifetime membership.
“I may not always be the smartest Ranger, but I’ve always been a strong one,” he said. “When I’m in a fight, like I am now to save family farms, it lights a fire in me. That same fire led us to create Valor Provisions and help ensure we aren’t the last generation of American cowboys.”
A call to serve
Being a cattle rancher wasn’t Montgomery’s first dream. He grew up in Parkville, Missouri, the youngest of four children — the only boy — and a self-declared rebel.
“It was like having four moms,” he said with a laugh. “As hard as I tried, I didn’t get away with much.”
His dad was an airline pilot and his mom an elementary school teacher. From the time he was 4, he dreamed of joining the military. By 12, that dream had sharpened into becoming a Navy SEAL until his sister started dating, and later married, an Army Ranger who quickly became like a brother to him. From then on, his sights were set on the Rangers.
After graduating from high school in 2008, Montgomery spent a year in ROTC at Northwest Missouri State University before transferring to Mizzou, where his high school sweetheart and future wife, Kaleigh (Turner) Montgomery, BHS ’13, was studying.
Although he was doing well in college, Montgomery felt called to military special operations. In 2010, he left school and joined the Army, serving two tours in Afghanistan as a member of the 1st Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. During his first deployment in 2011, his brother-in-law and fellow Ranger was killed, a devastating loss for Montgomery. The two had often talked about starting a business together, a dream that stayed with him.
A Mizzou education
Montgomery carried that vision with him when he returned to Mizzou in 2014. Using the GI Bill, he enrolled in the animal sciences program in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources. He originally thought of becoming a large-animal veterinarian, but that changed when he was inspired by an entrepreneurship course that sent him down an unexpected path — cattle ranching.
While pursuing his undergraduate degree, Montgomery connected with a fellow veteran and Army Ranger who was raising Wagyu cattle on a ranch in Austin, Texas. After spending time on the ranch and conducting his own research, Montgomery became convinced the breed could thrive in Missouri and that customers would pay a premium for top-quality beef shipped directly to their homes.
“The farm-to-table movement was just starting to take off, but few farms were actually shipping directly to customers,” he said. “My philosophy is simple: If customers are going to pay a premium, it has to be the best eating experience they’ve ever had.”
Working with Mizzou professors in meat science and beef cattle, Montgomery developed a business plan and was connected to MU Extension, where he received help preparing a USDA grant application.
With additional assistance from his father-in-law and a nonprofit that invests in veterans, Montgomery secured 420 acres in Weston and launched KC Cattle Company with 250 head of Wagyu cattle. A year later, he enrolled in the MBA program at the Trulaske College of Business, where he sharpened his business acumen while getting his own company off the ground. Because Mizzou is a Yellow Ribbon Program school, the GI Bill covered the full cost of tuition.
“It took about two years to earn my MBA, along with a minor in entrepreneurship,” Montgomery said. “I could take a case study I was doing in class one week and apply it to my business the following week. The master’s program gave me a solid foundation, especially since I had little understanding of financials at the time. It was a great starting point for learning how businesses operate and how to read an income statement.”
The comeback
Creating Valor Provisions has reinvigorated Montgomery’s business and given him a purpose that’s bigger than himself — helping the next generation of family farmers remain competitive.
“At first, I was consumed with fear of bankruptcy and failure,” he said. “But the turning point came when I stopped focusing on myself and started focusing on how I could serve others. That’s when things began to shift, when I started to win again.”
KC Cattle Company recently got another boost from Food & Wine magazine, which gave the company’s gourmet hotdogs another shout-out in its July edition. Once again, orders are pouring in, and the company is rising to meet the challenge.
“We’re getting inundated with orders, but believe me, it’s a good problem to have,” Montgomery said.
Lessons learned
Over the years, Montgomery has honed his business skills, particularly his ability to manage people and lead with confidence.
“Coming from the military, where your team is everything and you literally put your life in each other’s hands, I struggled to adjust to how different it is in the business world,” he said. “Hiring and firing didn’t come naturally, and it took me a long time to understand the importance of setting clear expectations right from onboarding.”
Over the years, Montgomery realized that growth often comes through mistakes.
“For a long time, I assumed others had it all figured out,” he said. “But about a year ago, I finally started to realize that even the people who seem the most put together make mistakes, too. Everyone is fighting their own battles, and that gave me the confidence to move forward with my own path.”
Montgomery, who lives on the Wagyu ranch with his wife and four children, isn’t convinced that life was meant to be easy. Embracing that philosophy has made him a happier, more resilient person
“If you never challenge yourself, life can feel shallow,” he said. “Our world is built for convenience, but humans weren’t designed for ease. We’re built for adventure, for hardship and for doing the hard things that shape us into better people.”
Montgomery’s advice for aspiring entrepreneurs
Understand the true cost of business.
Don’t underestimate how much capital it takes to get started and grow. Learn from people who understand the full life cycle of a business, including finances, operations and strategy. That knowledge is essential to long-term success.
Build and protect your culture.
Set the tone for the kind of workplace you want and enforce it. Set clear expectations for employees and be generous and supportive with employees who give their all. A strong, consistent culture can make or break your company.
Have a purpose beyond profits.
If your only motivation is money, you won’t last. Starting a business often means 60- to 80-hour workweeks, and financial gain alone won’t fuel you through the grind. Anchor your company to a higher mission or purpose — something that keeps you going when it gets tough.
