Riding herd: A physician runs a Montana cattle ranch

An orthopedic surgeon fulfills her dreams by moving West, owning a ranch and practicing part time.

By Bob Cook, amednews staff. March 3, 2003.

Making sidelines pay
Doctors who branched out beyond running their practice tell why they did it, how they did it, and what you should know before you do it. Contribute

Name: Aimee Hachigian-Gould, MD

Specialty: Orthopedic surgery

Location: Ulm, Mont.

Business: 7 Bar Heart, a 10-square-mile ranch raising hormone- and antibiotic-free cattle. The ranch has 150 mother cows, plus 200 head of cattle and a feedlot operation.

Annual revenue: Undisclosed; the ranch's beef these days sells for about $1.59 per pound, though that can vary.

Why she started the business: Dr. Hachigian-Gould, a native of Detroit, had dreamed of moving West, like her paternal grandfather did for a time when he was a cowboy in the 1920s in Montana. In fact, her first career goal has always been owning a ranch. "I really loved science, and I needed a way to bankroll things," she said, explaining the reason for becoming a physician. Her husband, Greg, is a fourth-generation Montana rancher; they married in 1991, six years after Dr. Hachigian-Gould moved to the state.

Why she keeps practicing: Dr. Hachigian-Gould works 20 hours a week in Great Falls, about 10 miles northeast of Ulm, with a practice that is 85% Tricare. "Most ranchers couldn't make it unless someone has a day job, the margins are so narrow," she said. "Although medicine is getting that way." She likes how the part-time schedule can allow her to "keep up my skills" while allowing her time to home-school her twin 10-year-old boys. And occasionally her patient base is a source of customers for 7 Bar Heart, which unlike most ranches self-markets its product rather than using auction houses. "I had a patient under the influence during carpal tunnel surgery who told me, 'I want to buy half a cow of beef,' " Dr. Hachigian-Gould said. "I didn't think he'd remember, but after surgery he said, 'You didn't forget my beef, did you?' "

Words of wisdom: Dr. Hachigian-Gould says her orthopedic practice and ranch have one thing in common -- they're niche businesses and need to be marketed as such. "You have to promote something in your practice that is different from everyone else," she said. "Mine is that I sit and talk to patients -- there's no 20-minute slot. It's like on my ranch, if someone wants to buy a bull, I'll give them days [to look it over] if I have to."