By Sarah Hill
photos courtesy Moyer family
As a first-generation rancher in North Carolina,
Taylor Moyer has taken a different path
to fulfilling his dreams.
ot everyone is fortunate enough
to be born into a cattle ranch fam
ily. Taylor Moyer was born into
an agricultural family, but cir
cumstances and his life’s journey
manifested with him being able
to build his own cattle operation,
Ridgeview Land & Cattle, near
Marshville, N.C.
Moyer grew up in Vermont on a
beef cattle operation that also had
an apple orchard. His mother’s fam
ily owns Battleview Orchards, the
oldest apple orchard in operation
in New Jersey, which was founded
in 1906. His father’s family owns
Oakmulgee Dairy in Virginia, the
oldest dairy in that state that’s still
in operation, founded in 1895.
By fourth grade, Moyer was
showing beef cattle and tagging
along on trips with his dad to buy
stocker cattle. His family purchased
another cattle farm, rotationally
grazing cattle in the fertile valleys
of Vermont. As Moyer grew up, so
did his interest in the cattle indus
try, leading him to intern on a Colo
rado ranch for multiple summers in
high school.
However, his parents decided to
sell their farm when Moyer was a
junior in high school, closing the
door on his opportunity to return to
his family’s operation.
“That’s how I was raised, but I
wasn’t hungry for it,” Taylor Moyer
said. “I left my small town to pursue
mechanical engineering instead, and
I didn’t realize I loved agriculture
to Build a
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January 2026 | THE STOCKMAN AG-EXTRA