Since 1913, Rockwood had read newspaper notices about the booming wool business, and he had been intrigued about its future possibilities. The numbers of sheep raised were more than twice that of cattle, making Montana the premier sheep state in the nation. Headlines were hard to ignore, but pasture land was a requisite. Money was a requisite too.
At first, Rockwood was a stockholder in an agricultural land syndicate. In 1917, he and four others in that syndicate had already bought property near Toluca, directly east of Billings, and it had returned substantial profits.
But it wasn’t until 1922 that he and Grimstad would even think of obtaining more land without the financial support from others…after the sale of Montana Refining. That day came.
On May 15, 1922, Grim’s younger brother sold his 210-acre farm in Custer to a 50/50 joint partnership of Rockwood S. Brown and Olaf K. Grimstad. What special arrangements they all made to accommodate this land deal are unknown, but Grimstad’s family relationship was undoubtedly advantageous. This farm property became the core of a growing Grimrock Ranch, owned not by a syndicate of investors but by Brown and Grimstad themselves.
Custer was about 50 miles northeast of Billings, so it was readily accessible. It was also prime land for sheep production (a constant interest of Rockwood) and sugar beets. In fact, the highest-yielding sugar beet factory in the nation was located close by.