Rock Hills Ranch is a family-owned and operated business located in north central South Dakota.  In 1976, Lyle and Garnet Perman returned to the Swan Creek valley as they became the fourth generation of Permans to earn a living from the sticky gumbo the area is known for.  While some had tried, the rocky hills above the creek bottom were not suitable for farming; this was cattle country.  The small fields were planted to grass and the cattle became the harvesters.  Farming continued in the areas where it was suitable to grow crops.

 Today, the ranch operates on about 7000 acres of land.  500 acres are farmed, 600 acres are devoted to hay production, and the rest is grass.  The herd consists of around 400 commercial Black Angus cows.  The farming continues on a small scale, but the cattle are the majority of the business. Through the years, heavy emphasis has been placed in range improvement.   Besides increasing productivity of the land, wildlife enjoyed the improved habitat that resulted from better grazing management.  In the mid 2000's, the ranch began hosting pheasant hunters.  A new shop was added in 2005 and included rooms for the hunters to stay in.

In 2006, after graduating from South Dakota State University, Lyle and Garnet's son, Luke, came back to join the family business.  Luke and his wife Naomi were married in 2007.  They live four miles southeast of the ranch headquarters with their kids Isaac & Ella, the sixth generation of Permans to inhabit the Swan Creek valley.