Loran Green and Friends of Hi Line Promotions made a burger of pure Montana beef weighing 2.74 tonnes (6,040 lb) at the Sleeping Buffalo Resort at Saco, Montana on 5 September 1999.
The hamburger measured 7.32 m (24 ft) in diameter.
A crowd of more than 3,500 people gathered to watch the burger cook for about two hours on a specially made 576-square-foot grill. The burger would have cost more than US$7,000 if sold commercially.
It was Loran’s commitment to his local community and his anchored love for agriculture that inspired him to fulfill his dream of preparing the world’s largest hamburger. It was very difficult to find backing for this kind of project and Loran had almost given up hope, when in late 1998 he was approached by the Sleeping Buffalo Resort and asked to hold it at their facility 17 miles east of Malta. The Resort was in the process of preparing to submit a bid for the 2000-2001 Montana Range Days, a large event held to promote conservation and agriculture and were interested in hosting the event. Loran gathered a group together and formed Hi Line Promotions, Inc., a non-profit corporation which would concentrate on promoting agriculture and economic growth in the hi-line area while promoting Montana’s resources. The corporation members were all volunteer recruits who wanted to see this man fulfill a dream and be a part of history. Each member of the corporation worked above and beyond the call of duty and side by side to see that this dream was fulfilled. The hands weren’t many throughout the formative steps, but they were the strong hands that kept patting Loran on the back and reassuring him if you cook it, they will come. They were the hands of a friend who would give up sleep, family, and their entire summer to meet, calculate, revamp, fax, interview, and laugh about what they had taken on. After the success of the record attempt that had involved so much hard work by all those involved, Loran celebrated for several days and had little sleep. It was a long time before any of his crew could even look at a hamburger!