A Young Producer Paving a Path - Nathan Isakson

The Isakson Cattle Company herd consists of 50 cows. Their focus has been a commercial Angus herd, but they are actively introducing seedstock genetics through in-vitro fertilization (IVF). Nathan attributes most of their success to genetic advancements like IVF and artificial insemination (AI), which have allowed them to make progress herd-wide relatively quickly.

After calving and weaning, the steers get sold at the Joplin Regional Stockyards through a value-added sale, while genetic testing is completed on the heifers. Heifers found not compatible with the farm's goals get finished in a specialty feeding program until they're ready to be sold directly to consumers. Potential customers contact the family via social media to purchase a whole, half, or quarter of beef and receive an estimate that includes retail weight cost. Nathan believes this offers a transparent cost analysis for consumers who may not understand the commonly used hanging-weight pricing. "We want to be in the friend-making business," says Nathan. "Showing consumers our farm-to-fork process and its associated costs allows us to build those connections." This commitment to transparency fosters a sense of openness and honesty within the operation.  

As you can imagine, their family calendar is full of abundant work and community events, all of which fit in alongside AI timelines, fertilizer put-downs, and cattle working dates. Nathan heavily depends on Google Calendar to keep the operation on track and utilizes Google Sheets just as often. Within his Google Sheet farm files, he has five different "logs." Those included are a calving log, nutrition log, cattle observation log, treatment log, and equipment maintenance log. Each of those goes into even more detail. For example, the calving log includes the dam, sire, calf ID and sex, birth weight, dystocia notes, udder suspension, and the dam's disposition.  The best thing about the convenient filing system is that it can be done from the palm of your hand in the middle of a pasture. Nathan's meticulous record-keeping ensures the operation runs smoothly, with all records accurate and up to date. 

Both Nathan and Taylor have taken the steps to receive their BQA certification. When asked what he believes is the importance of BQA courses, Nathan replied, "It provides a better insight into the beef supply chain, proves the importance of subcutaneous injections, and cleans up the things that aren't supposed to be happening." He also mentioned the sense of security it brings to the consumer, knowing their meat is backed by a certification that focuses on humanely producing beef with skills verified by cattle industry experts nationwide. To round out the BQA conversation, Nathan provided an insightful quote about the Checkoff-funded program, "I love that it has been developed by cattlemen, proctored by cattlemen, for cattlemen."

As our time with Nathan concluded, he was asked his favorite thing about being a part of the next generation of beef producers. His humble response quoted back to Donnell Brown from RA Brown Ranch saying, "People talk about being born in the wrong generation, but I like having the tools we utilize today. They help produce cattle to feed God's people." This quote fits their cattle operation to a 'T' as they implement new thoughts through technology while keeping traditions learned on the family farm.

During the last few minutes of our conversation, Nathan made an impactful statement. Our team hopes it is just as eye-opening for you as it was for us. "Ag is a life-and-death industry; it is our job to make sure what happens between those two events is most efficient and proper for those animals."