“I didn’t mind the challenge,” said Quade, 17, who is carrying on his family’s farming heritage east of Manson.

While he hasn’t graduated from high school yet, Quade isn’t waiting to start farming. He bought his first group of 22 beef cattle in November 2022, sold them in early April and bought another 51 calves this spring.

“I buy them at 350 to 400 pounds and sell them around 800 pounds,” said Quade, who is building a reputation at area sale barns, from Algona to Denison to Dunlap, for raising high-quality cattle. He’s also one of the newest members of the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association.

“I like raising steers, and I prefer black cattle,” said Quade, who will receive his diploma from Manson Northwest Webster High School this May.

-Farm News photo by Darcy Dougherty Maulsby
Jackson Quade works closely with Colin Carlson, head salesman and nutritionist for Webb’s Feed Inc. in Rockwell City, to provide high-quality feed rations and nutrition for his beef cattle.

Quade farms with his dad, Paul, and his uncle Tim Quade, plus he started sharecropping 75 acres of corn and soybeans in 2022.

For his cattle business, Quade uses the concrete feedbunks and shed that his grandfather Richard Oberhelmer used when he was raising cattle. Quade also invested in a water tank, bulk bin, bale feeder, livestock trailer and manure spreader, plus he converted some hog buildings to hold his smaller cattle.

“I’d like to get started in the cow-calf business someday soon and also have a small feedlot,” said Quade, who plans to study agriculture at Iowa Central this fall.

Rooted in agriculture

Farming has been a lifelong passion for Quade, the youngest of five children (and the only son). When Paul and Kim Quade were selecting new carpeting for their home when their children were young, their son made his preference known.

“I wanted the carpet that made the best tracks when I drove my farm toys on it, so I could see where I’d been,” Quade said.

Not only did Quade enjoy helping on the farm, but he also accompanied his dad to meetings so he could learn more about agriculture. When he was in eighth grade, Quade helped start the FFA Discovery Chapter at his school and served as the chapter president.

In high school, he continued to grow his leadership skills through FFA, earning the FFA Chapter Degree and FFA Iowa Degree. Quade also credits his grandfather Richard Oberhelman for helping him learn what it takes to succeed in cattle production, including saving money for the lean times.

“Farming presents different challenges every year,” said Quade, a National Honor Society member. “It seems we can get a few good years, and then they’re erased quickly by several bad ones where you go into recovery mode.”

Oberhelman, 85, raised livestock for 65 years. He enjoys stopping by the farm to see how Quade is getting along.

“It’s great to see Jackson’s excitement for agriculture and his interest in raising beef cattle,” said Oberhelman, who raised polled Herefords, as well as Angus and Simmental cattle.

Quade works closely with Colin Carlson, head salesman and nutritionist for Webb’s Feed Inc. in Rockwell City. “Jackson is a very sharp guy who asks a lot of smart questions about feed rations and nutrition,” said Carlson, who also operates Carlson Cattle, a show cattle business focused on Angus show heifers and purebred Simmental heifers. “He wants to learn how to maximize his feed in terms of cost per head per day. He keeps price in mind, but he doesn’t want to throw quality out the window, either.”

Where are the young

cattle producers?

Iowa remains a prime location to raise cattle. It’s among the top five states in America for the number of cattle on feed, according to January 2023 data from the National Agricultural Statistics Service. Yet there are challenges ahead regarding beef farm succession, noted Lee Schulz, an Iowa State University Extension ag economist.

“People are the most important asset in Iowa’s cattle industry, but they’re aging,” Schulz wrote in the November 2019 report, “Challenges and Opportunities to Beef Farm Succession.”

“Almost twice as many cow-calf and feedlot producers are over 64 as are under 35.”

Specifically, the average age of Iowa cow-calf and feedlot producers is 53.2 and 52.9 years, respectively. A fourth (25%) of Iowa cow-calf producers and 22% of Iowa cattle feedlot producers are over age 64. An additional 25% of cow-calf producers and 28% of feedlot producers are between 55 and 64.

In addition, many of these beef producers do not have a succession plan. Thirty-eight percent of the cow-calf producers and 39% of the feedlot operators who expect to be raising cattle for 10 more years or less do not have a succession plan in place, according to an Iowa Beef Center survey.

“This is particularly alarming, as a realistic time frame for farm succession is often 10 to 15 years,” Schulz said.

The survey also asked producers to indicate the degree to which different factors were perceived as an obstacle or attraction for future generations entering cattle production. Cow-calf producers view the rural lifestyle, self-employment, working with livestock, and working with family as the biggest attractions.

The biggest perceived obstacles for future generations among cow-calf producers were environmental regulations, land tax policy and expansion of corn and soybean acres.

Feedlot operators identified the same attractions as the cow-calf producers and cited obstacles such as work hours, labor availability and costs, and environmental regulations.

“This is where

my roots are”

Quade is ready to meet these challenges, but he knows it won’t be easy. Last fall he submitted his resume to two land management companies to try to increase his farming operation.

“While it did not go as planned, I wasn’t discouraged. I’ll continue searching for farmers willing to give a young man a chance, so I can prove what I’m capable of.”

Protecting Iowa’s soil and water resources is important to Quade. He worked with his FFA chapter to seed a cover crop and turn a gully into a waterway to improve the chapter’s 17-acre test plot.

In addition, his family uses precision agriculture tools and has enrolled land in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). They have also seeded waterways and used filter strips.

“This helps protect water sources, reduces runoff and provides wildlife habitat,” Quade said.

He looks forward to new innovations that can increase grain and livestock production, reduce soil compaction and improve soil health.

“It’s important to be a steward of the land,” Quade said. “Each generation needs to do better than the last to keep agriculture strong and prosperous while maintaining its integrity.”

Quade plans to continue farming and raising cattle during college before he returns to the family farm full time.

“This is where my roots are,” said Quade, a sixth-generation farmer. “I want to help my rural community remain strong.”

Quade volunteers at various community events and serves as the groundskeeper for St. Thomas Church in Manson and the St. Thomas Cemetery.

“Iowa is home,” he said. “This is where I belong and where I’ll raise my family.”

To help rural Iowa thrive, it’s vital to connect older farmers with beginning farmers, Quade said. “We need landowners who care more about helping the next generation get started in farming than earning top-dollar rent. I’m here to prove that the future of farming is in good hands and won’t end with me. I want to help our farms remain family farms.”