2024 Fall Cattle Journal | Frederickson Ranch 

Growing Dreams, Building a Legacy

Nate Frederickson grew up in Minnesota, the third generation in a family of Hereford seedstock producers. Some of his registered females still trace back to cattle that his grandfather, Donald Frederickson purchased. Raising cattle has always been his goal. 

“I absolutely always knew what I was going to do,” he said. “God gives you a purpose in life and you know where you’re supposed to be.”  

When Frederickson finished high school, his dad told him, “The farm will always be here.”  

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“He encouraged me to go and do something else for a while but assured me that I could always come back.” 

A college degree and a job as a Novartis animal health representative took him west to South Dakota, Wyoming and beyond. This provided the opportunity to save some capital and make many connections with beef producers in several states. He also grew to love the Black Hills area. 

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If falling in love with western South Dakota wasn’t enough, a friend introduced him to Jayna Anders, who grew up in Union Center, South Dakota, and the two married in 2004.  

“I could see that there were opportunities to grow the seedstock business out here,” Nate said. “So much grassland in Minnesota has been converted to farm ground. I spent several years trying to convince my parents to move out here. I would like to think it was my sales pitch but ultimately it was probably the grandkids out here that finally did the trick.” 

In 2011 Nate’s parents, Mark and Mary Kay Frederickson purchased a ranch west of Spearfish, and moved themselves and their cattle to South Dakota.  

Frederickson Ranch benefits from the strengths inherent in a multigenerational operation. 

“I wouldn’t be where I am today without my parents’ support and all that they continue to do,” Nate said. “I also wouldn’t be here without Jayna’s support. She has been 100% for this from day one.” 

Nate and Jayna’s two boys, Tiernan (15) and Teegan (17) are also excited about raising cattle. The boys’ summer job is on the ranch. 

“My dad never pushed us to stay on the farm, he always said that this was a lifestyle that you had to be passionate about. We had to work a lot growing up but we also got to do other stuff. Hopefully I can give our boys the opportunity to be a part of this business in the future.” 

As they have matured, each has grown into his own unique interests, and their involvement reflects their strengths. 

“They both love cattle,” Nate said. “Teegan is more involved in putting up our hay and forage crops, and likes running equipment. He’s also very passionate about 4-H and showing cattle. Tiernan really focuses on the genetic side and enjoys riding and cattle work.” 

Mark and Mary Kay primarily ran a Hereford seedstock business, but in the 1990s, branched out and added a registered Angus cow herd. Since then, Frederickson Ranch has produced both Hereford and Angus seedstock, and the family runs both registered and commercial cows.  

“We run a sizeable commercial herd that we utilize as a recip herd for our registered cattle,” Nate said.  

Fredericksons believe the Hereford and Angus breeds complement each other well. They offer 175-200 bulls annually, about 60% Angus and 40% Hereford. 

“We want to raise functional, problem free cattle, that’s the goal,” Nate said. “We don’t focus on raising a great one, just on raising a lot of good ones. The good ones keep us in business and will keep our customers in business too.” 

Most of their bulls sell to customers in far western South Dakota, eastern Wyoming and southeastern Montana.  

“They have a lot of acres and a lot of rugged country to cover. First and foremost, we want to build a female that can work in these environments on limited feed. They need to have extremely good feet and udders. Structural and maternal traits are the most important for our cows as well as the majority of our customers. We really strive to focus on balance: moderate framed productive cows.” 

Fredericksons believe balance also comes in play after the calves are weaned.  

“We work closely and help our customers market their feeder calves. They have to leave this environment, go to a feedlot, be very desirable for that sector of the industry, and perform well there.”  

Registered Hereford and Angus cows calve March 25 through May 10. Most of Fredericksons commercial cows summer on a U.S. Forest Service allotment. This group calves between February 1 and March 15; approximately 400 cows run on over 30,000 acres, and they are bred prior to being turned out. 

“The cows end up spread out over so much area that it can be hard for the bulls to find them,” Nate said. In these higher elevations they depend on the weather to bring the cattle out in the fall.  

“In 2019 Jayna and I had an opportunity to purchase a second ranch about fifteen miles west of us just into Wyoming where we put up hay and run the Angus cattle year-round. Those cows also calve March 25-May 10. We have good facilities there so we can bounce back and forth pretty easily. Everything gets at least one shot of AI. We synchronize the heifers and heat detect and AI the registered cows as they come in.”  

Fredericksons take conservation efforts seriously and include holistic grazing practices on their federal and private ground.  

“We want to leave it better than we found it, Nate said. “We’ve developed new water sources on some of our Forest Service pastures. Grass management may be one of the most important aspects of any ranching operation.” 

The Frederickson Ranch breeding program heavily utilizes AI and embryo transfer. 

“We have an extensive ET program, and put 350-400 embryos in every year. This allows us to focus on our best cow families,” Nate said.  

Recip cows that don’t take an embryo can be bred to calve at a later date, and Fredericksons market 150-200 bred commercial females every year. They calve out all the heifers they retain for breeding, and market young bred cows. 

“As the average age of ranchers and ranch labor increases, we see a need for young bred cows. We’ve seen these heifers calve, we can cull for disposition and ability to raise a good calf, so when we send them to a customer the guesswork is out,” Nate said. 

While their ET program is time consuming and costly, it has allowed Fredericksons to capitalize on their best cows and best genetics.  

“It has been a good return on investment for us,” Nate said. 

Nate considers it a great compliment to be able to sell a handful of bulls to other breeders, but 95-98% of their bulls go to commercial cattlemen. 

“Our customers are very commercial based,” he said. 

Fredericksons market roughly half and half yearling bulls and 18-month-old bulls. 

“Our recip herd generates most of the yearlings and the registered herd generates most of the older bulls,” he said. 

Fredericksons sold bulls for a decade under the Pyramid Beef, LLC partnership. In 2023 they stepped out of the partnership, and held their first sale as Frederickson Ranch.  

“We had a great tenure with Pyramid Beef,” Nate said. “As our operation and family has grown, we decided that it was time to start marketing our cattle as Frederickson Ranch.” 

Fredericksons make an effort to spend time with their customers and help them market their calves every fall. Fredericksons don’t buy back customer calves, but Nate has been able to use connections from his prior animal health job to bring operations together. 

“I’ve spent a lot of time with people over the years, and I know a lot of people in the feeding business,” he said. “Ideally, I like to line up a farmer/feeder with a bull customer so they can build a relationship and work together for years to come. Working with both feeders and rancher has been a fun side of things, as we see the demand grow for our genetics and people willing to spend more on our customers’ calves. I also have a great friend in eastern South Dakota who helps place a lot of our customers’ steers and replacement heifers. We try to do whatever it takes to bring more value to our customers.” 

The ranch runs on team effort. 

Herdsman Ross Potter is an integral part of operations at Frederickson Ranch. 

“Ross does an incredible job and is just like family to us,” Fredericksons said. “He basically runs the cow herd, manages herd health, does all the AIing, manages the grow yard and assists with breeding decisions. He’s not just an employee, he is a vital part of our operation.” 

Along with Ross, three to four part time employees throughout the year keep the ranch running efficiently.  

“It’s a team approach,” Frederickson said. “Dad and mom are slowing down but still involved in the operation. When we need them, both are always there to help.”  

Nate and Jayna “had separate careers” until 2019, when Jayna quit her job of 20 years as a probation officer to become more involved with the ranch. 

“This has been a Godsend,” Nate said. “Since the day she came home she jumped in head first and has become very involved with the ranch. She is tremendous on a horse and working cattle. She has made us amp up our marketing program and has streamlined our bookkeeping and accounting. I truly could not do this without her. She has been my biggest cheerleader and my biggest critic, always pushing me to do my best. As many of my close friends know I can get a little scatterbrained and she is always helping me stay focused.” 

When Jayna came back to the ranch full time, she and Nate started a sideline business of marketing some of their beef locally. They have kept it simple, focusing on their local market. The higher cattle markets have made direct marketing more challenging, but they have grown to the point of offering about 30 head per year. 

“We finish three main groups per year,” Nate said, “one group of cattle in the fall, one in the winter, and another group in June.” 

“We mainly sell halves, quarters and whole beef,” Jayna said. “We only offer individual cuts on a very limited basis. Hamburger is our best seller when we do. Most of our beef has been sold ahead of time.” 

Jayna schedules processing dates a year in advance with the Meat Shop in Nisland, South Dakota.  

“They do an outstanding job for us,” she said.  

Animals harvested for hamburger to be sold by the pound are processed at a USDA inspected facility in Sheridan, Wyoming.  

Jayna’s involvement has “really helped our business,” Nate said. “She has really amped up our marketing game and social media game. I don’t know what we’d do if she wasn’t here. She’s been instrumental in helping us get more technological using records and an EID system that allowed us to get better at tracking these cattle at any point in time. I absolutely couldn’t do it without her. She’s the anchor that keeps me going in the right direction.” 

Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this article was printed in Hereford America, October, 2022.