Jefferson County Cattlemen honor Nelson Anderson

FAIRFIELD — Nelson Anderson was posthumously given the Lifetime Achievement Award by Jefferson County Cattlemen during their annual banquet in January.

Nelson’s wife, Jennifer Anderson, accepted the award that evening on behalf of her husband, who died on Jan. 25, 2021 after a short, hard-fought battle with stage 4 esophageal cancer. Joining Jennifer in accepting the award on behalf of Nelson were the couple’s children, Mitch and Katie.

Four men who worked closely with Nelson took turns sharing fond memories of the man who had a lifelong passion for cattle. Dan Delaney, Randy Baird, John Peck and Phil Gevock each provided a window into what made Nelson so special.

Nelson Anderson was born in Fairfield in 1958, the son of Joyce and Kenneth S. Anderson. He graduated from Fairfield High School in 1976 and from William Penn College four years later with an agricultural business degree.

His first exposure to livestock production was as a youngster traveling with his dad to Wisconsin where they bought 20 Holstein baby calves. These were brought home and raised in crates to be sold later.

“He quickly learned how risky the livestock business is when dealing with ‘live’ inventory,” recalled Jennifer.

As a teenager, one of Nelson’s jobs was working on his cousin’s farm who raised a lot of hogs. This inspired Nelson to start his own hog business, where he farrowed and finished hogs. Money from this hog business helped pay for Nelson’s college education.

While enrolled at William Penn, Nelson participated in a cooperative program between the college and Indian Hills Community College where he pursued an internship involving business and agriculture. Shortly thereafter he began working for farmer and livestock producer Roy Billingsley, Jennifer’s father.

Nelson began working for Roy in April 1980, and married Jennifer on Sept. 6 later that year. Jennifer said that Nelson enjoyed the farming experience, and developed a particular passion for cattle.

“Roy had been with cattle his entire life, and was very impressed with how well Nelson caught on to the cattle business — and he was not easily impressed,” Jennifer said.

Nelson and Jennifer developed their own farming and cattle feeding business in the ensuing years. Nelson purchased all the cattle fed by Anderson Livestock, so he developed a strong network of friends and cohorts in several sale barns across multiple states.

“He had an uncanny skill for seeing the potential in an animal before ever making a bid,” read Nelson’s obituary. “His greatest excitement was getting a purchase at the right price to turn the best profit. Nelson had an intensity about him and this would be displayed as he conducted himself both personally and professionally.”

Jennifer said that, by 1987, the couple were farming 1,500 acres of row crops, managing 500 head of feeder cattle and 1,000 head swine finishing operation. The couple weathered the farm crisis of the 1980s, including the 30-year low in cattle markets, through Nelson’s ability to continually analyze their operation and keep it profitable. The Andersons phased out their hog operation by 1991 to concentrate solely on beef.

Nelson was an early adopter of mono-slope buildings, five years before they became the building of choice across the industry.

“His mind was in constant motion of refining and improving his cattle operation,” Jennifer said.

Jennifer said their operation grew to feeding around 2,300 head of cattle each year.

“Nelson’s lifelong passion was cattle,” she said. “He had no intention of slowing down until fate stopped him.”

Jennifer said her husband would have been honored to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Jefferson County Cattlemen, an organization he had belonged to since the 1980s.

Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com