Young farmer’s operation grows fast

KEOTA — At 24 years old, Cole Brenneman is considerably younger than a typical farmer. That hasn’t stopped his meteoric rise as a trusted cattle custom feeder in Keota.

In the last year and a half, Brenneman Beef has gone from a 31-head operation to one of about 900. The founder and owner plans to add about 100 more cattle to the lots by September, before slowing things down a bit.

“Then, we’re just going to calm down,” he said. “Take a step back, and cherish what I have here.”

The young farmer started raising cattle at about 15, with his dad. His father passed away a few years later, but Brenneman kept working with the livestock. After a brief trip to college — where he learned it wasn’t his scene — he came home, and picked up farming where he’d left off.

Through family, Brenneman had high-profile connections to the pork industry, but opted to raise cattle instead. He said asthma kept him from working in a hog confinement building, making cattle a more attractive livestock option for the young producer.

Plus, he said, he likes working with the cows more than pigs.

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The path hasn’t lacked obstacles, many of them on account of his age. Brenneman needed to convince several producers to let him custom feed their livestock, a leap of faith given his limited experience.

“The thing that you run into is older gentlemen, that own the cattle, just not trusting you enough to do it,” he said. “But we’re set up with some really, really good guys right now. I couldn’t thank them enough to keep bringing cattle.”

Also daunting is the sheer amount — and variety — of work. Brenneman estimates it totals out to about two full-time jobs. He’s faced a steep learning curve as he picks up the myriad roles of a beef producer, which itself entails all the duties of a farmhand, row crop grower, animal feeder, amateur vet, occasional repair technician, and countless others.

When he’s at his wit’s end and doesn’t know what to do, Brenneman has a fallback option: He calls Mitch Sieren, a custom feeding client and a personally influential mentor.

“(Sieren) is really the one that got me to take the jump,” Brenneman said. “And that guy has taught me a lot on cattle diseases, what to treat them with … You’ll never know everything, but the best thing you can do is keep an open mind and keep learning.”

So far, the work seems to be paying off. Brenneman said he only regretted his choices, fleetingly, when it rained, turning pastures and feedlots into mud-filled messes.

Otherwise, he hasn’t looked back.

“It’s working great,” he said. “We’re far from getting rich off of it, but it’s enough to keep growing the operation and keep going. It works great, I love it.”

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Brenneman sees himself farming cattle in the very long term. He plans to some day own the cattle he grows, rather than custom feeding for other producers, who pay him for the feed, yardage and bedding.

Beyond that, he said he hopes to one day pass a successful cattle operation on to the next generation, both for the sake of setting them up with success, and maybe recreating his experiences with his own dad.

“I want to do it for our kids, to be able to have a place for them, if they want to be farmers, to go and have a hell of a lot easier start than their dad did,” Brenneman said. “My dad was always a builder, but he loved cattle … he’s still here with us, he’s just seeing it from a different perspective.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com