It's always fun catching up with old friends!
My husband, Sam, has been friends with Brandon Nelson since high school. Brandon went to a different school, but they first met while competing in the FFA ag mechanics career development event and found that they had a lot in common. Last weekend, we hopped over to the farm that Brandon owns with his wife, Kelly, and their two littles, Kylea and Jase, to capture some precious family moments with cattle, crops, and tractors.
The farm that the Nelsons call home, Willoville Cattle Company, is named after a nearby one-room school called the Willoville School and located just east of Clear Lake, Wisconsin. Brandon's parents switched to raising beef cattle after selling their dairy cows in 2003, and Brandon and Kelly have recently pivoted to selling more of their beef direct to consumers with great success. In addition to raising cash crops and cattle with her husband, Kelly also works off the farm for a large grain farm running several thousand acres.
Since Brandon has a soft spot for antique tractors, we featured the Nelsons' International 1256 and Farmall Super H in some of the photos. I have a weakness for red tractors, so I was all over that idea! The family also has a fleet of Allis-Chalmers and Ford tractors. Kylea, an independent and talkative two-year-old, loves cows and everything that comes with being a farm kid, and Jase appears to be the same way. Aren't they just adorable?
I told Sam on the way home that being at Willoville reminded me of being in the Dakotas with cerulean blue skies, cattle in the feedlots, towering grain bins, and wind rippling through fields of rye. With South Dakota being one of my favorite places that I won't see again for a while, I really enjoyed our midday photo session. We also had a nice lunch at Lake Magnor (if you're from the area, you know what I mean, and thanks again for lunch, Brandon and Kelly!) to cap off a picture-perfect July day on the Nelson family farm.
If you want to check out what Brandon and Kelly are doing on the farm, give Willoville Cattle a like on Facebook!
