By Joann Pipkin
The wind whips through the air as we trek southwest from suburbia on the want-to-be four lane. This late fall day finds us savoring unseasonable warmth as we give thanks for the moisture that works to replenish the region’s parched pastures.
From small town to small town, bustling highway 60 leads us to the “town with five names,” Monett, a true industrial hub for the area. Just over the Barry-Lawrence County line, a quieter thoroughfare takes us on a journey deep into the Ozarks hills. Poultry and cattle reign king in this farm country while the remnants of another crop year fill the river bottoms.
We skirt through Fairview heading south to find our destination near the end of a gravel lane — where dedication meets determination. Here, Joe and Angela Brattin’s diligent stewardship approach to farming helps the Newton County couple chart their course for success while technology shines on the backdrop.
Switching Gears
A self-professed “city boy,” Joe grew up in the Barry County metropolis of Wheaton. After high school, he went to work for an uncle at a tire shop in Buffalo. When he returned home the following September of 1990, he had no idea what he would do next.
When local farmer Jerry Evans offered Joe a job, he accepted. Three years later, Joe married the farmer’s daughter, Angela. And for the next 27 years, the couple, with Joe’s parents, raised chickens for Tyson Foods, backgrounding a few cattle along the way.
Ready for a change, in 2020 the Brattins sold their poultry houses and transitioned to a beef cattle enterprise. In addition to a 45-head cow-calf herd, today their operation centers mostly on backgrounding feeder cattle. With help from son Riley and his wife, Kayla, granddaughter, Madi, and daughter, Sarah Jo, as well as Angela’s dad and brother from time to time, the farm business thrives on family labor. Middle son, Jayce, lives and works as a teacher in Kansas City.
“Generally, we buy heifers weighing 500 to 550 pounds,” Joe explains. “We keep them for around five to seven months and try to put about 300 pounds on them, selling them as eight weights.”
Working with an order buyer, Joe typically purchases through Joplin Regional Stockyards. Focused on homegrown feed like corn and sorghum for silage, Bermuda hay and wheat pasture, the Brattins then add purchased commodities to round out the nutrition program for their backgrounding operation.
Depending on the market, the Brattins use video and live auctions when it’s time to sell.
Livestock Risk Protection insurance helps them lock in a favorable price when needed.
“The thing with an LRP, once you lock it in, you’re set,” Joe explains. “Other than the market itself, the biggest challenge we face is the health of the cattle.”
According to Joe, monitoring the health of the cattle and vaccinating when appropriate and necessary is essential to avoid high morbidity.
“We work really close with our veterinarian, Dr. Ted Dahlstrom,” Joe says. “And I put all the faith in the world in him to help us do everything that we can (to keep the cattle healthy).”
Weather fluctuations, even other environmental factors like stray dogs and predators, can affect the overall wellbeing of the animals, Joe notes. Excess dust can weigh heavy on respiratory health.
“We were very fortunate that early in the year, we had a lot of rain and were able to put up a lot of hay,” Joe says. “And we have the silage. We’ve done forward contracting on feed, locking in some prices. If you know what (kind of feed) you’re dealing with, you can adjust (rations) from there and do the best you can.”
Keeping Track
About three years ago, the Brattins began looking for a way to help them mix and track the nutrition program for their cattle. Settling on a program called Performance Beef Analytics, they’re now able to monitor ingredients and amount fed all with the help of an application that connects to a mobile phone or iPad.
“We’ve got a Bluetooth scale on the truck, so the phone is hooked to that as you load,” Joe explains. “It automatically keeps track of each ingredient and how much you load.”
As much as the program has helped the Brattins streamline their nutrition program, Joe says the biggest benefit Performance Beef has brought them is the ability to better track their costs.
“I can look at how much feed and each ingredient that the cattle have consumed, the upfront cost of the cattle, how much we have in them, veterinary costs, the processing cost, the feed interest, the cattle interest, and our breakeven,” Joe says. “Every time I sell, I can print off a close out and see what that group of cattle did.”
The program has also benefited their overall record-keeping system.
Angela says, “I drive through the cattle every day, and I’m the one that treats anything sick. On the app, I can pull up the calf’s number, see what pen it’s in and then I can search its history. I can see if, when and how it’s been treated. It helps me make retreat decisions.”
Prior to the Performance Beef Analytics application, records were kept via a shared note on their phones.
“At any given time during the summer, we might have over 2,000 head,” Angela says. “It was taking me about three hours a day just to drive through the cattle and check them. It has been a big help.”
Riley chimes in, “Now, you can just type in a number.”
With the cattle separated into different groups, the Brattins can easily track each animal.
“It’s been a huge asset on keeping track of costs,” Angela says.
Riley adds, “We’ve always had the whole program, but at first, we bought it just to use for the feed, just for loading the truck, feeding the cattle, to make it simpler. And then, we found out we could keep track of costs better than using pen and paper and trying to remember it. Then, we can track the health on it, too.”
The Brattins are also learning how to follow calf gain through the app. From that, they’ll be able to determine a threshold for each animal based on how much it has gained per day.
Joe says the system has completely changed the way they do business.
“This lets us track where we’re at,” Joe explains. “Can we afford to feed them for a little while or do we need to (sell them). We can, hopefully, be a bit more proactive in the things we can control.”
All said, the Brattins are quick to credit Performance Beef Analytics for helping them make better decisions and take a lot of the guesswork out of the way they do business.
“It’s made a difference in knowing where we’re at,” Joe says. “That’s been one of the biggest game changers for us.”
Growing Forage
Feed costs can easily take over a cattle operation. However, raising much of their own forage helps the Brattins keep some of those expenses in check.
Riley helps ensure the family puts its best foot forward when it comes to growing quality feed. From Bermuda grass to cover crops like annual ryegrass, the young Brattin focuses on getting the most out of their inputs.
“Bermuda works well because it performs good in the late summer when fescue fails,” Riley explains. “It produces a lot of feed. It’s dual purpose; you can use it for hay, and you can also pasture it.”
Riley adds that sowing a cover crop like wheat in dormant Bermuda pasture provides another forage option. Bermuda hayfields are maintained on a different program, though, focusing on pasture purity, free of competition from other species.
Somewhat labor intensive, the Brattins also bale and market Bermuda hay in small squares during the summer.
Valuing Partnerships
The Brattins relationship with FCS Financial dates back nearly 30 years to when the couple expanded their poultry operation.
“They’ve been really good to help us,” Joe says. “And, their interest rates are always really competitive.”
FCS Financial’s Beth Luebbering has herself worked with the Brattins for 13 years. She says, “Performance Beef has been such an asset to them and us.”
She adds that when Joe brought in a printout on the first group of cattle sold after managing them under Performance Beef, it was amazing.
“I want that piece of paper every time now,” she says. “We can scan it right to their file. We can go back and pull up the information anytime we need it.”
From knowing the exact number of cattle sold to being able to analyze production costs, the program has been a true asset to their operation, she says.
“We know where their profitability stands,” she adds.
The Brattins appreciate that FCS Financial knows the type of business they’re in.
“So many things are out of your control, and they understand agriculture,” Joe says. “We can make out a plan. But if I must spend extra on medicine (for the cattle), and we must regroup, they understand that.”
For FCS Financial, seeing the Brattins success come full circle is both meaningful and rewarding.
“I’ve known the family for several years, so it’s been amazing to get to work with them and see them transition from broilers into feeders and then bring the kids into the operation,” Luebbering says. “That’s meaningful to me, to get to see the success of the family. Now we have the kids who are of age to be customers, and it comes full circle.”
Guarding Earnestly
In a day and time when managing a farm as a business is more important than ever before, the Brattins remain steadfast in the tasks that lay before them. As the Bible says in Proverbs 27:23-24. “Know well the condition of your flock and pay attention to your herds for wealth is not forever, not even a crown lasts for all time.”
For Joe and Angela Brattin, those words remain their daily mantra.
“We just try to be diligent in what we do, and try to be good stewards of the land, of the cattle, our finances, our resources, everything,” Joe says simply. “I think that’s made a big difference in our operation.”
