When Brandon Peterson of Alcester, S.D, was a high school senior he was faced with that age-old question: What do you want to be?

 “I didn’t have an answer,” he recalls.

Having grown up on a diversified farming operation, Peterson says he “decided to be a farmer.” That led him to South Dakota State University pursuing an animal science degree. He also tried out for the SDSU football team as a walk-on and earned a spot on the roster.

It was his football experience that would fuel his future as a Angus seedstock producer.

Brandon and Becky Peterson and their two sons, Blake, 14, and Brady, 12, are SDSU football fans. Brandon attended college at SDSU, played football for the Jackrabbits. An SDSU football coach urged Brandon, who wanted to raise Angus cattle, to “dream big.

Often at the end of football practice, one of the coaches would share a motivational message. One particular day, lineman coach Carl Larson talked about how “you have to have a dream.”

That speech resonated with Peterson, and he initially set his sights on having a herd of 200 Angus cows. But Peterson’s coach challenged him, saying, “It needs to be a big dream that will require hard work.” In response, Peterson says, “So my dream grew to 500 cows.”

Today, two decades later, Peterson is thankful for that impactful conversation. “At a young age, it made me develop a vision of what I wanted to do,” he says.

Peterson acted on that vision. In the spring of 1996, Peterson’s father co-signed a loan for $3,500, which Peterson used to buy five Angus heifers.

By the time Peterson graduated from SDSU, he had doubled his herd to 10 head. Today, the herd, owned and operated by Peterson, his wife Becky and their two young sons, consists of over 300 registered Angus cows, and they are proud to have more than a dozen Peterson Angus sires represented by national genetics’ companies offering semen for artificial insemination to other producers across the country.

Persistence pays

In 1999, after graduating from college and newly married, Peterson took a full-time job as a nutritionist and pursued his personal cattle goals on the side.

He counts his time as a nutritionists as very beneficial, affording him the opportunity to see thousands of different cattle.

“I had a passion for genetics, and through my job I got to see how nutrition influenced genetics.”

By 2005, Peterson had grown his herd and was ready to offer genetics for sale. A fellow Angus mentor let Peterson consign four bulls to his annual sale. The next year, Peterson consigned 8 bulls. But in 2007, that operation dispersed, so Peterson took the plunge of holding his first production sale with another breeder. Peterson offered 36 Angus bulls and 24 weaned heifers. He admits, that first sale “was a struggle. Fewer than 60 people attended and only 21 buyer numbers were given out. “Of 36 bulls, only seven sold; of 24 heifers, 10 sold,” he says.

Despite that, Peterson decided he wanted to keep pursing his dream. In 2008 and 2009, he had the opportunity to expand. “We took a leap of faith and went from 40 head to 120 cows those two years. Lower prices in the market allowed it and we took advantage,” he says.

In 2013, Peterson made the decision to leave his job as a nutritionist and raise cattle full-time. He markets 150 bulls and 60 heifer calves annually. Peterson works with cooperator herds using embryo transfer to multiply his genetics and utilizes DNA testing to assist with selection and genetic advancement. He also buys back calves from his customers to feed and assists customers with feedlot placements.

Advice to others

Having started with five heifers and now having over 300 head, Peterson offers this advice to other beginning farmers”

Define your program. “Developing your plan is extremely important. Keep the big picture in mind,” he says, and advises writing it down.

Avoid distractions. Peterson emphasizes the mantra. “Work on your business, not just in your business…Our tagline is ‘Genetics focused on real value’ – and we think about that every day.” As an example, while working as a nutritionist Peterson traveled 80,000 miles per year while selling feed. Of this he says, “I had a lot of time to think. It gave me time to plan.” He encourages others to “think about what you want to implement.” Peterson adds, “The worst thing I can do when I am in the pastures is to carry my phone with me. I need to pay attention to the grass conditions, the cattle, what’s going on out there. A phone is distracting to what’s making me money in my business.”

Keep learning. Peterson suggests finding a mentor and learning what made him or her successful. “Challenge what you know, challenge the status quo and ask good questions of yourself,” he says. Peterson identifies a topic each spring that he wants to learn more about and then takes a couple weeks to study it and become more knowledgeable. He also emphasizes the importance to “understand your market and mesh it with your vision.” As well, Peterson advises, “Embrace change and expect adversity.”

Work hard. Peterson says there’s no substitution for hard work and dogged determination. Sounding a bit like his former football coach, he says, “The real question is how bad do you want it?”