An Inside Look at The Volatile Cattle Markets and the Slow Process of Rebuilding

Nate Bradford’s “lifetime” in cattle ranching shows in his face.

Bradford, with just enough gray in his beard to highlight his experience, hoists himself into the cab of his John Deere tractor. On a cold November morning in Bristow, the maneuvers around his 160 acres are second nature to him. Hay bales scatter his pasture as horses trot alongside him. The sun creeps up over the tree line surrounding his property.

“It’s nature,” Bradford said. “It’s what God has given us to take care of, and we try to be good stewards of the land.”