In the spring of 2004 it was decided that Nelson Land and Cattle Co. would expand it's commercial cow calf operation by adding a registered Hereford operation. We have spent the last several years obtaining some of the best bloodlines in the Hereford breed, to build a herd that we could put in the front pasture and be proud of. Through our aggressive A-I and embryo transplant program we have been able to accumulate some of the best cattle in the country.
 
In May of 2005 we were asked to become a genetic partner with our good friends at Star Lake Cattle Ranch in Oklahoma.
Star Lake is the epitome of quality and success in the Hereford Industry. They have been a tremendous help in starting a seed stock business that is sound trough and through.

Jim Nelson the owner of NLC grew up around the Hereford business that his Grandfather started in the early part of the 1900's in western Oklahoma. After going to school at Oklahoma State University, he ended up in the commercial real estate business in Plano, Texas. Therefore getting back into Herefords was a natural transition.

Ron Dugger and his family came on board to manage the operations in 2004, and lives on the ranch in Whitesboro. Ron has many years of experience in the cattle business as well as the show ring. The Duggers have become a major part of the early success of NLC.
 
NLC is a one stop shop for all your Hereford needs. We have calves to sell in all price categories, from the national show prospects down to the local and county shows. We would like very much to have you visit our ranch and see for yourself the quality of our cattle, and therefore it would give us a chance to meet each one of you and talk Hereford Cattle.

Here is a recent article on Jim Nelson that ran in the February 2009 Texas Hereford Magazine...
"A Good Place To Be"

             
  Whether he is at his ranch in west Grayson County or his office in Plano, the name Jim Nelson is synonymous with success. Though he came into the cattle business late in life, he has carried over his success as a land developer into the Hereford game. In a short time, Nelson has developed a reputation for high-quality calves, and has become one of the local innovators of internet auctions. Through hard work, good planning, a few common sense purchases, a lot of good decisions, a little luck, and a little help, Nelson’s company, Nelson Land and Cattle, has quickly become a model for how to build and develop a successful ranch in relatively short order.


Jim at the ranch with his Kawasaki “mule” in Whitesboro.

Nelson was born in Geary, Oklahoma, about 75 miles west of Oklahoma City. His Grandfather was in the registered Hereford business, and was one of the first to bring horned Herefords into west Oklahoma at the turn of the 20th century. Nelson grew up around the business, and his grandfather supplied him with Hereford steers and heifers. His grandfather passed away when he was in junior high school, and Nelson lost interest in Nelson Land & Cattle cattle. He eventually left his tiny Oklahoma home town for Oklahoma State University.

“I really wasn’t into agriculture,” he said laughingly. “I was a typical small-town boy back then, trying to get out of town to go see the bright lights and the big city.” Nelson went into the meat business after college, which is what brought him to the Dallas/Fort Worth area. In the early ‘80’s, he sold his business and went into real estate. He currently works with his son and daughter in land development.

“I just kind of sit around and let them do all the work – let them make their old man a little money along the way,” he said. At an age where a lot of successful men retire, he decided to scratch an itch he’d had for some time, and take up a second job. He bought his ranch in Grayson County and  Texas.

 

bought his first Hereford cows from Scott Galyon at K Bar K Ranch in Pottsboro.

“They say, when you get older, what goes around comes around,” he said. “When I got out of high school, I couldn’t wait to get to the city. After spending most of my life in the city, I was ready to get back to the country.”

"I would go nuts retired,” he continued. “I got tired of playing golf and making double bogeys.” He started out with ten commercial Herefords, but was reticent to enter into the registered business without a full-time ranch manager to watch over things while he was tending to his real estate business. He met Ron Dugger, who has managed his ranch ever since, and who he gives credit for what success they have had. The pair had an opportunity to buy 24 registered cows from a man getting out of the business. Some of the cows were poll, some were horn. As luck would have it, all of the cows were bred to a bull named BR DM L1 Domino 146, originally bred at the Barber Ranch in Channing, TX.

That year, the Barber Ranch and Don
Moler were showing a heifer bred from
Domino 146 that was winning its share
of prize money. Nelson and Dugger showed two heifers that were also bred from Domino 146, and they both won division championships in Fort Worth. One was grand champion in Houston, and the other was grand champion in San Angelo.

From the beginning, Nelson proved that his interest in Herefords was more than a hobby. Later that year, he bought half interest in a poll bull named Git R’ Done from Star Lake Cattle Ranch in Skiatook, Oklahoma.

Jim’s original herd of 10 cows purchased from K-K Polled Herefords.


The following February, the bull won grand champion in Fort Worth. In one year, Nelson owned a grand champion bull and two division champion females.
  “I was telling somebody, ‘man, this is kind of an easy deal,’” he said jokingly. “Whatever I get into, I want to see how to make it really work.

I knew I wasn’t going to be the biggest Hereford breeder in the world or be able to compete with some of the bigger ranches around the country.” Nelson turned those first ten cows into what he describes as a boutique ranch. He now owns 100 registered cows, 17 donor cows, and 140 commercial cows for embryonic transfer.

He bought full possession of Domino 146 from Gary Buchholz’ GKB Cattle ranch in Bardwell, Texas. After that purchase, Nelson and Dugger ratcheted up their breeding system, and are now primarily breeding Domino 146 into all of his cows, and flushing all of them.

Nelson Land and Cattle and GKB are the two largest ranches producing calves out of 146 Domino. NLC shares the semen sales with Barber and Moler. “We’re not the biggest ranch out here,” he said. “We pride ourselves on high-end quality items. When someone wants a really high quality heifer or steer, come to Nelson Land and Cattle and you can find it. It may be more expensive, but you know what you’re going to get.”


Fall heifer calf champion of 2006 Fort Worth National Polled Show, NLC Ms Vicki 146 Dominette 30P, shown by Josh Dugger. One of 2 division winners that Nelson had that year.

Nelson has also taken a modern approach to selling cattle. He had his first internet auction last April. The auction boasted 135 registered bidders from 15 different states. All of the cows auctioned were Domino 146 calves. They averaged $5,600 per heifer, the highest selling at $14,900 to a bidder from California. To market the cows, Nelson hired Katie Colyer, an Idaho rancher and photographer / video specialist, to shoot short videos of the cows and take

their pictures. He has also invested a lot in his own website, nelsonlandandcattle.com, in order to court younger buyers. “I’m so old, I barely know how to turn a computer on,” he said. “We deal a lot with the younger buyers. They’re a lot more accustomed to using the internet.”
“With fuel prices getting the way they are, you can’t drive all over the United States looking for a good heifer,” he continued. “But if you can find one sitting at your desk at home, without having to burn up a lot of gas, it makes it easier on the buyer. But, they have to be comfortable that you’re an honorable organization.”


Christ United Methodist Church Plano, Texas presented their pastor Don Underwood a Hereford cow/calf pair from Nelson Land and Cattle Co. as an anniversary present. Christ United is Jim’s church in Plano. Pictured (l to r)  Desi McGuire, Brooke Nelson, Jim Nelson, Betty Jane Brame, Ron Dugger and front and center Miss Riley Nelson.

Nelson believes that internet auctions will become more common, especially for smaller sales. He said that several other ranchers have already asked him how to pull off such an auction. One of the benefits of an online auction, Nelson said, is that it saves on expenses. The one thing that has surprised Nelson about the cattle business has been the cost of fuel. He said, had he have known that the cost of diesel would double; he might not have jumped into the business head first. But, he also said that he is having fun, and remains optimistic about the future of the Hereford business.

“The Herefords are probably in as good a shape as they’ve been in years, because there are a lot more people coming over to the Hereford side of the spectrum,” he said. “Angus ruled the roost for the last 30 years or so, but the Herefords have made a huge comeback in the last 4 or 5 years since I’ve gotten back involved in it. It’s a good place to be.”
 

 

 

Nelson Land & Cattle Company
Corporate Office:

2415 Coit Rd. Suite C
Plano, Texas 75075
972-596-4335

jnelson@npreston.com

Ranch Office:
Ron Dugger
HC 71 Box 107S
1273 Highway 99C
Kingston, OK 73439
903-816-3706

nlcmgr@aol.com

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