Sustainability at Jorgensen Land and Cattle starts with
profitability and generational transfer of knowledge,
skills and assets. The specific practices and procedures
on the operation are natural outgrowths – part of each
generation’s commitment to leave something better to
the next.
“Everyone defines sustainability a little bit differently,”
Nick Jorgensen said. “This business is 113 years old. My
definition of sustainability is the fact that it has been here
for that long, and that we do everything we can to make
sure it’s here 113 years from now.”
His grandfather, Martin Jorgensen Jr., provided a roadmap
that still serves the family. In the prime of his career, Nick
recounted, he put his sons in decision-making positions:
“He told them, ‘I owe it to you because you need the
experience to get to where I am today. You also know
things that I don’t.’ ”
Nick’s father, Bryan, and uncle have done the same for
their sons, the operation’s fourth generation. Nick is CEO
and CFO. His cousin Cody is COO for livestock.
“I’m 30, and I’m in the thick of it,” Nick said. “The
sustainability of a business, in my view, depends on letting
that next generation learn and gain experience.”
To address financial sustainability, Martin Jr. gifted most
of the operations’ assets and established a generational
skipping trust. Families will devise succession plans unique
to their goals and circumstances, Bryan said, but whatever
the plan, it is critical to sustainability.
“We think about generational transfer in economic terms,”
he said. “It is important from the environmental side, too,
because it keeps good operations operating and good
practices in place.”
Improving Soil Health, Advancing Livestock Genetics
In his day, Martin Jr. earned a name for the operation
with performance-based breeding practices that were
pioneering at the time. The Jorgensens also have
been recognized for their early adoption of no-till and
conservation practices.
Bryan became interested in no-till practices for water
conservation reasons. The changes he saw in the soil itself
led him to further explore no-till practices. By 1991, the
operation was 100% no-till.
“My dad found that we’ve got healthier soil when we don’t
disturb it. What else can we make better?” Nick said.
“We started talking about things like a diverse crop
rotation along with no-till. Then we extended that to
minimum inputs so we’re not adding any more synthetic
chemicals than we need.
“My dad says we’re just leasing the land from the next
generation. If he’s leasing the land from me, then I’m
leasing the land from my children. So, are we doing the
things that make the land better?”
On the livestock side, improvement means building on the
genetic legacy left by Martin to continually advance the
quality of their animals. The management team, which
consists of the four family partners, is structured to focus
on growth, with day-to-day responsibilities entrusted to
employees. Competitive benefits, regular hours and a
shared vision contribute to longevity on the job.
Every aspect of the business is measured and analyzed,
Nick said. “You can’t study anything that you don’t
measure. One benefit we have on our operation is we’re
extremely good record keepers, and the mentality
of always improving and studying what we do is so
consistent through our family and our business that we’ve
accepted that, at a certain point, we have to ground-truth
this and make sure it’s the right thing for our business and
doesn’t just feel right.”
Generally, this approach provides clarity and consensus.
When it doesn’t, Nick said, there is room to tweak
practices: “We tried 60-inch corn for three years and every
year we looked at it and said, hey, this doesn’t work, let’s
tweak this and see if it makes a difference. We tried several
iterations and just never got there. There have been other
instances where we made modifications and got to a
good spot.”
