Raising Cattle, Crops, & Kids
"One thing you can’t put on the job description is a heart for livestock and farming."
Nathan and Wanda Lawson’s family farms in Spencer and northern Nelson County, Kentucky where they raise beef cattle, corn, soybeans, and their four kids. They farm just over 900 acres where they run 125 head of momma cows and background cattle.
Nathan and Wanda both graduated from the University of Kentucky where they met. Having both been raised in multi-generational farm families, Nathan said their family ties and involvement in 4-H and FFA set the foundation for them to farm, “It sowed the seeds of love for agriculture in both Wanda and I’s hearts.” There were two things the couple decided shortly after they married. One, they knew they wanted children and two, they wanted to raise them on the farm.
Nathan and Wanda both graduated from the University of Kentucky where they met. Having both been raised in multi-generational farm families, Nathan said their family ties and involvement in 4-H and FFA set the foundation for them to farm, “It sowed the seeds of love for agriculture in both Wanda and I’s hearts.” There were two things the couple decided shortly after they married. One, they knew they wanted children and two, they wanted to raise them on the farm.
The Lawson family is anything but a one-man operation. While Nathan feels fortunate to work full-time on the farm, it is truly a family affair. Wanda, a full-time lead engineer for an international engineering firm, along with their four children are all highly active on the farm feeding cattle, treating animals, and caring for the land. On any given day, you might find three-year-old Journey keeping everyone smiling on tractor rides through the pasture, eight-year-old Jayden feeding buckets of grain, 11-year-old Addison keeping farm records, or 18-year-old Destinee moving cattle through the working chute. While farming may not always be easy, it is family that keeps them going, “On the good days and the bad days, we share in the joys of farming and carry its load together.”
On the good days and the bad days, we share in the joys of farming and carry its load together."
Farming so close to Louisville brings challenges and rewards. One of the biggest challenges is the cost of land and another is the availability of help. “One thing you can’t put on the job description is a heart for livestock and farming,” says Nathan. The hard work put into farming is rewarding, but not always in the money sense of the word. The greatest reward of farming for the Lawson family is caring for life – of both crops and livestock – and being able to teach that to their children in a real way, “The cattle count on us, and we count on them.”
The cattle count on us, and we count on them.”
For Nathan and his family, it is humbling to know that the products they care for and pour their hearts into will be enjoyed by other Kentucky families. For them and other Kentucky cattlemen across the state, it is exciting to be able to go into a grocery store and see a product they put hard work into on the shelf. In Kentucky, beef is much more than just a food – it’s a product of love and dedication grown by hard working families like the Lawsons.
