Tucker Peterson is the youngest of seven children, and a descendant of several generations of farmers making a living in the Mountain Grove area.
His forefathers came to the Missouri Ozarks by covered wagon from Kentucky in the 1800s, so he can surely be called a native of Mountain Grove. He has accomplished a lot in 19 years and is well on his way to becoming a leading Jersey breeder in the United States.
Peterson Dairy is a family farm containing over 250 acres north of Mountain Grove, Mo., along Highway 95. Janet Peterson is a single mom of her brood of seven – Jacob, Luke, Sadie, Caleb, Ethan, Callie and Tucker. The farm has always been a dairy, but over the years has had several livestock projects for the different ages and preferences of the children.
“When the children were small, they started out showing sheep because they could handle them in the show ring,” she recalled. “Later on, some showed beef, some dairy and even some hogs. Now, some of my grandchildren are showing sheep.”
Even though the farm is a Grade A dairy, Ethan is raising some South Down sheep and has a hog operation. Caleb is a licensed A.I. technician and also a technician for Mid-South Dairy Records.
When asked why he selected Jerseys as his breed of choice Tucker, responded as a seasoned dairyman.
“My grandparents always had Jerseys but I like them because of their small frame, they can tolerate the heat well, and are able to get up and down the hills with ease. They are a good, durable breed.”
All cows are artificially inseminated with semen of bulls from to their respective breed, which is followed with a Jersey clean-up bull.
In addition to the traditional dairy, Tucker has earned a reputation for owning a prime line of show stock in the dairy industry. His Jerseys and Milking Shorthorns are not only in local and state shows, but are shown extensively and successfully on the national show circuit. He has improved his bloodlines until they are well-known in the dairy industry. He has an entire wall in their house completely covered with trophies and ribbon earned from his herd that are too numerous to mention.
Caleb and Tucker work together on the farm and travel to shows all over the United States and take turns showing different animals at competitions even though the animals are registered to Tucker.
Last year, Tucker showed the Grand Champion at the Southern National Spring Jersey Show at Stillwater, Okla., and Caleb showed the Milking Shorthorn Junior Champion Heifer at the International Junior Shorthorn Show at the World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wis. The heifer was also the Unanimous Junior All American Fall Heifer Calf in 2014. Tucker and Caleb are part owners of the 2014 Reserve Junior All American Jersey Milking Yearling in Louisville, Ky.
Show animals are given special treatment at Peterson Dairy, so they will look good and show well in competitions.
“Show animals are housed in separate buildings in almost solitary confinement and are in good condition and a healthy environment,” Tucker said.
The Petersons do all the training, trimming and show preparation themselves.
Tucker was on the Missouri State 4-H Judging Team selected to go to Scotland and Ireland in 2014, and he has received a scholarship to be on the dairy judging team at Kaskaskia College in Centralia, Ill., which he will attend this fall.
While it is no easy task to breed and show two breeds of cattle around the nation, the entire family shows is support for each other.
And for the Peterson family, farming is a way of life.
“Most people simply do not know what farming is all about. It is a business and you have to treat it like a business,” Janet said. “It is not just an 8-hour a day job, it is a 24-hour a day job.”
The Peterson farm is rolling grassland seeded in mostly fescue and clover, fenced into several pastures for rotational grazing. The Petersons cut their own hay and bale into round bales, but do some square bales for their show stock. Water sources are mostly ponds (some with automatic waters), some springs and Beaver Creek on the backside of the farm. The dairy consists of an average of 75 milking cows, mostly registered Jersey with some registered Milking Shorthorns.
