Nathan Helsley was called back home to the family farm
HARTVILLE, MO. – Nathan Helsley can tell you, just like the Old Testament prophets did, when you listen to the voice of God, your life will be greatly changed. After attending a Mens’ Encounter weekend in 2015, an energizing Christian gathering of men that often changes lives, Nathan who had been in the Marines, been to Afghanistan and was working on a tugboat in the Gulf of Mexico, changed direction and came home to the family farm in Hartville, Mo., in Wright County.
“I didn’t know exactly what I was going to do but I knew after that weekend that I was being called to do something completely different,” Nathan explained.
Today, he farms 120 acres of his family’s Century Farm while his grandmother, Vera Helsley and his dad, Alan Helsley continue to work their adjacent 400 acres. “”I’m the sixth generation of my family on this farm and my kids will be the seventh,” he added proudly.
“We all have our own farms but we also work together, helping each other out,” he continued. “I raise beef cattle, primarily Angus and Angus-cross. I like to say we do from birth to butcher. I sell beef, not cows. I sell via our website and target mainly Springfield but I’ll sell anywhere. I sell through social media and I feel like in that way, too, I’m helping to educate people as to what really good beef should taste like. We have a newsletter which allows us to pre-sell steers. Many times I have the beef sold before the animals go to the butcher. And of course, right now, we keep our heifers.”
He added. “I have about 20 momma cows on the property and my dad keeps about 100. Right now I’m in a good position in that there is a bigger demand for farm-raised beef than there is supply. Since we sell directly to the consumer, we are no longer at the mercy of the sale barn.”
He added. “Most of my animals are grain-finished which makes for better marbling in the meat. I recently bought some steaks that were on sale at one of the big stores and I was surprised, once more, at the night and day difference in the flavor and the quality of our meat, compared to the ones from the store. I really think that has to do with the way we raise our animals in a low-stress environment, in green pastures instead of them being confined full-time to a feed lot.
“I practice intensive rotational grazing, moving my cows every day. I use a lot of electric fencing but the cows get used to it and I don’t have any trouble with them. Moving them every day, like this, gets them real used to me coming around. It makes them a lot gentler and easier to handle in general.”
And if that’s not enough to keep a young man busy, Nathan adds another layer of diversity to his world in his small hometown of Hartville.
“I had a vision of this shop, rebuilding hydraulic cylinders. I graduated from school in 2008 and was in the Marines from 2008 until 2012. After that I went to work on a tug boat in the Gulf until 2015 and that’s when I went to the Men’s Encounter weekend. I came home and I feel like the Lord led me to go see my old Vo-Tech teacher in Lebanon. I asked him where I might find the equipment to start this kind of business. He said he didn’t have any but there was a guy down the way that might know. We went down there and he told me, ‘yeah, well, my hydraulic mechanic is getting ready to retire and we’ll be selling that equipment and’….that’s when I knew I wasn’t crazy and hearing voices. I was following the Holy Spirit and was able to buy machinery for pennies on the dollar.”
Now in their ninth year, Nathan’s Kingdom Builders in Hartville employs three full-time hydraulic cylinder technicians, two full time mechanics, and one part-time one. In addition to their hydraulic repair, they also do heavy equipment and tractor repair. They worked on and rebuilt 1000 hydraulic cylinders last year.
He and his wife, Sasha have four children, ages 5, 4, 2 and 2 weeks. They just built a new house on part of the farm last year. They also keep bees and produce a small amount of honey for a few customers and family.
“We capture wild bees, swarms to start the hives. We have three hives now. They don’t produce as much honey as bees that you purchase but it is definitely all natural.”
He concluded with a smile. “I guess farming is in my blood.” Despite having traveled more than a bit of the world with the military, it is clear that Nathan Helsley is happy to have been led back home. He is once again enjoying life on the family farm where he grew up in Hartville and is also helping keep his neighbors in business through his mechanical service and repair business.
