Jared and Alisen Anderson have diverse farming backgrounds
Jared and Alisen Anderson have been farming in Miami, Okla., for seven years.
They own 900 acres of cropland that they grow a soybean, wheat and corn rotation and a family ranch that run about 300 head of commercial Angus cows.
Jared and Alisen were both raised on farms. Jared grew up in Australia on a large ranch until 1997 when he moved to Miami, Okla. A three-year drought impacted his decision to move – plus his family wanted to ranch in America. Jared has been in Oklahoma for 20 years.
Alisen moved from Columbia City, Ind., to Miami in 2007 to begin her college education at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College in agriculture education.
Alisen worked on her family’s diversified livestock and crop farm for 12 years before starting college.
Jared is a full-time farmer and Alisen is a full-time instructor at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College, where she teaches soil science, plant and soil science, agriculture leadership, agriculture engineering, pasture and range management, and other courses.
“I am over a few clubs at NEO – Young Farmers and Ranchers, Agriculture Education Club, Co-Sponsor of Agriculture Ambassadors – and Jared and I are Farm Bureau members, Young Farmers and Ranchers members and we attend many seminars over crops and cows,” Alisen said.
Jared and Alisen were influenced by their grandparents and parents to farm because they both came from long standing farming families. Alison said they were encouraged to farm because they felt like it was their calling to help feed the world.
“It is our responsibility to fulfill his blessing and the passion that Jared has for agriculture and farming really makes me excited about every season that we go through,” Alisen said. “Our passion for agriculture is rooted in the history of both of our families. What ignites our passion is when we get to see a lightbulb turn on in a student’s mind when they’re learning about the growth and development of plants or watching our daughter help do chores. We only get more excited about bettering the world to better feed the world. That is what the passion is all about.”
Over the next five years Jared, and Alisen hope to expand their operation to better combat declining commodity prices and have a few hundred more acres. The Andersons currently sell crops to co-ops and plants like Tyson and beef at Joplin Stockyards. They would like to see more sales out through the year.
The Andersons have multiple plans for their lifetime goal for their farm to grow, their whole goal is to pass the operation down to the next generation. They want their daughter Grace and nephews to have the opportunity to live this life of farming.
“When raising Grace into agriculture we immerse her in what the life is all about. If she doesn’t want to take this path in life, at the very least she’ll have a great appreciation for the 2 percent of people that feed the other 98 percent,” Alisen said.
Alisen said balancing work, farming and family can get tough, but she handles everything in life through her faith. She said it’s a lifestyle that can bring an unbelievable amount of stress.
“The trick is learning to combat the stress with the good aspects of life. God knew that I needed God in all realms of my life so that is a great influence. Everyone needs a Jared in their life,” Alisen said.
The Anderson Farm has one employee, Loren Decker, Alisen’s brother. The Andersons also contracted Jared’s father to transport their grain.
Alisen said communication is key when farming and working, especially when working with a partner or spouse, and although farming can be taxing, it’s also rewarding.
“All parties have to be willing to share their opinion and make decisions to better the operation as a whole. Communication is vital for any relationship, but key for a business relationship,” Alisen said. “If you are a new farmer or fixing to start up your own farm, you should be prepared for things not to go your way. Be prepared to work seven days a week. Be prepared to make tough decisions to better your operation very early. Although, it could be very trying, always be thankful that God chose you to be a Shepherd of his land. What an incredible blessing.”
