On a quiet gravel road outside of Rockham, S.D., visitors are more likely to see a pheasant cross their path than another vehicle. Flanked by green pastures dotted with black cows and fields of crops peeking through the soil, this road leads to the longtime home of Baxter Angus Farm. More recently, through a unique partnership and the shared ambitions of two cattlemen, Jandel Angus Ranch has planted roots here as well. 

Mark Baxter is the last generation of his family to raise cattle on this farm. A lifelong steward of the land, he has a commitment to leaving things better than he found them. Without a traditional succession plan, Baxter found a way to make certain this land continues to thrive and opened the gate for the next generation to succeed in agriculture. 

Today, Baxter farms and raises cattle in the same place his grandfather homesteaded, a farm his father worked to build until his untimely death in 1988. At 26 years old and in the height of the farm crisis, Baxter lost his father and became solely responsible for the operation’s management and survival. 

“It makes you step up,” Baxter says. “You’ve kind of got to do it, or not. So, you do it.” 

From the time of his father’s passing until just a few years ago, the farm’s cattle numbers grew. Baxter bought his first registered Angus cows in 1992 and continued to develop his seedstock operation, only saving registered replacement heifers and becoming a trusted source of high-quality bulls for cattlemen in the region. The farm hosted its first live sale in 2009, and today auctions about 60 bulls and 40 heifers each spring. 

The family’s original homeplace remains at the heart of the operation, now consisting of about 400 cows and close to 1,500 acres of row crops.Nearly all the fields and pasture ground are situated off that same gravel road.

“We’re never more than 10 miles from home,” he says.

Beyond expanding the cow herd and crop ground, Baxter took the responsibility of caring for his family’s land to heart. Through conservation efforts, earning him national recognition, he works diligently to preserve his pieces of the South Dakota prairie and its ecosystems. 

On any given day, he can be found moving fish from his traps to ponds in other pastures or keeping an eye on the bald eagles nested in one of the farm’s tallest trees. From the cover crops that span acres down to the dung beetles, Baxter constantly seeks ways to keep nature’s operations in harmony with his own. A simple belief drives these efforts: a thriving environment encourages cows to thrive. 

“If you have healthy grass and a healthy ecosystem, it surely has to be better for the cattle, too,” Baxter says.

After decades of caring for the land, Baxter considers who will tend it next. Although he has no children, another set of capable hands has proven willing to take on this responsibility.

That appreciation was mutual. Baxter says he knew the effort they put forth in everything they did.

“The whole family, they’re go-getters. They just don’t quit, they don’t give up,” Baxter says. “No matter if it’s in sports or in real life, they just work very hard.”

Perhaps it’s no surprise that Jandel found a way to fulfill his long-held goal to work with Baxter. An arrangement which now seems nearly as synchronous as the ecosystem functioning around them, Jandel and Baxter struggle to put their finger on exactly how it came to be. 

After graduating from South Dakota State University and helping his brother and several friends find opportunities with Baxter over the years, Jandel thought maybe it was his turn.

“I kind of just started showing up and helping with anything that needed done,” Jandel says. 

This quickly became a unique partnership, built on a handshake and a mutual understanding of “whatever it takes” to get the job done. The relationship developed organically as they focused on addressing the farm’s daily needs together.

“You don’t have to tell Jade what to do — I don’t even try to keep up with him anymore,” Baxter laughs. “There was a time when nobody could keep up with me, but you get to a certain age when stuff starts to hurt more, and you can’t bend over.”

Jandel might have been considered an employee in the beginning, but it soon became evident this was something different. 

Earned, not given

As the pair established deep trust and respect for each other, Baxter presented Jandel opportunities to lease farm ground, rent grass and run cows in shared facilities, and purchase the quarter of land where Jandel built his family’s home and calving barn, opening the door for Jandel Angus Ranch to flourish. 

“Nothing has really been given,” Jandel says. “I’ve had to do it all hard and right, and I think you should have to do it that way — otherwise you don’t have an appreciation for any of it.”

Today, Jandel owns the larger majority of the cows on the operation, and calves nearly 800 head a year between custom calving and his own herd. The annual sale book now displays both ranch names on the cover, representing their true partnership.

As their relationship evolves, they continue to lean on each other to ensure it all gets done with no job descriptions needed. 

“We just work really well together,” Jandel says. “Calving, sale preparation, farming, feeding — we do it together.” 

Shared philosophies

Despite being from different generations and families, Baxter and Jandel find their thoughts generally align.

“All the weird stuff Mark does, I’m right there on board with him,” Jandel laughs. “We just mesh together — we’re very, very similar people.”

The pair credits their shared philosophies on life, land, and the cattle business. Baxter and Jandel constantly pitch each other new ideas, problem-solving and pursuing their goals together. Whether researching a new pasture management strategy or discussing how to maintain enough worms in the soil, they seek ways for the operation and the cows to prosper. 

Just like Baxter and Jandel show up each day willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done, they expect their cattle to work for them, too. Both strive to raise good-doing, real-world cattle, and share an appreciation for the Angus breed. 

“Mark has always excelled in raising the kind of bulls I like,” Jandel says. “They don’t fall apart and they last long, with good feet.”

Jandel has built his cow herd around the same philosophies, placing emphasis on maternal cattle with excellent udders. 

“I just want to constantly get better — the best I can do and afford,” Jandel explains. “You can’t compete with Angus cows.”

As the cattle advance and improve, Jandel and Baxter hope to do the same, working diligently to provide them the best possible environment to thrive.

With their minds usually focused on what needs accomplished next, Baxter says it’s important to step back and remember the big picture. 

“Everybody has a mountain they want to go see and climb,” Baxter says. “If you don’t step back and make your life easier, or if you wait too long, you’re never going to go see that mountain — let alone be able to climb it.” 

This mindset helps shape Baxter’s current priorities, which look different than they did 30 years ago. 

“When you’re young, your goals are different than when you’re retired,” he says. “You keep adding on and adding on, and all of a sudden, you realize you can’t do it all.”

While Baxter doesn’t consider himself retired, he recognizes he’s at a different phase of life than Jandel. As Jandel builds his herd and operation, Baxter has scaled back. He no longer keeps replacement heifers and gradually decreases his share of the cow numbers. 

“I’d expect Jade to soon have 300 cows, and that will just about get me out of the cow business,” Baxter says. 

Today he focuses on the passion projects he couldn’t devote time to in the decades before, shifting his efforts from building infrastructure to creating habitat for wildlife. Baxter is now able to prioritize planting tree groves to serve as winter sanctuary for pheasants, and native prairie grasses, which reach heights above his head. Perhaps his greatest act of stewardship, he supports Jandel’s efforts to ensure he can care for this land in the next generation.

Just one “yes”

Many struggle to find their footing in agriculture without a family farm to inherit. Jandel hopes his story is a testament to the power of working hard in the direction of your dreams, because all it takes is one word to change everything.

“As long as you’re chasing your dreams, you can hear ‘no’ a thousand times; but just one ‘yes’ can change your life,” Jandel says. “Take advantage of the ‘yes,’ and you can make anything possible.”

Mark Baxter represents the other side of the equation — farms lacking the next generation to carry on the operation. 

“Guys my age and my dad’s age did a terrible thing to agriculture. We told these kids they couldn’t do it,” Baxter says. He recalls the realities of the farm crisis, as families encouraged their children to pursue careers off the farm.

Baxter and Jandel agree that while their situation seems rare, it’s possible. They hope fellow aspiring and retiring cattlemen alike will consider embracing this type of partnership. 

“You’ve got your dreamers, but they’re thinking they can’t do the whole thing,” Baxter says. “Dreams don’t come as whole things. Dreams come in little, tiny pieces.”

Those little pieces continue coming together for Jandel. He hopes eventually those pieces will be a legacy he can pass on to the next generation. Jandel and his wife, Jenna, have three children, Cleo (7), Kane (5), and Holland (7 months), who he anticipates will one day care for the ranch as much as he does. Today, they help with chores where they can and enjoy riding in the tractor with their dad. 

Just as they care for the land, Baxter and Jandel value serving people through various roles in their community. Jandel is an active youth sports coach and serves as vice president of the South Dakota Angus Association. Baxter was named the 2025 South Dakota Angus Association Breeder of the Year, is recognized for his conservation work, and even serves as sexton of the local Rockham cemetery.

Both men can recount stories of their homesteads spanning generations, their devotion to protecting its future evident in both their reverence for its history and their daily efforts. 

“When you love it and you work your tail off for it, you have a different appreciation for it,” Jandel says. 

Baxter credits their progress to a simple mindset.

“The only thing that got Jade where he is, and got me where I am, is we don’t accept failure,” he says. “And even when we were failing, we didn’t know it — we just kept going.”

Despite challenges, they remain faithful in their stewardship — of the cattle, of the ecosystem, and the generations of agriculturalists to come. Like the prairie and all the animals who call it home, Baxter and Jandel have found a way to just keep going, preserving it and their own legacies along the way. 

Editor’s note: Peyton Schmitt is a freelance writer from Saint Paul, Neb.