Post 5 Cattle Co

Meet the people who raise beef in Washington. These local family farmers and ranchers work hard to feed their families, and yours! Will and Nicole sat down for a question and answer session and here is what we learned!

Meet Your Rancher:

Describe your farm/ranch:

“We run a feed yard where we finish beef cattle and have a cow-calf herd.”

What are your roles on the farm?

Will: “I’m the full-time owner/operator of Post 5 Cattle. That includes the day-to-day of feeding, doctoring, processing, and over-all monitoring and decision making for the cattle in the feed yard. We feed natural calves on corn stalks as well as caring for the cow-calf herd.”

Nicole: “I own an operate a consulting business for organic and Global GAP standards and I’m a contract inspector for organic certification. I’m in the process of certifying some calves as organic and intend on branching Post 5 into the world of direct marketing with these calves.”

What is your educational background?

Will: “I graduated from WSU with a B.S in Agriculture where I also played a little football...”

Nicole: “I have a B.S in Crop Science from WSU.”

Of all the options, WHY did you choose to raise cattle for a living?

Will: “Caring for cattle is my first love. It’s how I grew up and what I love to do. I love waking up in the morning to go feed big, fat healthy calves. After deciding to not play in the NFL, I decided I really wanted my future children to grow up with the same lifestyle that I had growing up. ”

Nicole: “We are making that a reality day by day.”

What's your favorite part of your job? Why?

Will: “I like watching weaned calves grow to their full potential and taking care of them.”

Nicole:“Mine is watching baby calves born healthy during calving season.”

"Caring for cattle is my first love. It’s how I grew up and what I love to do."

- Will Derting, Post 5 Cattle Co. | Ephrata, WA

What are your dreams and goals for the future?

“Our goal is to keep growing every year, both on the feed yard and cow/calf side, as well as continuing to embrace new technologies and applying it to make for healthier, stronger calves and the best quality beef for people to serve their own families.”

What do you see as your biggest challenges to being successful?

“Starting out as a first generation business as opposed to going back to an established family operation.”

What are you most proud of as a cattle feeder and rancher?

Will: “We are proud that we feed the world, and are keeping a tradition alive. Knowing that our children will grow up with the same lifestyle I did is really important to us and keeps us focused when we face challenges.”