How the Christman Family Balances Farming, Ranching, and Family

He’s a fifth-generation farmer. She’s a fourth-generation rancher.

Those are the roles Jordan and Jacki Christman know and love, and when they got married in 2010, they decided there was no need to change them. Now, in addition to raising their daughter, Citti, 10, and sons Cahan, 11, and Conway, 8, they manage their own areas of expertise within JC Farms but help each other when needed.

Jordan grew up farming with his dad and grandpa in southwest North Dakota’s Adams County. The county diagonally to the southwest is Harding County, South Dakota, where Jacki grew up on her family’s Price Ranch, riding horses and raising cattle and sheep.

The skills Jordan and Jacki learned are vastly different, but their kids are learning both disciplines from the start at the family’s home, JC Farms in Adams County. They are also learning about business and entrepreneurship: Last year, they sold enough sweet corn and eggs to buy a pony!

Growing Crops

Jordan says his family traditionally grew about 90% spring wheat and 10% sun-flowers, which was common for the area. When the Red Trail Energy ethanol plant in Richardton, North Dakota, about 75 miles north, began production in 2007, that started to change.

“There was very little corn out here in western North Dakota, so we wondered where they were going to get the corn, but we started growing it in 2008 and we’ve helped fill the void,” Jordan says. “They haven’t had to ship a trainload in for many years.”

Last year, Jordan stepped away from sun-flowers and now grows spring wheat, corn, canola, and soybeans. He has been Adams County’s top wheat producer multiple times. 

He has two full-time employees, and during harvest, his dad, an uncle, and a few part-time hands join the crew. Jacki hops on a tractor or in a com-bine when needed as well. “He does it because he loves it,” Jacki says. “I do it because I love him.”

Other farmers have offered to rent Jordan their land after seeing his work. While he has taken on some additional ground and now farms around 12,500 acres, he says: “I don’t have the de-sire to get a whole lot bigger. I like to run equipment. I’m the only one that sprays and plants corn. If I get much bigger, I’ll just be managing people, and keeping up on paperwork, and buying high-dollar equipment for everyone else to drive. I don’t want to be that kind of farmer.”

Raising Cattle

Jacki started her herd with 10 bred heifers her parents gifted her for college graduation. “When Jordan and I started dating, he said I should bring them up here and get into the cattle business. So I did and bought some others from my folks too,” she says.

“She was just using me for my pasture,” Jordan says, with a laugh.

 What started as a herd of 50 has grown to 325 black Angus. “That’s the number that’s manageable for us, since our corrals and barns are only so big,” Jacki says. “We’re really happy with that. Calving takes place in March and April, so it’s finished before Jordan starts planting.” That allows the couple to help each other during those busy seasons. Jordan also has been known to hop on a horse and help move cattle when needed.

Even though Harding and Adams counties are physically close, they are geographically distinct, with different ranching styles. “Where my folks are from, it’s really big country, so they might run 200 or 300 head in one pasture system, and around here, you’re lucky if you can run 50 head,” Jacki says. “We have more farm ground here because if it’s breakable, people would rather farm it. There’s a lot more running around, even though we don’t have as many cows.”

The couple also puts up their own hay, plus hay for Jacki’s parents and brother, who don’t usually get as good a crop. The Christmans help on her family’s ranch when needed, and her folks help them with the kids and other things. It’s a win-win situation, Jacki says.

Sharing Their Lives

In 2019, Jacki started sharing posts and videos from the farm on social media. At first, it was a way for friends and family to see what was going on. Then, a local television station did a story on them, and their audience grew to a few thousand. Now, more than 110,000 people follow JC Farms on Facebook. Their most viral video has had more than 12 mil-lion views.

“For the most part, we have a very good following, and they’re very positive,” Jacki says. “They just love it. We have people from the UK, Africa, and all over. I try to explain why we do things. People think that everybody in ag is a big corporation, but behind almost every operation is a family. It frustrates me that so many people do not know where their food is coming from. They just have no idea.”

Moving Forward 

Jordan says he’d like to keep buying more of the land he farms and keep his machinery and technology up-to-date. The Christmans also would like to bring their kids into the business someday.

For now, though, they’re enjoying their busy lives, complete with farming and ranching, plus school and 4-H activities. “I grew up ranching but never thought I’d have the opportunity to ranch on my own,” Jacki says. “We’re pretty darned fortunate to live where we live and do what we do.”