Farm Family of the Year: Frost Farms

Farm Family of the Year

Frost Farms

2021 IBA Farm Family of the Year, Frost Farms of Tallula, is an “average” farm family that is anything but average.

by Joli A. Hohenstein

While Rachel and Cimeron Frost are certainly honored by their selection as IBA 2021 Farm Family of the Year, they’re equally certain that they aren’t so different from other farms in the industry. Yet an entire industry, not just in the state but across the country, would disagree.

As their son Tony says, “There’s not a function you go to without having someone ask if you’re Cim Frost’s son.”

With passion, knowledge and a never-ending well of equal parts innovation and hard work, Cimeron and Rachel built a cattle operation that’s known for honesty, integrity and quality – tenets Tony along with brother Nathan carry on today.

A story like this might often come with a “born into this life” narrative, and while that’s true for Rachel, as Cimeron says, “My story is totally different.”

Born in Chicago’s Cook County, he moved to Lake County on the Wisconsin line at the age of 6. His father was

a general contractor, so they didn’t have livestock – but the farm across the road did, and that’s where Cimeron spent most of his time, “hanging around” the cattle and developing his passion for the animals.

Meanwhile, Rachel was growing up in the cattle industry in Menard County, mostly working with Angus, the product of a farm from the state after ComEd’s failed bid to mine it was derailed by the discovery of high-sulfur coal. A farm kid through and through, she was heavily involved in 4-H (but not FFA, because girls weren’t allowed back then). The University of Illinois didn’t discriminate though, and she went on to earn an animal science degree and be accepted into vet school at Oklahoma State University. But then, she met a guy named Cimeron Frost.

By the time the two met at the Illinois State Fair, when a mutual acquaintance suggested her as a great resource for show assistance, Cimeron had been drafted into the U.S. Army for two years and served at the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). He moved to an Oklahoma ranch to work and show cattle, coming to the State Fair with them. Instantly hitting it off, the couple continued to connect at fairs and shows all over the country, from Houston to Jackson and Denver.

When the Oklahoma ranch dissolved, Cimeron looked at a job in New York, but eventually decided on coming back to Illinois to work cattle with Rachel’s father. Vet school in Champaign was too far away, so Rachel made the decision to stay and help work the farm. “My dad would summer and breed heifers, and they also did purebred stuff,” she explains.

The couple started leasing farm ground and built their herd up to about 200 head. For the Frosts, their story is that simple to tell. As Cimeron says, “We were very fortunate that a lot of things fell into place.” A little more digging, and they’ll tell you that they grew the herd right along with their family, that her dad and Cimeron worked tirelessly together

Cimeron Frost (right) as IBA Director of Industry Relations

Nathan, Gretchen, Tony and Chelsea Frost at the 1998 Lamoine Valley Angus Field Day

Cimeron Frost on the cover of Illinois Beef

Cimeron Frost with Rep. Rich Brauer (R)

Doug Turner & Cimeron Frost receiving recognition at the Illinois Beef Expo with the heifers to create that core cow herd, that at times their pasture ground was so spread out that some days they’d drive upwards of 75-80 miles a day to check it all. Rachel handled all of the AI work while Cimeron focused on the feeding and growing, and they both did any job at any time. Through the years, “we evolved just like the industry did,” says Rachel, reinventing themselves along the way to build a reputation of “real talk” and honesty.

When a family corporation out of Florida bought up the ComEd ground, they took it as a sign that it was time to reinvent again. Already heavily involved with the Illinois Beef Association – he was part of the committee that created the Illinois Beef Expo – Cimeron took a full-time job as director of industry relations with the IBA.

That involvement not only helped him nurture the industry he loves, but also his own family and business. “He gained the confidence of the farmers; they knew we were real and honest,” says Rachel. The couple slowly pulled back the herd to about 100 head, and Cimeron devoted his extra time to the IBA along with other industry organizations. He served as the Menard County Fair Board Beef Superintendent, the Illinois Angus Association (IAA) Sale Manager and was the IAA President and on the IAA board for many years. Together, Rachel & Cimeron chaired the 1986 National Junior Angus Show, chaired the 1999 North Central Regional Jr. Angus Show and served as Lamoine Valley Junior Angus Advisors for many years.

All the while, Rachel was still working the farm with their growing family, while also furthering the industry in her own right through work with the Illinois Junior Angus Association (IJAA), American Angus Auxiliary, Menard County Farm Bureau Foundation Board, Porta FFA Alumni Association, the Menard County Fair Beef Committee and serving on the board of the Illinois Cattlewomen. With a passion for telling ag’s story, she also serves local communities as an Ag in the Classroom educator.

As she taught kids the impact of ag, Cimeron traveled across the state and to Washington, DC, advocating about the Illinois beef industry’s impact. Named manager of the Illinois Beef Expo in 1988, he also helped grow the association’s presence with the development of the Ribeye Corral. It started in a tent, until Cimeron had the idea to have a two-story barn built and tucked between the rafters in the Commodity Pavilion.

Like everything the Frosts do, that became a family affair too: “When the kids were growing up, they worked in the Corral, painted the barn, showed at the State Fair,” he says. “The youngest (twins) worked in Conservation World at the Beef Stand, starting when they were eight years old.”

In fact, like Rachel, the kids were active in the operation from the start; she’ll tell you that work ethic is one of the best things farm kids take from the farm. “They learn to multitask, set priorities, talk to people, get along,” she says. “Our kids were up at 5 a.m. in the summers. They checked cows, fed cows; they negotiated between kids who would be there to do chores when they had sports. Our kids learned their skills from practical experience.”

Experience each one put to good work growing up and

Cimeron and Rachel Frost with grandchildren Paige, Weston, Greyson and Addison

beyond. All were heavily involved with 4-H, FFA and the the girls were involved in Illinois Angus royalty, and Chelsea was co-chairman of the Illinois Beef Expo Junior Show for six years. Today, all five are still involved in cattle businesses, along with their significant others. Erin lives in Timewell and is actively involved in McCaskill Farms with her husband, Matt, and children, Tait and Paige. Chelsea assists husband, Robbie, with show and sale cattle at farms and ranches in Oklahoma, Illinois and Texas, and is the office and show barn assistant at Barber Ranch, where Robbie is a manager. They live in Texas with daughter, Addison. Gretchen and her husband, Garrett, own Lampe Cattle, and she is a practicing veterinarian. They live in Tallula with sons, Weston and Grayson.

Tony owned a custom fitting business and was a show cattle manager at ranches in Oklahoma, Texas and Illinois. He lives in Tallula with his wife, Brittainy, and their son, Wyatt. Nathan also lives in Tallula and owns a custom fitting business for shows and sales, as well as a custom hay business.

About 10 years ago, Tony and Nathan began co-operating Frost Farms, which they’ve built back up to about 200 head. Rachel and Cimeron are still involved in the business of course, helping it grow and evolve. The farm expanded into Simmentals and Herefords, and also went digital. “We’ve kept up with the progression of the industry,” Rachel says. “For example, we do online sales – last year we did three. Those have exploded and really advance the industry.”

The farm still holds traditional sales as well – they have one coming up in the fall. “When the cattle sell, the boys’ expertise goes with it – they’ll guide you with feeding, will fit them if you want,” she explains. (Like their parents before them, though she won’t tell you that.)

While “purple isn’t everything,” as Rachel likes to say, the farm continues to produce exceptional animals that excel for both customers and even the smallest grandkids who show cattle. Purple banners, she says, were never the driver behind their farm. “Operating profitably and sustainably in the next generation, and continuing to support the families” – that’s how they’ll define success.

“It’s a way of life,” she explains. “We’re dedicated to this business, dedicated to improving as cattle producers. We are honest in what we do, and by being honest, then you are going to continue.” For the Frosts, it’s that simple.