Daniel Dalton, a 6th generation cattleman, spent his first 10 years of life in Tuttle, Idaho, on the family beef cattle and dairy operations. From the time he could walk, he was with his dad learning the works of the trade. His family relocated to Snowville, Utah, where his father managed 400 head cow-calf and 50 fox-trotter broodmare outfit for Juddabeth/Flinder’s Ranches. Working alongside his dad and two younger brothers, the love of cattle, horses and agriculture were deeply implanted in Dalton’s heart.
After high school, he worked for Rose Ranch also in Snowville, Utah. His roles included calving first-calf heifers and mature cows. After turning 19, he chose to serve a 2-year volunteer church mission in Roseville, Ca. Upon his return, he was happy to be back in the saddle at the Rose Ranch, assisting with the broodmare operation, purebred Red Angus and commercial cows.
In 2010 he earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural systems and technology- agribusiness emphasis with minors in agricultural economics and animal science from Utah State University. During his college years, he assisted with terminal cross cows and stocker calves in a grow yard and pasture setting at Summer’s Cattle Company. During Dalton’s senior year in college, he interned at Deseret Cattle and Citrus in Saint Cloud, Fla., working on the seed stock unit calving the first set of Deseret Red breed on the ranch and a commercial cow-calf unit. During his time in Florida, he experienced an entirely different ranching setting than the mountains of Utah and Idaho.
Dalton was pleased to accept a job as a herdsman with a sister ranch, the Rex Ranch in the Sandhills of Nebraska. He spent 3 years as a herdsman on the Eldred Unit overseeing the calving of mature cows, second-calf heifers, and first-calf heifers with the herd size of 700-900 head. While calving the first-calf heifers in a 40-day window, he oversaw two interns and 12 senior year vet students from Colorado State University. Dalton was also responsible for 1,000 head of yearling heifers during those years. He was the primary care taker of 19,000 acres using management intensive grazing practices, balancing rations, and yearly budget. In his fourth year, Dalton was promoted to a foreman on the 60,000 acre Abbott unit supervising two herdsman and interns while completing his own herdsman responsibilities. During his time on the Rex Ranch, Dalton served as safety committee chairman and sat on the standard operating procedure committee.
Dalton is married to Jesse Mae, a past state FFA officer who has an agricultural education degree. They have two sons, Cinch and Chauncey.