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Feeders, Packers and Industry Leaders

Norman Timmerman: Marine Veteran Who Helped Grow a Family Feeding Business

He hauled cattle to the stockyards before school, then spent more than 50 years building the family business with his three brothers.

Who Was Norman Timmerman?

Norman Alois Timmerman, called Norm, was a Nebraska cattle feeder and one of four brothers who grew Timmerman & Sons Feeding Co. into a multistate business. The Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame inducted him in 2022, and his Hall of Fame biography lists him with NA Timmerman, Inc., of Indianola, Nebraska.

A Drovers obituary says he was born on September 24, 1946, in Omaha to Leo Otto and Irene Meister Timmerman, one of seven children, and died on December 18, 2023, in McCook, Nebraska, at age 77.

Growing Up in a Cattle Feeding Family

The Hall of Fame says Norm was one of six children in a cattle feeding family, while the obituary counts seven, so sources differ on the sibling total. Both agree the family business shaped his childhood. As a teenager he hauled cattle to the stockyards before school.

He graduated from high school in Omaha in 1964 and attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. From 1966 to 1968 he served in the U.S. Marine Corps. The Hall of Fame notes that this was the only time he was away from the cattle feeding industry.

The family business he joined was already moving out of Omaha, where the stockyards had long set the terms for cattle trading. Leo's decision to sell the Omaha site in 1960 and open at Springfield is the move that put the family in feeding country.

Building Timmerman & Sons With His Brothers

In 1971 Norm and his brothers Gerald, James and Ronnie took over the business started by their father Leo. The Timmerman family success story says the company grew into a network of eight feedyards in Nebraska, Colorado and Kansas with one-time capacity of more than 90,000 head.

The Hall of Fame says the brothers spent more than 50 years expanding into eight states, with feedyards of combined 90,000-head capacity, ranches and a beef packing plant. The obituary says seven states, so the exact count of states depends on the source and the year.

NA Timmerman, Inc.

In 2012 the Timmerman companies split so each family branch could run its own operations. Norm and his wife Sharon formed NA Timmerman, Inc., a family company owned with their children and in-laws. It operates feedyards in Nebraska, Colorado and Kansas, plus grass leases and backgrounding partners, with a one-time capacity of about 100,000 head.

The company focuses on high-quality cattle that perform well on the grid, meaning cattle sold on carcass quality and yield rather than live weight alone. That focus fits a broader move in beef toward paying for quality.

The Key to Norm's Success

The sources describe a feeder shaped by the family business and by discipline. He began young, spent his one break from cattle in the Marines, and spent the rest of his life working with family.

The record is positive and the sources do not discuss setbacks, so the lessons here are limited to what was written down. The Hall of Fame quotes his saying that hard work will give you a lot of luck.

Taken together, the 2022 Hall of Fame page and the obituary describe a man who spent nearly all his working life in one industry, which is itself a kind of lesson about loyalty to a trade. His brothers Gerald, James and Ron survived him, along with his wife Sharon, his three children and eight grandchildren.

  • He started early, hauling cattle before school as a teenager.
  • He stayed with family: he and three brothers built the business together for more than 50 years.
  • He accepted a split in 2012 so each branch could run its own operation, and formed NA Timmerman with his own family.
  • He focused on quality cattle that perform on a grid-based marketing system.
  • He served on numerous boards, including church, school, cattle industry and community boards.

Service and the Timmerman Endowment

Norm and Sharon established the Leo O. and Irene Timmerman Feedyard Management Specialization Program Fund, a permanent endowment at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln honoring his parents. The fund supports a specialization program in feedyard management at the university.

For more on how families carry cattle businesses forward, see farm.FM's ranching section or a farm.FM story about a Nebraska feeding family.

Timeline

  1. 1946Born September 24 in Omaha, Nebraska
  2. 1964Graduates from high school in Omaha
  3. 1966Begins service in the U.S. Marine Corps
  4. 1968Leaves the Marines and marries Sharon Guthrie on June 15
  5. 1971Begins the family business with brothers Gerald, James and Ronnie
  6. 2012Forms NA Timmerman, Inc.
  7. 2022Inducted into the Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame
  8. 2023Dies December 18 in McCook, Nebraska

Frequently asked questions

Who was Norman Timmerman?

Norman Timmerman (1946-2023) was a Nebraska cattle feeder who built Timmerman & Sons with his brothers and formed NA Timmerman, Inc., in 2012. He was inducted into the Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame in 2022.

What is NA Timmerman, Inc.?

It is a family feeding company formed in 2012 by Norm and Sharon Timmerman and their children. It has feedyards in Nebraska, Colorado and Kansas, with one-time capacity of about 100,000 head.

What did Norm Timmerman give to the University of Nebraska?

He and his wife Sharon created the Leo O. and Irene Timmerman Feedyard Management Specialization Program Fund, a permanent endowment at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln that honors his parents.

Sources and further reading

Profiles are compiled from public sources and reviewed against them. See our editorial policy to suggest a correction.

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