Jim Bradford, owner of Brad Z Ranch near Guthrie Center, Iowa, has been raising Angus cattle since a few years after his 1956 Iowa State University graduation. While at Iowa State, he was a member of the 1955 national champion collegiate livestock judging team at the Chicago International Live Stock Exposition. By 1970, Bradford shared ownership of two bulls that would help him begin to build his reputation as a producer of quality cattle: Big John and Atlas Marshall. Jim and his wife, Mary, bought a farm in Guthrie County, Iowa, moving there in 1970. They raised their nine children on that farm.

Initially known as Bradford Brothers Angus, the farm was renamed Brad Z Ranch in a show of gratitude to Walt Zimmerer, who bought a major interest in the farm during the 1980s farm crisis. In the 1970s and 1980s, Bradford served on the Iowa Beef Industry Board, the National Beef Board and the American Angus Association Board. He judged many national and state cattle shows, as well as some international, including an Australian show. In 2002, Jim and Mary were recognized by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) as regional Environmental Stewardship Award winners. In 2008, Bradford was recognized with an alumni of merit award from Iowa State University’s Gamma Sigma Delta, an honor society of agriculture. Wallaces Farmer recognized Bradford with an Iowa Master Farmer Award in 2011. Today, the Bradfords continue to raise Angus cattle with a few Angus- Simmental composites.