Blazing trails for the next generation

A trailblazer with endless passion and fortitude, Barbara Jackson is a prominent businesswoman and cattle rancher in the Arizona livestock industry. She wholeheartedly believes that you can do whatever you want if you work hard enough, a lesson she learned early on from her mother.  Jackson attributes much of her success over the past 50 years to this mindset. “If you don’t motivate yourself, hardly anybody else is going to,” she says. With this drive, Jackson has blazed a trail and opened doors for women in agriculture.

Jackson was born into the cattle feeding world with her father, Carl Stevenson, one of the early cattle feeders in southern Arizona, starting in 1952. This region was popular for cattle feeding even before the Texas Panhandle and the High Plains. Stevenson was instrumental in the development of steam flaked corn, which changed the way cattle were fed. He was inducted into the Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame in 2020. Arizona had already inducted him into the Arizona Farm and Ranch Hall of Fame in 2012, an honor bestowed upon Jackson in 2025.

Growing up, Jackson always planned on joining the family cattle feeding business, Red Rock Feeding Co. near Red Rock, AZ. However, as the youngest of four children, she soon realized she would need to carve out her own path, and that she did. She graduated from Washington State University in 1976 with a degree in animal science and soon after joined Syntex Animal Health. Syntex was a leading animal health company, with a large portfolio of products including Synovex implants directed towards feedyards, a discipline young Jackson was very familiar with. “I had communicated regularly with the pharmaceutical sales representatives at our feedyard, and I realized I could do that job,” Jackson told WLJ.

In the late 1970s, women in agriculture sales positions were rare. “I wouldn’t say I was the only female animal health sales rep, but I was probably one of the first that lasted,” she recalled. Jackson proved her tenacity spending 10 years with Syntex covering the Pacific Northwest, the Texas Panhandle and New Mexico. She was the first national accounts coordinator and then relocated to the head office in Des Moines, IA, to lead marketing and public relations efforts.

“When I started, there were only 14 of us on the national sales team. I was the only woman in that room. It was a male-dominated cattle industry,” Jackson said. “Yet, the cattlemen I worked with were always respectful. I came from a well-respected family in the business and never tried to bluff anyone. If I didn’t know the answer, I was honest about it and let them know I will get the correct answer.”

With significant animal health sales experience in her portfolio and many miles traveled by making countless visits to feedyards and ranches, in 1987, Jackson was ready to return home to Arizona, a landscape she had missed. In her first week back home, she met Tim Jackson, whom she would later marry. 

Animal health entrepreneur

“I did marketing consulting for companies like Walco and Elanco for a couple of years before Tim and I launched Animal Health Express in 1990, a mail-order animal health supply business,” she said. At the time, there were similar businesses in the Midwest, but nothing like it out West, and she recognized a need given the differences in public land use and the vastness of western ranches. Tim’s background in the cattle business and his education provided the financial planning and management side of the business.

Initially, the Jacksons partnered with Walco’s Willard Wall but later bought out his share. They also operate a feed store business in Tucson, AZ, called Vaquero Feed and Livestock Supply. In total, 12 employees help support the business and are managed by Jackson. Animal health products can be purchased through the website or ordered via the printed catalog with products sold and shipped to 20-25 states monthly. The most prominent sales areas include Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Utah and Nevada.

After operating the business for 35 years, Jackson is well-respected for her insight and ability to communicate effectively with feedlot managers and ranchers. She is often the one presenting at customer educational meetings, aiming to explain animal health protocols in layman’s terms to help find a solution for her customers.

“What I’ve enjoyed most are the people—the customers, ranchers and cattlewomen—who are truly the heart of this industry,” she said. “In the pharmaceutical world, I find great fulfillment in helping bring advanced science and technology to the field in a practical, usable way. It’s been rewarding to see game-changing products truly make a difference in the cattle industry, even if some still prefer doing things the traditional way.”

Jackson’s devotion to the industry extends beyond her business. She has actively given back, serving as the American National CattleWomen president in 2013, following in the footsteps of her mother who served as the National Cowbelle president in 1970. “My mother, Pat, passed at an early age, but she inspired me to get involved,” Jackson said. “I always admired the passionate women who promoted beef even before the checkoff existed.”

Jackson understands her leadership is her way of influencing and empowering others to go forward and make a difference. “You can’t do it by yourself; you have to have a team.” Currently, she serves the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association as chair of the Cattle Health and Well Being Committee, a perfect fit with her animal health expertise and understanding of its connection to the production of a safe and quality beef product. Her vision for the cattle industry is to be more cohesive across all segments recognizing and realizing the value and impact each segment has on the consumer’s dinner table.

Lessons learned

Gaining invaluable insights from the path she has walked, she firmly believes, “One of the most important lessons I’ve learned is that people do business with people—whether it’s a little mom-and-pop small-town feed store or a Fortune 500 company, relationships matter,” Jackson said. “If two people sitting across the desk from each other don’t like each other a deal isn’t going to happen—it’s still people doing business with people.”

As a trailblazer breaking barriers, she shares this advice for the next generation of women or young industry leaders. “Follow your passion, work hard, be honest and never compromise your goals nor your integrity. Always remember that in this industry, your reputation travels fast.”  She watched her dad do major deals with a handshake, so it was simple when she and Willard Wall shook hands and Animal Health Express was launched.

Jackson is thrilled to see more production roles opening for women from feedlot managers to order buyers, but she cautions, “You’ve got to perform—whether you’re a man or a woman, you have got to do your job.” She encourages the next generation to be knowledgeable and not be afraid to ask questions. Also, in this time of texting and emails, she can’t emphasize enough the importance of building social skills crucial for relationship building. In addition, she said, “Someone wiser than me said, ‘When you start a project or a goal, start with the end in mind. Where do you want to be? What is success? If you can’t define it before you start, how do you know when you get there that you have reached your goal?’”

After nearly five decades in the pharmaceutical business Jackson says she loves what she does but is aware that it’s time to start thinking about enjoying a slower pace. Her husband has been managing their small cow-calf operation near Sonoita, AZ, for the past 11 years. “I’d like to slow down a little, work alongside my husband with the cows, and finish renovating a 100-year-old ranch house,” Jackson said.

As she looks forward to enjoying more time on the ranch, her passion for the cattle industry and her lasting impact will continue to inspire generations of women. Her achievements as a respected animal health sales professional, co-owner and operator of a leading agricultural company, and recognized industry leader reflect the trail she blazed and the opportunities she helped create.