The Jorgensen story began in 1909 when Martin, Sr., an immigrant from Denmark, and his wife, Gertrude, homesteaded land near Ideal, South Dakota. From 1909 to the 1930s the young married couple withstood drought, bitter cold and insects, and managed to raise crops, turkeys, hogs and a family of eight children.

The 1930s were devastating to the Jorgensen family. They lost their homestead and struggled to survive. However, they persevered and eventually bought back land for the back taxes. The '30s also added one more element to the Jorgensen family's daily routine — a small herd of cattle. Nobody was conscious of it at the time, but the hardships of the cruel world were beginning to mold one of the livestock industry's greatest innovators. The basic training of "survive and adapt" would leave an everlasting impression on Martin, Jr.

By the 1940s, the Jorgensen family expanded their operation and sons Martin Jr. and Don were playing a dominant role. Martin took over the cattle breeding aspect of the operation and Don specialized in crops and cattle feeding. Martin's early exposure to tough realities was about to pay its first dividend. Life had been demanding and unforgiving of him and his family and he weren't asking or expecting things to change. His philosophy on breeding cattle would be equally demanding. Excuses weren't even a consideration. Cattle that failed to perform could not be economically tolerated — it was just that simple. Cattle would have to adapt to the daily, present environment and available nutrition without notice, just as the Jorgensen family had to do.

During this time, the cornerstone sires for the Jorgensen program would be acquired through the American Breeders Service (ABS). ABS had recently obtained 15 young performance-tested bulls and Jorgensen was impressed with a bull named Skylandmere because of his certified meat sire rating and his appearance (a complete departure from other bulls of the day). Jorgensen acquired Skylandmere 2058 and immediately the entire cow herd was bred to him. Later interests in Rito N Bar and Algoma Bardoliermere 48 were acquired and the Jorgensen genetics were in place.

Jorgensen Land & Cattle now encompasses 1,000 cows and 16,000 acres. Martin, Jr.'s oldest son, Greg, now manages the cattle portion of the family farm and son, Bryan, manages the crop operation. The operation has even expanded into the fourth generation of the Jorgensens with Cody, son of Greg, managing cattle marketing and pheasant hunting. Jorgensen's culture today is much like that of a hundred years ago — a tradition built around family.