There are Peterbilt fans, and there are Peterbilt fans, and Conrad Shada is the definition of one of the latter.
The independent owner-operator out of Anamosa, Iowa, got his start in trucking in May 2001. His father and grandfather ran two livestock auction markets and sold feeder cattle privately to local farmers. They had never had any trucks of their own, but Shada “caught the truck bug” at a young age and “always said from four to five years old I wanted to haul cattle for my dad and grandpa,” he said.
His grandfather knew this, but as the youngest of eight children who left school after the 8th grade, he told Conrad he had to get his education before he got into trucking.
After attending Iowa State University, Shada embarked on his long-envisioned trucking career.
“If it wasn’t for him telling me to do that, and he helped me get started, I don’t know if I would have made it through,” Shada said.
To this day, Shada remains in operation hauling cattle for his dad. He owns three trucks -- all Peterbilts, of course -- but just one Wilson livestock trailer. His operation, he said, is “atypical,” in that his dad tells him what he needs to do, and he goes and does it, but he sets his own schedule and manages his trucks and business.
“There’s nobody luckier,” he noted. “I’m very fortunate to have this situation.”
